/c/SpaceX Starship Integrated Flight Test 2 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!
/c/SpaceX Starship Integrated Flight Test 2 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!
Welcome to the /c/SpaceX Integrated Flight Test 2 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!
| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2023-11-18 13:00 |
|---|---|
| Scheduled for (local) | 2023-11-18 07:00 (CST) |
| Launch Window (UTC) | 2023-11-18 13:00 to 2023-11-18 13:20 (20 minutes) |
| Weather | Good |
| Launch site | OLM-A, SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA. |
| Booster | B9 |
| Ship | S25 |
| Booster landing | B9 to perform a soft water landing in the Gulf of Mexico |
| Ship landing | S25 expected to impact Pacific Ocean near Hawaii |
Webcasts
| Stream | Link |
|---|---|
| Everyday Astronaut (4k and low latency) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6na40SqzYnU |
| Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-LFzFWaACo |
| LabPadre | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwhcSwQWOHk |
| NASASpaceflight | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOI35G7cP7o |
| The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0K0uSDE6ks |
| Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XbmBspvaHE |
| SpaceX | https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1725852544587727145#m |
| The Space Devs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CREQ3e2Li34 |
Stats
☑️ 2nd Starship Full Stack launch
☑️ 299th SpaceX launch all time
☑️ 86th SpaceX launch this year
☑️ 2nd launch from OLM-A this year
☑️ 211 days, 23:27:00 turnaround for this pad
Stats include F1, F9 , FH and Starship
Mission Details 🚀
- SpaceX website (archived 2023-11-16): Starship's Second Flight Test (archived)
- SpaceX website (archived 2023-11-18): Starship's Second Flight Test (archived)
- SpaceX website (archived 2023-11-22): Starship's Second Flight Test (archived)
- SpaceX website (current): Starship's Second Flight Test
Link to Starship Dev thread
Scott Manley has already chimed in with his thoughts: Why Starship’s Booster Failed After Staging
It seems that several engines weren't just shutting down during the boostback burn, but were violently disassembling themselves. Possible cause could include propellant sloshing during the flip leading to inconsistent pressure fed to the engines/plumbing.
Gotta love how quick he is on these.
And he's now done a more in-depth analysis: Starship & Superheavy Become The Biggest Rocket In Space.... Before Exploding
He speculates that B9 engine failure during boostback was due to either fuel slosh, fluid hammer, or a combination of both. It's unclear whether the booster FTS was triggered or whether the Booster RUD happened on its own.
For S25, he notes that a puff of gas just after T+7 minutes coincides with a drop in the LOx gauge. This indicates an oxygen leak of some sort, which could have any number of causes.
Jonathan McDowell trajectory analysis: https://nitter.net/planet4589/status/1725873032244195495#m
Based on the last altitude/velocity numbers on SpaceX's webcast, I estimate a Starship achieved trajectory of -1740 x 150 km with (if not entirely destroyed by the flight termination system) impact NE of the Turks and Caicos Is.
Those engines were beautiful
The combined mach diamonds were stunning!
Also super pleased to see the improved raptor reliability.
Wow, my skepticism about the engines was silly. There were a few moments during first stage where it I couldn't tell whether the exhaust was nominal, but may be nothing. (Edit: Nvm, I think it was just ice chunks)
Looks like there's some minor debris on the road near LabPadre's camera, but certainly no concrete storm!
Awesome launch!
John Insprucker reports that the second stage may have been lost, likely triggered by AFTS.
SpaceX webcast ending now.
This thread maybe? This thread definitely!
S25 and B9 are stacked and ready for a Saturday morning launch. The tank farm should start spooling up around 2 a.m. local time.
While we wait, Starlink 6-28 is currently scheduled for 2023-11-18 05:05 UTC. Webcast links in comment.
Prediction time!
Stage Zero: Works with only minor damage.
Booster Engine Failures: 5 :(
Hot Staging: Works, looks cool.
Upper Stage: Flies, with significant issues.
FTS: Big boom, on time!
End result: Booster re-enters in one piece, Ship in many.
I'd be surprised if they had that many booster engines fail. I suspect we'll see only a couple of engines fail at most.
I'm less confident about the success of hot staging, since they've never tested it before. Excitement guaranteed though!
Totally! I don't have an engineering reason to think they'll fail, I'm just suspicious after the static fires couldn't maintain 33. A hot staging failure would be MUCH more exciting.
This is a really hot take, but I reckon if it manages to make if to stage separation in one piece, and the hot staging works, the ship should fly trouble-free.
It's the one part of the system that they have done significant testing on, not that many engines etc. If they once again don't make it past staging that would be very concerning for the Starship timeline, Artemis, and so on...
It'll be so cool to see the booster soft splash.
Biggest hope is that they manage to get away without sandblasting Boca Chica so the FAA don't ground them for 6 months again.
Hmm, I am a bit more confident in the ships abilities (at least for anything between hot staging and SECO).
Anyways, if it gets to the point to initiate hot staging (regardless of the outcome) and the FTS works, it‘s a success. But we should also remember that SN9 landed (crashed) harder than SN8, and SN12 was way worse than the previous three tests. If stage zero is mostly unharmed, the FTS works, and the authorities are not too unhappy, SpaceX has already produced enough hardware for several tests to get it right within the next few months. A good test is a test where you learn a lot, and can try again soon.
MECO! (most engines cut-off)
Hot staging!
NSF are live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOI35G7cP7o
Why weren't there any onboard cameras during the Livestream?
Yeah, that was a bit unusual. Last time we got a bunch of different views (booster cam, ship cam, flap cam, etc), but none this time. There was also a communications blackout period just before scheduled SECO where it was unclear whether the FTS had triggered or not.
Were there fewer ground stations along the flight path than for IFT-1?
Booster RUD!
Ship still looking good!
Tim Dodd's (Everyday Astronaut) stream is live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6na40SqzYnU
Fingers crossed the "not a deluge system cause I didn't get a permit for one" works properly and the pad (and/or rocket) doesn't get torn up again.
Fuel loading has gone well so far!
Indeed!
- All systems go
- Propellant loading on booster
- Propellant loading on ship
It's hard to tell from ground cameras, but I'm wondering whether the booster flipped upsidedown after separation. Seems like it really rotated hard.
If the SpaceX overlay graphic is accurate, it seems like a number of engines went out shortly after the relight for the boostback burn, around T+02:53. Asymmetric thrust could have contributed to extra rotation and loss of control.
Starship trajectory nominal!
Acquisition of signal, Cape Canaveral.
SpaceX live streaming starts at 12:24 UTC here: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1dRKZEWQvrXxB
Broadcast has started now.
For people like me without an X/Twitter account, there is also the spacex.com livestream (which is just the Twitter livestream embedded, but no login is required).
My tv doesn't have a Twitter app and I'm too lazy and tired to get off the couch to turn on my computer, so I guess I'll stick with unofficial Youtube streams for now.
That link seems to be blocked by a login popup. This one doesn't seem to have that issue: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1725852544587727145#m
Expected loss of signal, Houston. Ship terminal guidance.
SECO?
Awaiting acquisition of signal from Starship...
Ignition and liftoff!
https://nitter.net/NASASpaceflight/status/1725839751838658828#m
NASA's WB-57 is in the air and heading to Starbase to capture high-altitude footage of the launch.
Max-Q!
Power and telemetry nominal! All engines looking good so far!
Vehicles queueing to leave the pad.
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
Fewer Letters More Letters AFTS Autonomous Flight Termination System, see FTS FAA Federal Aviation Administration FTS Flight Termination System MECO Main Engine Cut-Off ~ MainEngineCutOff podcast NSF NasaSpaceFlight forum ~ National Science Foundation RUD Rapid Unplanned Disassembly ~ Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly ~ Rapid Unintended Disassembly SECO Second-stage Engine Cut-Off TVC Thrust Vector Control Jargon Definition Starlink SpaceX's world-wide satellite broadband constellation
[Thread #17 for this sub, first seen 18th Nov 2023, 06:10] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
Police at the roadblock.
John Insprucker: Teams are not working any significant issues. Propellant load progressing well. Stages are pressurizing for flight. Booster prop load should finish around T-3 minutes. Still a few wayward boats in the area, but the countdown can be held at T-40 seconds if necessary.
SpaceX are live: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1725852544587727145#m
Hosted webcast has started. Kate Tice and Siva Bharadvaj are hosting.
Edit: And John Insprucker!
Countdown has resumed!
John Insprucker: Wayward boats are clearing the area. TVC wiggles on booster have been completed.
Rapid recycle called. Countdown is holding at T-40 seconds.
Insprucker: Team is working a delayed pressurization issue.