{"id":24848,"date":"2021-09-28T19:35:35","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T11:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/ship-20-begins-path-to-static-fire-test-milestone\/"},"modified":"2021-09-28T19:35:35","modified_gmt":"2021-09-28T11:35:35","slug":"ship-20-begins-path-to-static-fire-test-milestone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/ship-20-begins-path-to-static-fire-test-milestone\/","title":{"rendered":"Ship 20 begins path to Static Fire test milestone"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Despite the lack of hops over recent months, SpaceX Starbase continues to be a hive of activity with preparations ongoing for both the upcoming orbital test flight of Booster 4 and Ship 20 and the future acceleration of launch cadence with follow-on vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>Most of the recent focus has been directed at the Orbital Launch Site, specifically the Tank Farm and the \u201cMechazilla\u201d additions to the Launch Tower. However, Ship 20 is keeping the suborbital pad occupied with an opening salvo of testing that began with a proof test on Monday night.<\/p>\n<p>Starbase Round-up:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Ship 20 Ready to be Pushed to its Limits | Starship Update (Narrated)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/N9H_naNRveo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>For the orbital flight test, SpaceX is currently progressing towards a readiness target in November, which will still be subject to clearance from the paperwork side of approval.<\/p>\n<p>The recently published Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment from the FAA, calling for public comment ahead of Booster 4 and Ship 20\u2019s flight, highlighted the requirements that need approval for the historic first push to orbit for the world\u2019s most powerful rocket.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1438928760846290948&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2021%2F09%2Fship-20-path-static-fire-milestone%2F&amp;sessionId=6da02480fa29b5a9e3103c40f6d4ac3be3daefa8&amp;siteScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1438928760846290948\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1783496556166177377=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Please add your voice to the public comments. Support is greatly appreciated! <\/p>\n<p>Humanity\u2019s future on the moon, Mars &amp; beyond depends upon it.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks, <br \/>Elon https:\/\/t.co\/5K6Wda57EP<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 17, 2021<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Regardless of the FAA approval route, SpaceX needs to achieve numerous flight vehicles and launch infrastructure milestones.<\/p>\n<p>Space tourism guides<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>Technology News<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>Rocket building kits<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>\n<p>     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n<p>For Ship 20, numerous Thermal Protection System (TPS) tiles were replaced amid continued preparations for proof testing.<\/p>\n<p>For these test objectives, which began on Monday evening, Ship 20 was initially filled with gaseous nitrogen, now called the pneumatic test and formerly known as the ambient test, before being loaded with super-cold liquid nitrogen (LN2) for the cryogenic test.<\/p>\n<p>Although it is unclear if all of the proof testing objectives were completed, an important lesson was observed when some of the TPS tiles popped off the vehicle during the early phase of the testing. Elon Musk noted that Header Tank venting caused the small liberation of tiles.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-2\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1442623549479350276&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2021%2F09%2Fship-20-path-static-fire-milestone%2F&amp;sessionId=6da02480fa29b5a9e3103c40f6d4ac3be3daefa8&amp;siteScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1442623549479350276\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1783496556166177377=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ship 20 lost some tiles during testing.<\/p>\n<p>Live views: https:\/\/t.co\/AKG2G3Lid1 pic.twitter.com\/oDkextThlb<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Michael Baylor (@MichaelBaylor_) September 27, 2021<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Other objectives of the proof test include using Thrust Rams, which are hydraulic rods, to simulate loads on the Thrust Puck. A clue to the next phase of testing will be noted once this device is removed, allowing Ship 20 to prepare for Static Fire testing.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"widget-title penci-border-arrow\">See Also<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>SpaceX Super Heavy\/Starship Section<\/li>\n<li>L2 SpaceX Section<\/li>\n<li>Click here to Join L2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Loaded with Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Methane (CH4), it is expected Ship 20 will initially fire up its three sea-level Raptors, followed by unspecified testing with the three RVacs. However, only one RVac has even been fired at any one time, with all that testing conducted at SpaceX\u2019s McGregor site as opposed to Starbase.<\/p>\n<p>While Ship 20 moves through its test objectives at the suborbital pad, Booster 4 \u2013 next door at the Orbital Launch Site (OLS) \u2013 will follow a similar path with proof testing objectives before what is likely to be a series of Static Fire tests.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, Booster 4\u2019s tests will be aided by the use of the OLS Tank Farm, which has been building up its set of commodity tanks over the last few months.<\/p>\n<p>With all but one GSE (Ground Support Equipment) tank installed on-site, proof testing has already taken place on some of the tanks, with a series of venting tests observed on Monday.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-80723\" class=\"size-full wp-image-80723\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NSF-2021-09-28-17-41-46-085.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2362\" height=\"1569\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NSF-2021-09-28-17-41-46-085.jpg 2362w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NSF-2021-09-28-17-41-46-085-350x232.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NSF-2021-09-28-17-41-46-085-527x350.jpg 527w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NSF-2021-09-28-17-41-46-085-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NSF-2021-09-28-17-41-46-085-1920x1275.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NSF-2021-09-28-17-41-46-085-1170x777.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NSF-2021-09-28-17-41-46-085-585x390.jpg 585w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NSF-2021-09-28-17-41-46-085-263x175.jpg 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2362px) 100vw, 2362px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-80723\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">OLS Tank Farm via Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF<\/p>\n<p>All that remains is for GSE-8 to roll, followed by transports of the remaining cryo shells that the tanks are sleeved with to provide insulation.<\/p>\n<p>Smaller tanks were also observed rolling down Highway 4 on Saturday, highlighting why SpaceX will be testing Ship 20 first, as they carry out testing ahead of the readiness of the OLS Tank Farm.<\/p>\n<p>Booster 4 has spent a few weeks undergoing preparations on the OLS Site mount while work continued on the Launch Tower. That work has included the installation of the Quick Disconnect (QD) extension, which will be used to supply propellant to Starship when mated atop Super Heavy.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Quick Disconnect Arm Extension Installed | SpaceX Boca Chica\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fLhnELRZoOI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This arm will also supply power and communication lines to the Ship and provide some stability to the integrated stack.<\/p>\n<p>As part of the \u201cMechazilla\u201d system, the Launch Tower will stack Starship onto the booster via the use of two large chopstick arms. Installation of this system is set to take place over the coming days.<\/p>\n<p>To allow these large devices to be installed on the tower, SpaceX opted to remove Booster 4 from the mount, enabling additional clearance and removing the risk of hitting Booster 4 during the complex lifts.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Booster 4 Lifted Off Orbital Launch Mount | SpaceX Boca Chica\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Rzydb8nrda0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid2\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Once Mechazilla is complete, the giant arms could be tested with Ship 20\u2019s installation onto Booster 4 ahead of a full WDR (Wet Dress Rehearsal).<\/p>\n<p>However, Mechazilla\u2019s somewhat more fascinating role, to \u201ccatch\u201d the vehicles returning to the launch site after flight, is not expected to be tested until at least the flight of Booster 5 and Ship 21.<\/p>\n<p>These follow-on vehicles are already being processed at the Production Site, with Booster 5 currently being stacked inside the High Bay.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-80724\" class=\"size-full wp-image-80724\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NSF-2021-09-28-17-43-08-508.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2355\" height=\"1539\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NSF-2021-09-28-17-43-08-508.jpg 2355w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NSF-2021-09-28-17-43-08-508-350x229.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NSF-2021-09-28-17-43-08-508-536x350.jpg 536w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NSF-2021-09-28-17-43-08-508-768x502.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NSF-2021-09-28-17-43-08-508-1920x1255.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NSF-2021-09-28-17-43-08-508-1170x765.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2355px) 100vw, 2355px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-80724\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ship 21 preps via Mary (@bocachicagal)<\/p>\n<p>The production cadence has been chiefly focused inside the production tents with numerous barrel sections and nosecones, some of which are already undergoing TPS application.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-3\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 250px; height: 437px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-3&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1442605293310029827&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2021%2F09%2Fship-20-path-static-fire-milestone%2F&amp;sessionId=6da02480fa29b5a9e3103c40f6d4ac3be3daefa8&amp;siteScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1442605293310029827\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>However, once SpaceX presses through the initial test flights, numerous Ships and Boosters will be stacked, requiring additional High Bay capacity.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX is already building a more extensive, wider facility to the north of the current High Bay to cater for this. Foundation work has been ongoing for the past few weeks, with the walls of the new bay expected to rise out of the ground next month.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Starbase Live: 24\/7 Starship &amp; Super Heavy Development From SpaceX's Boca Chica Facility\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mhJRzQsLZGg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid3\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Photos and videos provided by Mary (@bocachicagal) and Nic Ansuini (@nicansuini). Additional information and article assistance provided by the NSF (L2 Level) Discord.<\/p>\n<p>For live updates, follow NASASpaceFlight\u2019s Twitter account and the NSF Starship Forum Sections.<\/p>\n<p>**Support NSF\u2019s youtube channel by subscribing and\/or joining here**<\/p>\n<p>Grab some cool gear along with the ability to support our content: https:\/\/shop.nasaspaceflight.com\/<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79802\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/nsf-merch_ad-002-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/nsf-merch_ad-002-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/nsf-merch_ad-002-1-350x70.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/nsf-merch_ad-002-1-630x126.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/nsf-merch_ad-002-1-768x154.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite the lack of hops over recent months, SpaceX Starbase continues to be a hive of activity with preparations ongoing for both the upcoming orbital test flight of Booster 4 and Ship 20 and the future acceleration of launch cadence with follow-on vehicles. Most of the recent focus has been directed at the Orbital Launch [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[8597,8642,8607,316,739,317],"class_list":["post-24848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-booster-4","tag-ols","tag-ship-20","tag-spacex","tag-starbase","tag-starship"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24848"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24848\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}