Starship's Seventh Flight Test (opens in new tab)

(spacex.com)

44 pointsgrecy1y ago14 comments

14 comments

9 comments · 5 top-level

allenrb1y ago· 2 in thread

It’s interesting that they’re doing so many tile tests. Clearly some combination of not being satisfied with what they’ve got, and wanting to find something even better. This is the kind of experimentation that’s been missing from spaceflight for way too long.

jauntywundrkind1y ago

Unsurprising to me. Instead of ablative self-destructing tiles, they are trying to make survivable heat plates. This is such an extreme job, has to endure so much the brunt of this crazy job. Experimentation is required to see what you've really got, as well as assess what else might be possible.

s1artibartfast1y ago

Exactly. The current tiles will not work and have the potential to kill reusability for the upper stage.

grecyOP1y ago· 2 in thread

Really cool they’re using starlink mass simulators this time and will deploy them.

pplante1y ago

I was surprised to read they don't expect atmospheric burnup and are targeting a splash down in the Indian Ocean. I really hope someone didn't mess up some mundane detail in their calculations.

ricardobeat1y ago

That may be an oversight in the release, how would the mock satellites survive re-entry without heat shields?

2 more replies

krunck1y ago

I'm curious to see how the Raptors fare. In previous flights the outer engine bells show major deformation from the heat and forces they experience during re-entry.

Also: This link was submitted 12 days ago and there is no way to re-post it. So this major event happening very soon just gets driven down to the bottom of the lists.

fastball1y ago

Interesting that the catch-abort on the last flight was caused by a damaged sensor on the tower. Just shows the complexities over trying to launch and immediately catch a rocket from the same structure.

Always421y ago

Neat they are re using a raptor engine from the fifth booster!

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