Ship 24 Prepared for Flight | SpaceX Boca Chica

Ship 24 had its lifting points removed and covers put over the holes in preparation for flight. Meanwhile, Booster 7 had two Raptors swapped and a Booster aft section was moved into a tent at the production site for further work.
⚡ Become a member of NASASpaceflight's channel for exclusive discord access, fast turnaround clips, and other exclusive benefits. Your support helps us continue our 24/7 coverage. Click JOIN above to get started.⚡
🎥 Video from Jack (@thejackbeyer)
✂️ Edited by Thomas (@_thomashayden).
🔍 All content copyright to NSF. Not to be used elsewhere without explicit permission from NSF.
L2 Boca Chica (more clips and photos) from BC's very early days to today.
🔗 forum.nasaspaceflight.com/ind...
(Join L2 and support NSF here: www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/)
#falconheavy #spacex #kennedyspacecenter
Timestamps:
0:00 OLM Work Platform Lowered and Raptor Platform Moved In
0:26 Raptor Cradle Lifted Onto the Raptor Platform
0:45 Raptor Platform Moved Under Booster 7
1:03 Ship 28’s Nosecone Moved to the High Bay
1:26 Raptor Moved to the Launch Site
1:39 Two Raptors Swapped on Booster 7
2:23 Photo Time!
2:55 Old Raptor Removed
3:14 New Raptor Lifted
3:30 Removed Raptors Taken to the Production Site
3:52 OLM Work Platform Brought Back In
4:42 Crane Lift Points Removed From Ship 24
6:49 Booster Aft Section Moved Into a Tent
7:22 The Rocket Garden
8:08 Ship 24
8:52 The Mega Bay and the High Bay
9:12 Scraps of Booster 8 and Ship 22
9:33 Booster 7 on the Orbital Launch Mount
10:05 The Launch Site
10:44 Preparations Continue Ahead of the 33 Engine Static Fire
12:54 Work on the New Foundations

[@NASASpaceflight]

Three things: 1) Store, cause it's cool and it helps support our channel: shop.nasaspaceflight.com/ 2) Do you think Booster 7 will still fly after its Static Fire test, or will it just be used for this major ground test data point, and they'll actually fly with the upgrades on Booster 9 first. 3) Timestamps: 0:00 OLM Work Platform Lowered and Raptor Platform Moved In 0:26 Raptor Cradle Lifted Onto the Raptor Platform 0:45 Raptor Platform Moved Under Booster 7 1:03 Ship 28’s Nosecone Moved to the High Bay 1:26 Raptor Moved to the Launch Site 1:39 Two Raptors Swapped on Booster 7 2:23 Photo Time! 2:55 Old Raptor Removed 3:14 New Raptor Lifted 3:30 Removed Raptors Taken to the Production Site 3:52 OLM Work Platform Brought Back In 4:42 Crane Lift Points Removed From Ship 24 6:49 Booster Aft Section Moved Into a Tent 7:22 The Rocket Garden 8:08 Ship 24 8:52 The Mega Bay and the High Bay 9:12 Scraps of Booster 8 and Ship 22 9:33 Booster 7 on the Orbital Launch Mount 10:05 The Launch Site 10:44 Preparations Continue Ahead of the 33 Engine Static Fire 12:54 Work on the New Foundations

[@bryanillenberg]

With s24 receiving final work, it would require either s24 or b7 to RUD for them not to launch

[@user-vo4wc2jz8g]

Yeah, lucky number 7 🤘

[@TechMasterRus]

Booster 7 will rapidly disassemble itself.

[@kolbenstvedt]

The dimensions of everything is just beyond epic

[@jaconoorland6330]

How on earth do you make a starship emoji?

[@madhabpokharel4138]

@@jaconoorland6330 these emojis come with membership. If you buy channel membership you too will get.

[@conlethbyrne4809]

Or just right.

[@thorn2808]

I love their little photo time moment :D

[@recoilrob324]

The man-lifts they use are amazing! I wouldn't be comfortable riding up so high in one of those things....more power to them!

[@brianhaygood183]

I took one up to 110ft once. Hard to remind yourself all that sway doesn't mean it is going to fall over.

[@steveandrushko75]

@@brianhaygood183 have been on one many times that sway was nerve racking

[@arkiefyler]

@@brianhaygood183 ...yet!!!

[@janetizzy6741]

@Aly Baly Riggers have a special kind of crazy.

[@Trebuchet48]

Between the lift swaying and the heavy piece hanging on a crane, removing those lugs on S24 looked all too likely to damage the tiles!

[@badrinair]

Thank you Jack, Nic and NSF team for sharing this video with us. Incredible to see the final stage coming up. The lift points gone and in a few days it will be tiled up . WOuld love to see the new ship mechanism . Thank a lot for your amazing work

[@JackABeyer]

You’re welcome!

[@GuillermoGarciaAstro]

A little suggestion, how about putting a small map on a corner to show where tha cameras are pointing? Could be useful in cases like 12:54 Love you NSF!

[@Nico-kd7lg]

I'd appreciate that too but the NSF crew have mentioned in the past they're not keen on putting out material that essentially says 'expensive remote equipment here'.

[@geekyoyd]

Painting the OLM, job for life!

[@scottgaree7667]

Same as laying concrete for SpaceX or Tesla. At Tesla you also get to dig it back up. SpaceX has impressive automation for digging up concrete.

[@christopherdaffron8115]

I think the real question is whether the launch pad is ready for launch!

[@wochnaga5503]

going to outer space, one needs to pack alot.

[@Grubbbee]

Haha. Nice and valid.

[@MC-xt6xf]

Only one way to find out. If it’s destroyed, back to the drawing board!

[@RobertPowers]

This 33 raptor test will answer any question

[@Southbeachlifestyle]

@@RobertPowers They should start with three raptors and light up the rest after it leaves the pad, to me that is the smart way to go.

[@Midropk]

I'm really looking forward to the first flight 😁😎

[@mickalloyd7638]

Certainly the best channel for SpaceX news and footage, keep it up 😀

[@mauriceholloway8913]

I am so ready to see this ship launch into space already

[@cal-native]

Watching the chopsticks function so effortlessly and smoothly makes me forget how large they actually are. Watching them install the new ones out at 39 reminded me of their gargantuan scale!😳👍

[@DbeeM]

That is one behemoth of a machine ! Crazy to watch the evolution of the “Starhopper” to this current stage! 🤯

[@drmarkintexas-400]

Thank you for sharing 🤗🇺🇲🙏💪

[@milankaperic6902]

Definitely impressive video 👏

[@eddygunawan4335]

nice ,..i can watch this with my smile 😆

[@TOMKATPEDALS]

Still waiting on a “work continues on the orbital launch mount” T-shirt

[@59seank]

It should have a date on it, like April 1, 2034. ;)

[@drtrabalhista]

It seems so real! Great job!

[@Mordred478]

I can't believe it's finally happening. I've been waiting for this since I was twelve. I'm now fifty-eight.

[@51KTM51Hurricane]

Thank you very much

[@graychev]

I can't believe we are almost at it 🙈🙈

[@XFT8]

Yeah, it's been tough but WE did it!! 🤣

[@alainblazit9504]

They paint the OLM legs BEFORE the static fire !!!

[@ChrisSeliga]

And after! That salt water in the air is no joke, even just a few days of unprotected metal will start to corrode.

[@David-yo5ws]

Could help to indicate the area's most exposed to heat. So indicate if that area needs more water spray or shielding. Soon, it might look like a horned lizard skin!

[@NullHand]

Ablative protective coating?

[@devindykstra]

I think we're gonna see at least another spin prime before the big static fire. Those new engines have never been fired while attached to a vehicle before.

[@XFT8]

What's spin prime?

[@michaeldeierhoi4096]

@@XFT8 From the site Space Exploration Stack Exchange "During the spin up test, the fuel passes through the engine systems, but is not ignited in the gas generators. Instead of hot gases, the turbine spins cold gas supplied from the outside. It spins the turbine up to operating speeds, and the pumps pump fuel at norminal pressure".

[@MarcelHuguenin]

Awesome video guys, absolutely jam packed with information!

[@M9-SD]

its so beautiful

[@gandalfgreyhame3425]

It's great to see all the jobs being created in South Texas by SpaceX

[@florianr.3858]

best video of the year

[@13orrax]

i miss the old spacex that every month would blow something up or do something cooler. now they just play with cranes all day

[@warrenjm9]

So go watch the engine test facility videos. They show plenty of engine testing and the occasional test to destruction.

[@GeoffIX]

LOL! The high speed vehicle noise as S28 nosecone heads towards the high bay! Guffaw! Snerk! X-D

[@butterflylazers2698]

nice😊

[@xxxsnoopdawgxxx1220]

RIP to fallen comrades B8 and Ship 22

[@charlieheywood2508]

This is going to be lit!!💥💥💥

[@ovalwingnut]

Thank you for allowing me to ride my EzChair to SpaceX (and back) for some GR8T infotainment. You RoCk.

[@sidemountedracing]

5:36 i repair working platforms like that on the left, i dont like being more than a couple meters off the ground even just for testing, watching those 2 work that high is 😱

[@joshnestorbaltazar1087]

Wow a didn’t know starship was that big😮

[@SiggyPony]

When they remove the lifting points, that's when the dramatic prelaunch music starts playing :D

[@robertthomas9564]

They removed the lifting hooks from ship 24 on Saturday.

[@SiggyPony]

@@robertthomas9564 I know :) But i bet it will feature an a launch compilation from spacex at some point as a important moment :D

[@JAXXNCREATED]

keeping my hopes low but its gonna be insane to see this fly when it does!

[@benperkins7434]

loved Casper the ghost moving past :0

[@dansmith3vdhrj]

Man, wish I could pop down real quick for a Boca visit to get that S24 Selfie before she launches!

[@ThexBorg]

The final countdown

[@SHADOWBLACKs650]

Good video, I can't wait to see 33 engines fire up...

[@YouNeverComeCloser]

i love nature, but new foundations are one of the oddliest satisfying things :)

[@conlethbyrne4809]

Great footage. Is it work 24/7 or just eight days a week? Super content. Slainte

[@philipmartin3075]

Lots of talented workers!

[@myprincessbhumi3507]

Best of luck

[@chriauc2976]

That is rocket science !!!

[@jimle22]

This combo just looks like it is ready to go to Orbit!

[@Markdark05]

good luck starship!

[@silverfazer8290]

come on space x i want to see the launch

[@mickeymcdoogle119]

LOL I keep hearing R2D2 in the background. But in all honesty its great to see how things are progressing!!!

[@scottymoondogjakubin4766]

One thing for certain the OLP is in for a world of hurten !

[@mustafa1name]

Feels like the most exciting time since the last flight, which was, what, a decade ago?🙂 The difference in magnitude is staggering. Audacious engineering!

[@Astromath]

What last flight??

[@RodanES]

​@Astromath SN15 conducted a Suborbital Hop on May 5th, 2021

[@asparagusstaging430]

@@RodanES To be fair, that was a completely different vehicle.

[@SusEngineSFS]

I often wish I could see these giant tanks in person

[@HTtwentyten]

This is a revolutionary step in the history of life.. yet so many people think it's a waste of money. I wonder, has technological progress throughout history been pushed by only the select few who dream, against the grain?

[@geriburrito]

Twitter is not representative of what the majority of the population thinks.

[@owensparks5013]

I believe it's been happening forever. Why build wooden ships when we could feed the poor? No new roads are necessary, and they are a waste of my taxes, but all the existing ones are essential, etc. etc. I find it all a bit depressing, to be honest.

[@ellefirogeni4624]

wonder.. is it so? TW expresses jjRousseau’s ‘general will’, where subjected the free-despite not representative of the sum of the competing interests of all.

[@NullHand]

I think the general trend was Tinkering - > That’s neat/shiny/new -> Weapon -> Must have or Ded.

[@morpheusduvall]

Taking the lifting eyes off really means launch time us rapidly approaching

[@RussTillling]

Need to tile over the spaces where the hooks were though?

[@PunmasterSTP]

Very cool stuff all around 👍

[@peterkitts8815]

I think they need to get the OLM legs ceramic coated

[@boomerdiorama]

I am curious as to the shed rate of the tiles upon re-entry. Losing some could be catastrophic. e.g. Space Shuttle Columbia.

[@pwest3732]

It's interesting the amount of corrosion of various things on the OLM. The salt air certainly is good at producing rust.

[@arlanandrews9822]

The salt corrosion in that area is as bad as anywhere else on Earth. At NAS Corpus Christi we suffered all kinds of problems from it.

[@HunterLynch333]

New foundation is definitely for new water deluge system

[@Barthhhelona]

For @NASASpaceFlight ... Do you think your cameras will be able to survive the actual launch attempt? I am not sure how far the cameras are from the OLM, but the power of 33 engines must have a large radius.

[@jimmywoody6962]

Would a spin prime be in order to test the newly installed raptors?

[@felixfischer5736]

I guess ship 25 should be out of that area for static fire test? And the new foundation is maybe just for ship and booster storage space? :D

[@hazelnut11022]

Off topic: what kind of bird is there always singing in the background at Starbase (for ex. at min 4:20 ff or 10:35 ff)? I know a lot about 🐦🐦🐦 here in Germany, but not about their American relatives🙃... so any hint is appreciated!

[@julianguffogg]

Yes it sounds lovely!

[@hazelnut11022]

@@laurin4405 thanks!

[@incargeek]

Lets hope the birds survive the explosion.

[@mrdebris1217]

So the OLM work platform has to be removed if they want to swapp raptors? Didn‘t expect that.

[@knowledgeisgood9645]

It is lifted using winches that are I think a bit too iffy to load a Raptor on. No one is allowed to stand on it while it is being lifted either.

[@Cheap_Grey_Plastic]

I love how they must have computer-modeled the *exact* coverage of the hexagonal tiles on S24. You can tell they're going for "just enough" to fully protect the vehicle, with no useless tiles/additional weight, hell not even custom half-tiles for the edges, lol.

[@999nines]

I like the fresh coat of paint, let’s you know that the day they fry the paint off is coming soon

[@strykker666]

@NASASpaceflight... what font is used on the ship numbering? Anyone know?

[@raydemos1181]

I would like to know how they are going to keep the firefly's away when they do their 33-engine spin prime test.

[@59seank]

I think that's the job FireX was designed for. FireX (or whatever it is called) is a system of nozzles that spray a mix of water and nitrogen near the bottom of the engines.

[@mariusmeyer14]

Professional OLM Painters.

[@paullangford8179]

It's not a job, it's a career!

[@oscarsorensen210]

I wish they would sell those 'scrap' heat shield tiles! Would love to stick one on the wall

[@truhartwood3170]

I call it the SpaceX Wedgie - when I think about the launch and have that anticipation creeping up, except a year ago it just felt exciting, but now it's been so long its starting to get uncomfortable. There's an ass-pickering quality to it now. This video is giving me the SpaceX Wedgie right now. There's also the "New Tesla Factory Announent" Wedgie, and the "FSD Reaching Lvl 4" and the "Model 2 Unveiling" Wedgie...

[@oldmanstumpie1061]

Thanks NSF. Does anyone know why they swap so many Raptors? A mate suspects it's faulty sensors.

[@brandonbaillie971]

Are they planning on repainting the OLM after every launch? Seems like a lot of work

[@Jbbs95]

They really need to put a flame diverter of some sort under that massive rocket

[@damienhannahmusic]

A water deluge was delivered and im sure that has been installed, or will be.

[@59seank]

Thanks Jack and Thomas. Will they need to have the HPU installed before a static fire?

[@thomashayden804]

It's probably not necessary since the engines won't gimbal during it, but they might might need to add some temporary structure to prevent the engines from flopping around (not sure if it's naturally solid or if they need the HPU to support that)

[@59seank]

@@thomashayden804 I think the engines will need to gimbal. It's hard for me to imagine a rocket without the ability to steer itself. I also believe the use the booster engines to help with stage separation. But what do I know. I'm just an armchair engineer.

[@thomashayden804]

@@59seank Oh, I agree they need gimballing for the flight, but the static fire should be fine without it

[@59seank]

@@thomashayden804 Ah! I was thinking of an actual launch. Thanks for setting me straight.

[@gastonrovere2482]

8:15 she is there.. just there... waiting to be epic.. waiting human expancion... real art

[@Southbeachlifestyle]

The bottom of the pad should have been constructed out of aluminum and steel and please don't tell me that it would be melted because most of the pad is reinforced by metal. I have said that a long time ago and they never listen to me.

[@tiredoldmechanic1791]

That appeared to be a concrete pumping truck folding up and leaving the site from :07 to :18. Did they just pour more concrete? If so, it will take some time for that to fully set before firing engines.

[@theangryintern]

Ship 24 just looks so sinister with the full heat shield tiles installed.

[@Anglerados]

Hella R2’s

[@jjojo2004]

I’ll believe it, when I see it…..🙏🙏

[@m.dewylde5287]

This kind of work reminds me of the hero builders of the early 20th century sky scrapers. Only, those workers didn't have safety harnesses or even protection helmets. Health aid on site was not even in the thoughts of anyone yet.

[@TheNickoslicK]

When the time comes, God Speed S24 🫡

[@joelnoronhaxyz]

I think the new foundation is for the water tower

[@knowledgeisgood9645]

Not "tower" but water tanks is more likely. Wait and see.

[@billakers6082]

"We will make them like sausages"- Nikita Khrushchev

[@ASAVSP]

I with this title

[@Dianne_Sancho]

What do you think will they do with the scraps of the old boosters and ships? They can't just throw that away.

[@knowledgeisgood9645]

Recycled.

[@alanmann4211]

Next time that booster leaves the pad, it won’t be on the chopsticks. 😎

[@drangus3468]

I have so little faith in those tile staying on, but I can't wait to see what happens regardless.

[@i-_-am-_-g1467]

That's the one part I hate about this system and where it will fail if they are not better than NASA. Elon's whole point for this system was rapid reusability and then he added the main component to the mix which made the Space shuttle not rapidly reusabe at about a 2 month turnaround, all those unique tiles which are not uniform have been and are going to be very very time consuming as we have all seen already in the many many times the tiles have fell off etc My guess would be they have shaved off about a week from the average shuttle turnaround time

[@RippanCSGO]

Well, thats the point of rapid development. They can simulate just as much, but until they light this candle they wont know. I would be really supriced if S24 survived reentry (will first have to reach orbit tho..) but the team will learn from the gathered data and know what areas of the ship they need to invest more time in.

[@owensparks5013]

@I-_-AM-_-G I think you're being a bit pessimistic. The aim for this year is to be able to build an entire stack every 2 months, so I'm not sure where you're getting the impression that swapping a few tiles will take 2 months? Also, every tile on the shuttle was unique, whereas the overwhelming majority of starship's are identical. 🤷‍♂️ Personally, I'm a little worried as to how one would determine automatically which tiles need to be replaced. I'd imagine a mix of optical and acoustic scanning on a turntable would spot most targets.

[@biosdilt1399]

@@i-_-am-_-g1467 it's better to build a flawed vehicle and then figure out a better solution than figuring it out on paper and having to build that even more complex thing from the start. It's SpaceX, they can change that later.

[@w.t.r83]

@@i-_-am-_-g1467 Remember that this is a prototype. Here the intention is to test hardware and get data to then examine it and proceed to new changes. The starship is still far from final, so sections like the heat shield are also prototypes. If that version shows good effectiveness on reentry, then the shield version will keep it, with improvements. And if their reliability is guaranteed, they will surely seek to automate the process of assembling the tiles later on.

[@cauleentigner]

Oh how I've missed the starship

[@widescreennavel]

Hope they got a good launch abort rocket system for that thing.

[@ahmed_3956]

i wonder how long it takes to remove and replace a raptor. seems like a pretty quick job. (not saying it’s easy)

[@alexandrdovganj1402]

👍

[@eddiebonet7056]

It really is jaring how differently SpaceX does things. Their ships are out in the open being welded, rusting by the sea air, meanwhile every competitor has a clean room environment and their workers are wearing hairnets, lol

[@iptg2673]

yet another reason starship wont work

[@thevagabundos3021]

Why are there six little heat tiles on the top side of the nose cone below the “X” logo?

[@59seank]

Antennas.

[@ronheath5724]

But I got a question for somebody. What was removed from booster 7 it's obvious something was taken off because of the area's appearance where that carpet was. Also does anybody know why they had to replace two raptors. I mean if it's something that happened in the last static fire I would have thought in the weeks since then it would have been replaced long time ago especially before the WDR. And also does anybody have any idea what the foundations are for I first thought it was going to be for the another Tower but they said in this video is not

[@knowledgeisgood9645]

They removed the hydraulic units (2) - to be replaced with the ones that were on B8 I think. The two Raptors were part of the wet dress rehearsal and sensors must have warned about some problems with them. The new foundations have no pilings under them so don't expect anything very heavy like a tower. Likely a foundation for water tanks and equipment to add pressure.

[@charliemaynard2554]

I have to say the crane mounting points on the nose of the starship don't seem like the best solution.

[@kevinkrammer8077]

There have been reports about a lifting rig that fits into the sockets the mechazilla arms use for lift. That rig would then be used by a crane instead of the "squid" being used now

[@dislikebutton8227]

How will they get the ship back to the launch site without the lifting points? They have to get it back onto the spmt right?

[@owensparks5013]

I'd guess it's still on the transport stand so the SPMT can just drive under it.

[@paullangford8179]

It's still on a transport stand.

[@peanuts2105]

I use those JLG Ultraboom's on the Airbus A380 vertical stabiliser at 107ft high. I don't like that job, it's high enough. These guys seem to go a lot higher. Bigger pair of bollocks than I have, fellas.