Tag: SpaceX

Significant – Starship

This new space launch system may well be the means by which we really do make spaceflight far cheaper and colonise, not just Mars, but any part of the Solar System that we wish.

It occurred to me that many highly significant events, situations and occasions pass us by almost unnoticed, only to burst into history and affect our lives rather later. I thought it might be fun to look at some of these, perhaps some historical examples. but also things going on today that might loom very much larger in future. I’m going to start with an article on some spaceflight technology that’s in the news precisely because it may be the start of human expansion into the Solar System.

SN9, an early prototype of Starship

Because I posted just five days ago on Starship‘s planned integrated test flight (IFT-4), and because of how that flight went (stunningly successfully) , now might be a good time to look at the significance of Starship in general and this test flight in particular.

Why was Starship built?

Good question. I’m glad you asked! SpaceX is by far the foremost builder and operator of space launch vehicles. So far in 2024 they’ve launched 52% of all rockets worldwide, and their share is growing. No other American rocket company and no other nation comes close!

The rationale behind their Falcon 9 was to build a reusable rocket to reduce the cost of launches. And although only the first stage and the fairings proved to be recoverable, that is still far, far more economical than building new for every launch. Falcon Heavy increased the payload capacity by using three boosters together.

The next step is to build a fully reusable system that will reduce kilogram to orbit costs by another massive factor and will make it possible to send over 100 tonnes to any destination in the Solar System. A further goal is to use this new system to build a self-sufficient city on Mars of, perhaps, a million or more people. That’s why Starship is being developed.

Integrated Flight Test Four (IFT-4)

Well, what can I say? The purpose of this flight was to go beyond IFT-3 which was a successful launch, but both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship orbiter were lost on their return through the atmosphere.

What was so remarkable about IFT-4 is that both parts of Starship survived. Super Heavy made it back to a precise location over the Gulf of Mexico (close to the launch site), and Starship made it half way around the world and also succeeded in reaching the ocean surface at essentially zero velocity and then plunged into the water.

The loss of both parts of the system was intentional and the flight provided useful data for further improvements. In the case of Super Heavy it may be possible to recover it following IFT-5, the launch tower doubles up as a catch tower, to grab the returning booster in mid-air. Starship suffered a lot of thermal damage, parts of it even melting, but despite that it made a good approach for a catch attempt to be tried later in the test programme.

Further work on both vehicles should improve things. But knowing both are capable of recovery, at least in principle, opens the way for almost certain success in the long term.

What does that imply? This new space launch system may well be the means by which we really do make spaceflight far cheaper and colonise, not just Mars, but any part of the Solar System that we wish.

Yes. Of course. We are a long, long way from colonising other planets. But for the first time it seems we may have taken a step that will enable us to at least try at some point in the future.

Steps in the future

Let’s finish by setting out possible further developments with some guesses about the timescales.

  1. The next test flight, IFT-5, will probably come in late July. Any time between late June and late August seems possible, it’s really hard to say with any certainty.
  2. A Superheavy booster will be successfully caught, if not on IFT-5 then certainly before the end of 2024. Once success is achieved, by mid 2025 it might be completely routine to catch both boosters and Starship spacecraft.
  3. Some time in 2025 we should expect Starships to be reaching orbit with payloads (initially they will be Starlink 2 satellites).
  4. We will also see the beginning of a system of tanker Starships capable of refuelling cargo and passenger Starships to travel to the Moon and Mars. This is not going to remain science fiction for very much longer.
  5. Eventually the heat shield protection needed for Starship to return reliably to Earth will become safe enough that crewed flights can begin.
  6. We might see the Moon Landing version Starship HLS take astronauts to the surface and return them to lunar orbit, but that’s quite some time away, maybe 2030 or later.
  7. Automated Starship landers will carry equipment and supplies to the Moon and to Mars. At first they’ll remain on the surface as they will be a useful source of materials and potential habitats.
  8. People will follow as safety issues are resolved, permanent settlements will become possible in both places.
  9. Fifty years from now Starship and its successors will enable human exploration and settlement throughout the Solar System – on asteroids, moons of Jupiter and Mars, more or less anywhere will become possible.
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The biggest Mach diamonds ever!

Together, all these engines produce 75.9 MN of thrust, much more than Saturn 5’s 34.5 MN.

The first question you might want answered as you read this title will be, ‘What on Earth is a ‘Mach diamond’?’ I’m glad you asked.

If you’re interested in rockets and spaceflight you may already know. Where there are rocket engines, there will be Mach diamonds (also known as ‘shock diamonds’). They are formed by the high velocity of the gases leaving a powerful jet or rocket engine. The shock waves created by this process interact with the ambient air around the nozzle, sculpting the exhaust into angled zones. When seen from the side, these appear as a repeated diamond pattern.

Mach diamonds from an F-16 on afterburner – Image from Wikimedia

The largest rocket ever built is SpaceX’s Super Heavy booster designed to lift Starship to a high altitude on the first part of its journey to orbital velocity. This booster is powered by 33 Raptor engines clustered closely together; they behave rather like a single engine with a 9 m diameter nozzle. When the rocket flew for the second time in 2023, giant Mach diamonds appeared, 9 m across and 6 m in length. These truly are the world’s biggest Mach diamonds ever – by a very considerable margin.

Super Heavy’s engines – SpaceX

This view shows all 33 Raptors firing shortly after liftoff on the 2nd flight test (IFT-2). Each engine bell has a diameter of 1.3 m and the rocket itself has a diameter of 9 m. Together, all these engines produce 75.9 MN of thrust, much more than Saturn 5’s 34.5 MN.

IFT-2 – BocaChicaGal

Here’s an image of the IFT-2 vehicle shortly after launch. The first Mach diamond is very sharply defined, subsequent diamonds less so as the exhaust plume slows, cools and becomes more ragged. Four can be clearly identified with some hints of a fifth and sixth.

So what is happening here? How are the diamonds generated?

Because a rocket engine is all about producing thrust, the velocity of the exhaust is paramount. Rocket engines are designed to maximise velocity and in doing so they minimise pressure. Inside the combustion chamber, pressures are extremely high; but the bell shape of a rocket nozzle expands the gases and directs them downwards. The pressure inside the exiting plume is much lower than the ambient air pressure. This pressure difference ‘squeezes’ the plume and prevents it spreading out sideways.

Higher in the atmosphere, air pressure is lower and the mach diamonds vanish; as atmospheric pressure drops away towards the vacuum of space, the exhaust plume spreads out sideways more and more because the exhaust gas is now at a higher pressure than the diminishing, surrounding air. Notice how the spacing of the diamonds decreases with distance from the rocket. This is because the exhaust velocity is falling off as the plume interacts and mixes with the air around it.

That’s the essence of the process in everyday language. Check the links below if you want more technical detail.

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Blast from the past… 10

Dad had just bought Mum a battery-powered cat that ‘purred’ when you stroked it.

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Notes from bygone years – Lots of past Septembers
Hint: Click on the thumbnails for larger images.

A year ago

I didn’t post to my blog in September 2022, so here’s an extract from my journal for 8th instead. We were on holiday in Wales along with Donna’s Mum, brother Paul and his wife Vanessa. It was an eventful day.

Queen Elizabeth II (Image from Wikimedia)

We drove into Tenby and unexpectedly bumped into our friends Simon and Carol! None of us had any idea we would be in Tenby that day, our friends live in Yorkshire!

At lunchtime I saw reports on my phone mentioning that the Queen’s doctors were concerned about her health. Later in the day her death was announced and it seemed very strange that Prince Charles was now King Charles III. I wrote in my journal:

[Elizabeth II] had such a long reign (the longest of any British Monarch) and she leaves King Charles III as the most aged new Monarch ever. She did her job extraordinarily well. It comes as something of a shock to be writing these words on this day in my journal. It’s a day that seemed always to be delayed and would never actually arrive – yet here it is.

Back in our holiday home in Llantissilio, we watched the news and caught up with some of the details of the day. There was also startling news from Ukraine with Russian forces abandoning a large region in Kherson and retreating in disorder in an even larger region near Kharkiv.

< Aug22 – Oct22 >

Two years ago

In September 2021 I wrote about a new song from a musician I know, Sarah Reynolds. The theme of the song is that when we seem to be facing defeat and are struggling just to hang on, hope may not be as far off as we imagine.

Take a look at the original post and listen to the song, ‘Wilderness’.

< Aug21 – Oct21>

Five years ago
Looking at a bisse
Looking at a bisse

In September 2018 we were on holiday with the family in Switzerland. I wrote a blog post about walking the bisses (irrigation streams). It was a fascinating day. Here’s a link to my post.

< Aug18 – Oct18 >

Ten years ago
An image of the article

In September 2013 I wrote about my project ‘Cruising the Gospel’.

The idea was to help and encourage people to read through the biblical books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, considering what we can learn about Jesus and about ourselves as we read. Anyone can follow along, reading and pondering small, manageable chunks along the way. (Read the original article)

< Aug13 – Oct13 >

Fifteen years ago
Falcon 1 launch (Wikimedia)

On 29th September 2008 I wrote to Elon Musk and SpaceX to congratulate them. Why? Because the previous day had seen them launch their Falcon I rocket successfully – after three consecutive failures! Read my blog post and message.

< Aug08 – Oct08 >

Twenty years ago
The electric ‘cat’

In September 2003 we visited my parents in Cirencester. Dad had just bought Mum a battery-powered cat that ‘purred’ when you stroked it. Mum loved having a cat, but Dad felt that at their age they shouldn’t have another one after the previous cat died. The pretend ‘cat’ was an amusing compensation, but I don’t think Mum was very convinced!

< Aug03 – Oct03 >

Twenty-five years ago

In September 1998 we were looking forward a few weeks to a relaxing holiday in Fetiye, Turkey. I’d been to Istanbul briefly on a school trip in December 1964, but I had never been to any other part of the country. A week on the Mediterranean coast sounded great and we hoped the weather would be kind.

< Aug98 – Oct98 >

Thirty years ago
An email from 1993

In September 1993 I was working as the Microcomputing Manager at Long Ashton Research Station near Bristol. Part of my job involved networking PCs, here’s a message I sent asking for help. Click the image for a larger view.

Notice the ASCII art (text characters used to make larger ‘text’ or images, and the way a reply uses > characters to mark quoted text. All very primitive, all time consuming, and none of it necessary any more.

< Aug93 – Oct93 >

Thirty-five years ago
Judy’s birthday

The 10th September was Judy’s birthday, and in 1988 Debbie and Beth made her a birthday meal in the evening. It was quite a spread as you can see if you click on the thumbnail.

< Aug88 – Oct88 >

Forty years ago

In September 1983 we drove over to Cirencester on 17th for Cindy and Paul’s wedding.

< Aug83 – Oct83 >

Forty-five years ago

The family records are blank in September 1978, the month that Debbie turned 3½. But on the world scene there were some significant events. Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat discussed peace and signed the Camp David Accords, and 122 rioters died in Tehran when the Shah’s troops opened fire.

< Aug78 – Oct78 >

Fifty years ago
Jefferies bulb brochure

In late 1973 John Jefferies & Son in Cirencester were preparing their Christmas hyacinth brochure, perhaps in September.

This would be issued later, mailed out to regular customers and available in their shop (now Vodafone) in the Market Place. The bulbs were grown in the dark in the basement of the Tower Street warehouse; the building still exists, converted into flats next to Minerva Court.

< Aug73 – Oct73 >

Fifty-five years ago

In September 1968 I was about to begin my third year as a student at the University of Bath. It was a sandwich course so required four years to allow for industrial placements.

< Aug68 – Oct68 >

Sixty years ago

In September 1963 I began my 5th year at Cirencester Grammar School. This was an important year for me and my school friends, with O level mock exams after Christmas and the real O levels to face in June.

< Aug63 – Sep63 >

Sixty-five years ago

In September 1958 I began my final year at Junior School. This would be the year of the important 11-plus exams that would decide whether we would go to the Grammar School in Victoria Road or to the Secondary Modern at Deerpark.

< Aug58 – Sep58 >

Seventy years ago
Side entrance to the school

In September 1953 I’d been five for a month or so and I it was time to began my first ever school term. I went to Querns School, and was unhappy when my Mum left me on the first day. I cried later when the teacher told us that we would stop to eat elevenses. This was not a word I knew, and I heard it as ‘lemonses’. What I did know was that lemons are very sharp and I did not want to eat one!

The pupil’s entrance was along the little lane at the side of the school, shown in the photo. I remember walking up and down that lane very clearly indeed.

< Aug53 – Oct48 >

Seventy-five years ago

In September 1948 I was in my second month of life, and Mum and Dad celebrated their first wedding anniversary. It seems they didn’t waste a whole lot of time! I would have been getting my arms and eyes under better control by this time. Dad was busy with C&DMAC (a model aircraft club). His maternal grandmother’s second husband died on 19th, Dad always knew him as ‘Gramp’.

< Aug48 – Oct48 >

Eighty years ago

In September 1943 Dad shot a lot of starlings, apparently. He heard that he’d passed his School Certificate successfully, was active in the ATC, and had a busy social life.

< Aug43 – Oct43 >

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Starship launch attempt postponed

** LATEST ** – The next launch attempt is now scheduled for Thursday 20th April. Check the latest news at Spaceflight Now.

Monday’s planned test flight of the Super Heavy booster carrying Starship was called off due to a pressurisation issue caused by a failed valve. The booster’s ability to carry a significant load (like a fully fuelled Starship) depends on the fuel tanks being pressurised at all times. It’s the same process that makes drinks cans so strong despite being very thin walls. An empty can crumples whereas an unopened can is pressurised and is significantly stronger.

If the valve issue can be fixed on Tuesday, there might be a new launch attempt on Wednesday. Watch this space (no pun intended).

See also:

Starship’s first launch

Just a short post this time, to alert anyone who may not know… SpaceX is planning the first ever launch of Starship on an orbital flight tomorrow, Monday 17th April.

There are several places you can watch this attempt live on YouTube. I recommend three of them in particular. If you’re new to all this, try the SpaceX stream. If you’re more knowledgeable you might prefer one of the others.

  • Felix Schlang, a German who moved to Florida to be closer to the action
  • Marcus House, an Australian spaceflight enthusiast in Tasmania
  • SpaceX, the company’s official stream

I just wanted to get this alert out today. I’ll be back after the launch attempt with more thoughts. (More details about Super Heavy and Starship).

SpaceX’s Starship launch

For this first flight both parts of the vehicle will be lost after landing on the sea (but hopefully not before)

Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, is close to the first launch of their new spacecraft – Starship. This is an exciting step forward in space flight technology as fully reusable Starship versions are planned to return NASA astronauts to the moon, act as orbital fuel tankers, take people and materials to destinations throughout the solar system, and colonise Mars.

The world’s most powerful rocket is likely to make its first orbital flight attempt during March. Whatever happens, the attempt will be spectacular in the extreme! With twice the thrust of NASA’s SLS rocket, SpaceX’s Super Heavy booster will attempt a launch from Starbase on the Texas coast, heading east. The Starship will separate and pass between Florida and Cuba.

Starship on the pad – Image from Wikimedia

The Super Heavy booster will attempt a landing on the surface of the sea, offshore of its launch point. When fully operational, SpaceX intends that Super Heavy boosters will return to the launch site to be caught in mid-air by arms on the launch tower. Starship will attempt a landing, also on the sea surface, north of Hawaii, but again, the intention is to eventually catch Starship at the launch site as well.

For this first flight both parts of the vehicle will be lost after landing on the sea (but hopefully not before). It’s likely they will attempt to hover above the sea surface to practice the manoeuvre they will need to perform for a catch. Once landing precision is good enough, SpaceX will attempt the first catches. But that’s something for future flights and will depend on data returned from this first attempt. You can’t put a note in your diary to watch the launch as we don’t yet know exactly when it will happen. But I’ll keep you posted here on JHM.

The previous step forward for Starship was a static fire by the Super Heavy booster on 9th February. This is worth watching in this video clip from NASA. Thirty-one of the booster’s thirty-three engines fired for the duration of the test, one was not ignited at all, and one shut down early. The engines fired at half thrust during the test, but for the first launch they’ll be run at 90% thrust.

See also:

The SpaceX website carries an introduction to the concept of the Starship system.

The launch is listed on Spaceflight Now’s Launch Schedule page and on Next Spaceflight’s SpaceX Launch Manifest page. You can check those sources for schedule updates as they become available.

Wikipedia has a good article about the Starship vehicle covering details of size, thrust, the development process, purpose, capabilities and so on.

For YouTube channels tracking Starship developments I highly recommend Everyday Astronaut, Marcus House, and What about it!?

Falcon 1

Things have come a very long way in less than 12 years!

Here’s a bit of history for you – SpaceX’s Crew Dragon vehicle is currently docked to the International Space Station (ISS) having safely delivered two NASA astronauts, bringing the number of crew on the ISS to five. The rocket used to put Crew Dragon into orbit was SpaceX’s workhorse – Falcon 9.

But you already knew that, right?

Well, on 29th September 2008 I posted an item about SpaceX’s first successful launch to orbit using their Falcon 1. Things have come a very long way in less than 12 years!

In the next few days I’ll try to write a piece about SpaceX’s Crew Dragon flight – watch this space (pun not intended).