Looks in better condition than previous launches. No stray flames
My money is on a successful landing
Wow
I win my money back!
Landed!!!!
Hell yeah.
Woooooooo successful landing! Also small engine fire so chance of another boom!
Looks like it'll exploded tho 🔥
Nailed it - wooohooo!
Fires out!
Shit.... Brilliant!
It's not gone boom !
For once I don't want a boom!
Superb... Fire out, no massive explosions 😎
Bezos was talking of his rocket toy today too
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-57000820
I like the blue origin rocket. Climbed to 106km on the last launch and landed the booster. Crewed launches won't be far off.
CrewedTourist launches won’t be far off.
...but compared to SpaceX it's all too secretive and "Mickey Mouse" for me.
Ooo, that was cool. Bit squeaky bum I would imagine about being so close to the edge of the apron.
Slightly sad that it’s already starting to feel that it’s the normal rather than the exception.
Meanwhile 20+ tonnes of Chinese rocket booster is about to make an "uncontrolled de-orbit", which is a fancy way of saying crash at the weekend.
It could crash anywhere between 41 degrees of the equator north or south.
Seems like kind of a shit way to run a space program
SpaceX is real science fiction stuff. I love it.
Just got round to watching this one - I like the new flap-cam!
Whilst Musk might be an enormous throbber, that's some next level shizzle right there.
Superb… Fire out, no massive explosions 😎
Yep they’re definitely getting better only catching fire rather than spectacular explosions 🙂
I do find it funny that it looks like some of the sci fi book cover 50/60’s images of a rocket ship.
It's not a great video, but it's pretty cool how it appears from the clouds, about 5:40.
I would still be a bit nervous landing on some hostile planet sitting atop and slender multi storey building. I would prefer something a bit more squat and stable. The whole idea of flying this thing in one lump to Mars, landing it and flying back seems absurd to me. Far better in my view to use a multi stage approach. Build an Earth to Mars craft in Earth orbit possible attached to the ISS, put a "docking station" in orbit around Mars with a lander (unmanned prior to manned trip).
SN15 is back on the Launch pad, surely they aren't planning to fly her again??
Er, that’s the whole point isn’t it! ;))
Well, they might be just removing the raptors for reuse.
Flying SN15 again seems "interesting" considering SN16 is sat in the high bay almost ready to go (with more builds not too far behind).
Since some of the landing legs failed on SN15 I can't seem them reflying it unless it's after a major refurb or for a one-way trip to orbit. Given the constant stream of improvements being integrated and the production line spewing out new starships pretty much every few weeks I'd guess it will go a sit next to starhopper.
Probably just hadn't considered storage options post-landing until now, usually a dustpan and brush was enough
Apparently it's [probably] for more inspection/testing - they need it off the ground to get underneath!
They removed the feet from SN15 last week. One was clearly a bit bent.
Are those legs totally rigid? If so, no wonder the bend when they’ll likely get quite a jolt on landing
You would have thought that the legs are a minor issue right now. But they need to be sorted because they won't be repairing them on Mars!!
Sort sort of shock absorber system would seem sensible.
The legs are quite literally the shock aborbers and performed as intended on the landing. They're a preliminary minimal design to allow Spacex to test the other systems.
Nice pic.
Liking at that, would I be right to assume that structure is a mild steel if some sort given the rust?
Interesting that the crush structure in the legs above is considered enough for the current testing. Further pondering on the legs on the falcon 9(?) flex enough to act as the shock absorbers for its landing.
It's a form of stainless so doubtful it's rust but more likely discolouration from welding heat.
(although it's stain-less not stain-free)
F9 legs have crush sections within plus a bit of flex perhaps. The thing is F9 i designed to land on earth and it's associated gravity. Whereas a starship designed to land on the moon will encounter much less gravity and therefore "should" have a softer landing - so it will probably have a different leg design.
Anyway, as already stated, these legs are sacrificial and probably quite a way from the finished article.
It's 304L steel. Regarding the legs - as little as possible, as much as is necessary.
The Falcon 9 legs are slightly larger and a finished product. I assume that technology is easily transferable to a Starship lander.
There are plans to catch the Super Heavy Booster, but it's early days for that yet.
Link to the full size pic. The struts wrapped in red coverings are part of the mechanism for holding the booster to the ship on its way back to port.
The struts wrapped in red coverings are part of the mechanism for holding the booster to the ship on its way back to port.
The octagrabber
Rumours abound that SN15 may indeed be going for an orbital flight...
Actually that might make sense given that it will be dumped on the sea at the end of the orbital flight
SpaceX are prioritising an orbital flight, just doing low test flights means work stops on the orbital launch pad. At the moment it looks like a crane production site.
Rumours abound that SN15 may indeed be going for an orbital flight…
The thrust dome isn't built for the additional vacuum Raptors needed for that. Still, interesting times ahead. And cranes, lots of cranes.
Rumours abound that SN15 may indeed be going for an orbital flight…
I think it's much more likely that they'll just do another lower flight - but 20km this time.
The orbital flight is pencilled in for SN21.
Not even sure there's going to be another flight for a little while as Tankzilla and Frankencrane need to be moved away from their current locations - and Frankencrane isn't even built yet!
