Space and Science BS Thread

Next Starship is looking at Tuesday..
https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/statements/general-statements

 

Pretty cool - via https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-9

The Super Heavy booster then relit 11 of 13 planned Raptor engines and performed a boostback burn to return itself to the launch site. Once there, it relit 12 of the planned 13 engines for its landing burn, including one of the engines that did not start up for the boostback burn. The three center engines continued running to maneuver the booster to the launch and catch tower arms, resulting in the third successful catch of a Super Heavy booster.

The most probable cause for engines not relighting during the boostback and landing burn phases was traced to torch ignition issues on the individual engines caused by thermal conditions local to the igniter. Post-flight testing was able to replicate the issue and engines on future flights will have additional insulation as mitigation.


The most probable root cause for the loss of Starship was identified as a hardware failure in one of the upper stage’s center Raptor engines that resulted in inadvertent propellant mixing and ignition. Extensive ground testing has taken place since the flight test to better understand the failure, including more than 100 long-duration Raptor firings at SpaceX’s McGregor test facility.

To address the issue on upcoming flights, engines on the Starship’s upper stage will receive additional preload on key joints, a new nitrogen purge system, and improvements to the propellant drain system. Future upgrades to Starship will introduce the Raptor 3 engine which will include additional reliability improvements to address the failure mechanism.

While the failure manifested at a similar point in the flight timeline as Starship’s seventh flight test, it is worth noting that the failures are distinctly different. The mitigations put in place after Starship’s seventh flight test to address harmonic response and flammability of the ship’s attic section worked as designed prior to the failure on Flight 8.

...

The booster on this flight test is also attempting several flight experiments to gather real-world performance data on future flight profiles and off-nominal scenarios. To maximize the safety of launch infrastructure at Starbase, the Super Heavy booster will attempt these experiments while on a trajectory to an offshore landing point in the Gulf of America and will not return to the launch site for catch.
Following stage separation, the booster will flip in a controlled direction before initiating its boostback burn. This will be achieved by blocking several of the vents on the vehicle’s hotstage adapter, causing the thrust from Starship’s engines to push the booster in a known direction. Previous booster flips went in a randomized direction based on a directional push from small differences in thrust from Starship’s upper stage engines at ignition. Flipping in a known direction will require less propellant to be held in reserve, enabling the use of more propellant during ascent to enable additional payload mass to orbit.

After the conclusion of the boostback burn, the booster will attempt to fly at a higher angle of attack during its descent. By increasing the amount of atmospheric drag on the vehicle, a higher angle of attack can result in a lower descent speed which in turn requires less propellant for the initial landing burn. Getting real-world data on how the booster is able to control its flight at this higher angle of attack will contribute to improved performance on future vehicles, including the next generation of Super Heavy.

Finally, unique engine configurations will be demonstrated during the Super Heavy’s landing burn. One of the three center engines used for the final phase of landing will be intentionally disabled to gather data on the ability for a backup engine from the middle ring to complete a landing burn. The booster will then transition to only two center engines for the end of the landing burn, with shutdown occurring while still above the Gulf of America and the vehicle expected to make a hard splashdown.

The Starship upper stage will again target multiple in-space objectives, including the deployment of eight Starlink simulators, similar in size to next-generation Starlink satellites. The Starlink simulators will be on the same suborbital trajectory as Starship and are expected to demise upon entry. A relight of a single Raptor engine while in space is also planned.

The flight test includes several experiments focused on enabling Starship’s upper stage to return to the launch site. A significant number of tiles have been removed from Starship to stress-test vulnerable areas across the vehicle during reentry. Multiple metallic tile options, including one with active cooling, will test alternative materials for protecting Starship during reentry. On the sides of the vehicle, functional catch fittings are installed and will test the fittings’ thermal and structural performance. The entire ship's tile line also received a smoothed and tapered edge to address hot spots observed during reentry on Starship’s sixth flight test. Starship’s reentry profile is designed to intentionally stress the structural limits of the upper stage’s rear flaps while at the point of maximum entry dynamic pressure.

 

Space is hard.

 

That’s what she said?

 

It would be even harder if they couldn’t get data through the plasma stream. I wonder if they still got anything useful from sensors on the various shield tests. They’ll figure out how to get up there but without that data they can’t progress towards reusability.

 

https://x.com/Firefly_Space/status/1928105406884368496

 

Hopefully they have some more success with Block 3. From the ARS RR:

 

Interview is here. https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/...-to-space-says-starship-and-mars-matter-most/

 

I kinda wish they’d kept flying a few more block 1’s just to keep pushing the heat shielding tests along with orbital refueling. Waiting on functional upgrades isn’t helping the timeline.

 

Issacman’s nomination has been pulled:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/tr...lace-trump-pick-nasa-administrator-rcna210163

 

Anyone think they can launch again before July? Or 3 times before September? Not sure that’s enough time for Pad A even if the vehicles are ready. Maybe it’s possible but 3-4 weeks is half the best turn around time and could risk a pad RUD if something gets missed in haste. They’ll have to speed up at some point but I’m not sure Pad A is up to it.

 

Seems like BQD’s need to be designed to be even more robust than any single engine using materials and tech that exceeds single launch capability if they ever hope to even get to 25/year let alone several/day. To me that indicates nozzle grade alloys along with cryogenic cooling to go along with deluge systems to reduce shockwave damage. It’s going to take years and many launches to iterate that. AI should accelerate material science development but even that will still take time to turn into actual tested parts. Each iteration will take Pads as yet unbuilt offline to upgrade. Pad B is just the second effort, not the final solution. Especially if it still uses ordinary materials. I look at it like the Raptors in that they didn’t commit to the investment of R3’s until reuse became a feasibility so they may wait until they’re more satisfied with Stage 0 design before investing in exotic materials. I have to think there’s more going on at Macgregor than just engine testing.

 

What became of the "Jade Rabbit"?

Anyone know?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yutu_(rover) ?

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wV3-GZpBxmI

Don’t know what was edited out but he wasn’t wrong in what was included.

 

'Big things that make a difference'. Lots of shots on goal. Man this is kinda dissapoint.

Well I guess Polaris is back on. And moar SLS. Whee.

 

No more Dragon
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/05/musk-trump-spacex-dragon-nasa.html

Kinda like a 3 yo temper tantrum…

 

You know this a huge troll, right?

 

RIP iSpace lander #2.

Compete stream is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVSMXQPeTcw

Looks like they hit alt 0 stil going about 160kph.

 

Agreed. Hard to imagine them picking someone better after this. Sounded like they’ll be keeping the fluff instead of developing the stuff we’ll really need.