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SpaceX Starship - Integrated Flight Test #2 - Starbase TX - Including Post Launch Dissection
- Thread starter Grendal
- Start date
NSF just started their Countdown to Launch livestream and they are saying the launch remains scheduled for 7AM CST tomorrow.
Yes it is. Whew. Thanks for checking. Now that you've pointed it out, there are TFRs for both Sunday and Monday. So, backups. Here's hoping that they won't be needed.
TunaBug
Member
Yep, I know how it's supposed to work. Just curious as to why they haven't tested it. If it was NASA where every little thing takes a year and a billion dollars, then I get it. But it's SpaceX--stacking and test fires seem to happen almost as often as lunch.
I would have thought they would want to test it so they could measure assumptions that the heat shield really will protect the booster, or measure exactly how much of the heat shield will be ablated so that they can make it thicker, or thinner to save weight. Or verify that the presence of this thing doesn't provide enough back pressure to require a change in the finicky engine startup sequence?
Obviously I'm missing something: that they haven't tested it is probably a lack of interest, not lack of ability. As you point out the lit starship shouldn't be near that ring for very long, so maybe they can't do that short of a static fire? Or maybe this architecture is a one-off never to be used again and they don't care if it burns through? Or probably 100 other things I'm not thinking of.
Hot ring is replacable, this flight will indicate if it is as least strong/thick enough.
65km is near vacuum, can't test that at sea level, especially with a fixed test plate. Also, what happens to ship/ test site if there is an issue?
Chamber pressure is so much higher than achievable backpressure, that shouldn't be an issue. Even flow separation is unlikely.
They may have done material tests at McGregor like with the shower plate.
TunaBug
Member
Many can built a structure that works, few can build a structure that barely works...
Yah, but that was just a test of the side walls proving it can make it to stage separation...
Correct. But the original question was:
(emphasis mine)
So, it was indeed a test of the hot stage ring, no?
Yes, but I think that was to verify that the hot staging ring could handle the compressive forces during ascent before stage sep, since it is more of a lattice structure and not a continuous piece of steel. But @TunaBug isn’t asking about that.
While SpaceX surely knows a great deal about the steel the ring is made from, and probably knows a great deal about how it stands up when exposed to rocket exhaust at 1ATM, as @mongo pointed out:
TunaBug
Member
I really meant ANY even though my examples were clearly related to blasting it with raptors. I thought I had been reading all posts about it, but I missed the crusher.
Nah, they tested the interstage function, but not the hot staging portion.
(I'm being silly, like I was before)
You have the first post correct, but you misstated eastern time here.
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