SpaceX - Starship Super Heavy patch.
Sept. 26, 2022
We have been waiting for the takeoff of the complete Starship rocket, with the main booster, for a year. A wait that turned from a few months to a year. But Elon Musk assures that the launch is imminent.
Imminent launch for SpaceX's Starship
Long awaited and often delayed, the crazy project of launching the largest commercial rocket in the world is a challenge of the extreme. Many complications have arisen, despite the company's experience in launching rockets like the Falcon 9. The Starship is an unprecedented launcher in the space field. A new way to design and build rockets.
Starship Super Heavy launch vehicle assembled and stacked at Starbase
The delay was therefore inevitable, but on Twitter Elon Musk gives hope to space exploration fans. The first full launch, featuring both the Starship and the Super Heavy Booster, is expected to take place towards the end of October. In any case, these are the first firing windows planned by SpaceX. For Elon Musk, one thing is certain, it is that the launch will take place this year.
Everything is accelerating for the Starship
A few weeks ago, we imagined seeing the Starship take off. But an explosion took place at the level of the famous Super Heavy Booster and its 33 powerful engines. This was the last of the adventures for the largest rocket in the world.
Image Credit: Twitter
But the good news followed with an ignition test of the 6 engines of Ship 24, the Starship vessel, on September 9th. September 19 was a big day. We both had a static firing test of the Booster 7 with 7 motors. On the same day, the ship was assembled to make the complete rocket.
SpaceX: Booster 7: 7 Engine Static Fire
On September 22 Booster 7 was removed from the firing pad to undergo hardness upgrades. It was thus transported back to the assembly center, a few hundred meters away. He should receive the latest improvements and especially return to the shooting pad as soon as possible. From there, the top ship will be reassembled for final testing. We will find pressure tests and potentially engine ignition tests. From there, as soon as the first road closure authorizations are issued, the launch will be imminent.
SpaceX: Time-Lapse of Booster 7 Transportation From The Pad
Delay and an exploded budget for SpaceX
The US Government via NASA has given a budget of 2.9 billion dollars to develop the launcher which will bring astronauts and equipment to the Moon. A challenge that Elon Musk has taken up and despite the overrun, he does not intend to give up, forcing him to repay. SpaceX will go all the way, no matter what.
If the first launch should arrive at the end of October, or even at the beginning of November, things will greatly accelerate. The Starship should not land again on the launch pad and being grabbed by the robotic arm. If Ship 24 probably returns to land on one of the base's landing pads, the booster will do a sort of controlled landing on water, just as if it were on dry land.
To make the ship profitable, it should carry Starlink satellites. It also shows both the tight budgets, but also the confidence that the company has in its latest "baby".
SpaceX: https://www.spacex.com/
Images (mentioned), Videos, Text, Credits: SpaceX/Elon Musk/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
Best regards, Orbiter.ch
