Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
This is a show where we discuss the critical Crossroads, The
Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink,
and I'm your host, Will Walden. SpaceX is actively preparing for
the third flight of its colossal Starship rocket following the
completion of a static fire test of Ship 28 in the positioning of
Booster 10 at the Starbase launch site in South Texas.
Now this progress comes just one month after the second flight of
Starship. With the upcoming test
potentially including an all in space propellant transfer and a
controlled landing in the ocean near Hawaii A SpaceX conducted a
successful static fire test of Ship 28 six Raptor engines
showing no evident damage to the rocket or the ground equipment.
Now concurrently, Booster 10 was moved to the launchpad and
conducted fueling and a possible ground systems problem.
The test was scrubbed. Now following these tests,
SpaceX plans to stack the Starship upper stage.
A top Booster 10 nearing completion of the launch vehicle
for the integrated flight Test 3 and the third Starship flight
aims to advance its flight profile, including a controlled
ocean landing and possibly an in space propellant transfer,
though this remains unconfirmed now.
The second Starship launch in November demonstrated marked
improvements over the first attempt, notably in engine
reliability in the execution of a complex hot staging maneuver.
Kathy Leaders, Spacex's general manager for the Starship launch
site, hinted at targeting the first quarter of the next year
for the third test flight, aligning with the company's
ambitious schedule. And post second flight, SpaceX
has made minimal hardware modifications, suggesting
software related issues. Regulatory approval from the FAA
is still pending following their designation of the second flight
as a mishap, and Ship 28 and Booster Ten were swiftly
transferred to the launch site following the second flight,
with Ship 28 undergoing a series of tests, including a spin prime
test. Spacex's dismantling of
suborbital Pad A to build a second launch tower suggests a
shift in testing locations, potentially centralizing engine
tests at the Massey's facility. Primarily, tests with Booster 10
involve partial fueling followed by a lengthy hold and eventual
safety pressurization, indicating ongoing diagnostic
processes. No word on if the ground systems
were affected during this testing.
At SpaceX is waiting for FAA approval for the third flight,
having conducted the six engine fire test to have shipped 28 at
the Starbase facility, and the Super heavy flight intends to
reach orbit and splash down near Hawaii.
With NASA already planning to use a modified Starship for
lunar landings and potential crude missions to Mars, recent
inspections by Elon Musk reveal the Starship Launchpad's
robustness, requiring no refurbishment post launch, a
significant improvement from the first Test flight's pad
destruction. Despite 2 explosions in the
second flight, the Starship's upper stage achieved separation
and Space Flight, albeit not reaching orbit, and the
launchpad remained intact, signaling readiness for future
attempts. Now, NASA's commitment to using
Starship for the Artemis 3 lunar mission hinges on successful
orbital tests in flight refueling and a lunar landing
test. With SpaceX transitioning from
Texas tests to operational flights from Kennedy Space
Center or KSC, SpaceX is innovating with the Megazilla
Launch integration tower and the Twin Chopsticks arms at both
Texas and KSC sites, aiming for quick turn around and booster
landing capabilities sometime in the future.
And SpaceX is constructing a second crew capable launch tower
at Cape Canaveral, replicating Texas pad improvements with NASA
and the FAA closely monitoring and regulating starships
development for future commercial launches.
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