SpaceX Starship - IFT-4 - Starbase TX - Pre-Launch Preparations Thread

[TunaBug]

From a new NSF video:

Quite a few missing tiles at the base of S27. I don’t think these can be reached when the the ship is stacked, so assume it will be de-stacked before IFT-4.

View attachment 1048582

What are the white dots that coincide with the tiles?

 

[JB47394]

What are the white dots that coincide with the tiles?

Each one is the word "OK", which is penciled by the technician after inspection.

 

[JB47394]

NASASpaceFlight expects a wet dress rehearsal on Monday.

 

[Electroman]

Kathy, Lueders, the Starbase general manager, said that they hope to get a launch license in the last week of May or the first week of June. I assume that SpaceX would then hustle to get IFT-4 off the ground.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1790701780621222176

Hmm my recollection of Kathy Lueders is, she is a senior NASA official. When did she join SpaceX ?

 

[mongo]

Hmm my recollection of Kathy Lueders is, she is a senior NASA official. When did she join SpaceX ?

About a year ago (IIRC, after the NASA re-org)

Kathy Lueders joins SpaceX to help develop Starship

https://twitter.com/x/status/1658127208932679681

 

[ecarfan]

NASASpaceFlight expects a wet dress rehearsal on Monday.

Yep, it’s happening now.

 

[ecarfan]

Tank farm has been active for over an hour but no sign of prop loading yet.

 

[scaesare]

Also, I hope there's no correlation between the uniform shape to the tile gaps and the arrival of explosives. We may have spotted a new FTS installation technique; explosive tiles.

That would make the superheated plasma engulfing the ship a bit... worrisome...

 

[ecarfan]

NSF just noted that for IFT-4 prop loading started at about T-53:00 and they are expecting it to start soon.