SpaceX and Elon Musk are scheduled to give the highly anticipated annual update on the SpaceX reusable transportation system (the Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy rocket) at 9:00 p.m. tonight (Saturday, September 28) at the SpaceX launch facility in Cameron County, Texas. Note that the time has been pushed back an hour due to approaching weather; it was originally scheduled for 8:00 pm. EDT.
The SpaceX reusable transportation system is designed to carry cargo and humans to the moon, Mars and beyond and will replace the exiting Falcon line of rockets.
Based on past similar events, one can expect some slick videos, updates on the spacecraft design, perhaps engine specs. and a vision of SpaceX’s future, probably focused on human travel to the moon and to Mars, in the hour long presentation. The Starship design and the development facilities have made tremendous progress since the last presentation, when there was little actual hardware to show for the new concepts.
The Starship Mk1
What we see below is a newly assembled Starship (aka Mk1) in Boca Chica, TX, which is the essentially the second stage rocket plus the crew module, standing 50m tall. The first stage, not shown here, will be a massive Falcon-like rocket, 68m tall, powered by 35 raptor engines. This rocket assembly will serve as a backdrop to the Elon Musk presentation. Expect it to look other-worldly in the late evening light.
The Starship spacecraft will be capable of carrying 100 passengers and will be powered by six of SpaceX's next-generation Raptor engines (3 sea-level engines and 3 vacuum engines). This prototype has only the 3 seal-level engines.
The Starship
The Starship is a new heavy-lift reusable rocket and spacecraft that will carry satellites, cargo and humans to earth orbit, the moon, Mars and beyond. The new designs use 301 stainless steel based structures instead of carbon fiber and composites. Starship and Super Heavy will both employ multiple Raptor engines (up to 6 and 35 resp.) and will eventually replace the Falcon line of launch vehicles. The Super Heavy is the first stage reusable rocket, which will use up to 35 raptor engines and will drop back to Earth, while the Starship will continue on its journey to the Moon or Mars.
A couple of Starship prototypes are being developed (the other one called Mk2 is in FL) and will get tested in fall. KSC pad 39A will be used for Starship rockets assembled at the FL site. A test flight to 20 km altitude with landing is expected to occur within a month or so.
Check out en.wikipedia.org/… for more info.
The Raptor engine is one of the most complex rocket engines and is powered by subcooled liquid methane and liquid oxygen (LOX), rather than the RP-1 kerosene and LOX used in SpaceX's prior Merlin and Kestrel rocket engine families. The subcooled liquid methane provides higher propellant density, higher thrust, lower engine wear and the possibility of using methane extracted on Mars. The Raptor engine is currently planned to have about two times the thrust of the Merlin 1D engine that powers the current Falcon 9 launch vehicle.
Here is a comparison of launch vehicles; the height and low-earth-orbit payload capacity are shown at the bottom. Starship is the top half of the SpaceX BFR (Big Falcon Rocket), Super Heavy is the booster at the bottom.
A Futuristic Look
Elon Musk is also known to publish whimsical tweets, most intended to fire up people’s imaginations. Here is one with the Starship being assembled on the mythical planet Tatooine.
Here is the presentation from last year —
Here is one of the science-fiction-like visions for Starship for inter-continental travel, published two years ago -
And one for inter-planetary travel to Mars from 2016 -
NASA and SpaceX
Here is an eyebrow raising tweet by the NASA administrator, who seems to feel that SpaceX’s enthusiasm is lacking on the NASA-funded commercial crew program. Also, it is a strange way to convey a message to a major NASA contractor using twitter.
In reality, Boeing is behind schedule as well and both companies are working hard to meet the stringent requirements of safety and functionality.
The Starhopper
But, let’s face it, rocket launches and tests are more eye-popping and generate more publicity than spacecraft tests. Little can beat the excitement that accompanied the 1-minute test of the Starhopper test on Aug 27, where the test vehicle rose to a modest height of 150m. The Starhopper was intended to test a precursor of the Raptor engine.
Miscellaneous
Link to SpaceX presentation, scheduled for 9:00 p.m., EDT.
Here are a few more photographs of the construction of the Starship —
Here is a time-lapse of the assembly of the two halves of the spacecraft —
Update and Highlights of the Presentation
Compared to earlier presentations, this one seemed low-key and undramatic. There were no revolutionary announcements, just a status report on the Starship development.
The venue and intro -
Intro to the all-steel Starship -
The Raptor engine
A video of the Raptor engine
Refueling was a new feature highlighted last night -
A new video of Starship refueling in orbit -
The ultimate goal — Moon and Mars.
100 people for a journey to Saturn?
Response to NASA administrator’s tweet -
Epilogue
Never mind whether you hate Elon Musk or not, or you think space travel is an expensive boondoggle, space travel has captured the human imagination since the invention of earth-escaping rockets. Human space colonization may be achievable or not, or may be achievable in some far distant future, but space exploration includes a lot of things — satellites, inter-planetary robotic missions, space telescopes and technologies to harness energy and materials from space, to name a few. And we need a few (crazy) pioneers and smart engineers that will stretch the envelope and boldly go when where no one has gone before. And along the way, they will develop scientific and technological innovations that will will benefit us all right here on Earth.
Further Reading
- Starship (rocket and spacecraft) — en.wikipedia.org/…
- www.spacex.com/…
- The Starhopper Hopped! — www.dailykos.com/…
- Why Go To Mars? And other Planets and Moons. — www.dailykos.com/…
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Gallery: SpaceX’s Starship Mk1 spacecraft prototype in pictures — techcrunch.com/...