SpaceX Gives Vital Starship Launch Update: There Are Good Reasons!

Elon Musk hints at the date of the next Starship launch! Is February on the table? New information regarding the future of Robert’s Road! Florida-built Starship in 2024? United States' first moon landing since 1972! What’s the plan? And Orbex is working on an unusual rocket…
#SpaceX #starship #elonmusk #starbase
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Editing: John Young, Alex Potvin, Stefanie Schlang
Photography: John Cargile, John Winkopp & Stefanie Schlang
3D Animation: Voop3D
Script & Research: Eryk Gawron, Oskar Wrobel, Felix Schlang
Host: TJ Cooney
Production: Stefanie & Felix Schlang
Graphics & Media Processing: Jonathan Heuer, Felix Schlang
Credit:
⭐SpaceX
⭐NASA
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📄Links for this Episode:
www.spacex.com
www.spacex.com/starship

[@Whataboutit]

Go, get your own Starship! www.morethan3d.com What do you think? Is fast itteration the better approach to rocket production? Or is the drawing board method still a valid approach?

[@jamiedewberry6702]

Unfortunately the morethan3d website is down, Server Errors.

[@otpyrcralphpierre1742]

It depends on Money. Does it cost more to drag out the process on the drawing board? Where you could Still be a just a little bit wrong and lead to an expensive failure? Or Elon's approach to fail till you get it right? The First option is how we've always done it. Elon's option is the "new way" of doing it. Both ways are Expensive, but Elon's way saves a LOT of Time. And as we all know, Time is Money!

[@HE-pu3nt]

Felix. Your not the man you use to be.

[@frankmcgowan9457]

Rapid iteration is a development technique. It is not a production techique.

[@lyledal]

OK. Those models are flipping COOL!

[@devo1977s]

Felix has a different energy, more akin to a kid going to KSC for the first time and he gets to see the Saturn 5 rocket

[@-danR]

I'd rather Felix found a real rocket enthusiast with quirks and idiosyncrasies who could polish up into a satisfactory presenter, than a generic polished, professional presenter incapable of expressing the _life_ of the subject. I suppose the contract is signed and that's about it.

[@surgemeister01]

I was that kid at (50 years old) when I first saw the Saturn V. I knew it was big, but in person, damn.......

[@loadmastergod1961]

As a 36yo combat vet, I started giggling uncontrollably when I turned the corner into johnson space center and saw the shuttle display.

[@peters-adventure]

I am continuously amazed at the quality of WAI videos! You find the most interesting news on space missions, the engineering and science, and the progress. The developments are exciting!

[@pauljcampbell2997]

Thanks TJ. Great update!

[@jbruso123]

So, what's the date for the next flight?

[@ralfkr123]

Thank you TJ. Nice Contras to Felix. You Are more the chillen one.

[@jasonzimmerman780]

Great job, TJ. This is the first time I’ve seen you. I’m sure Felix needs a break, and you filled the spot well. I look forward to seeing you grow in this new position in front of the camera.

[@Roguescienceguy]

Asked to post? No single American can replace Felix. Period!

[@davidmacphee3549]

Perfect

[@bryanillenberg]

​@@Roguescienceguy dude. What's with the anti-American hate?

[@TexanUSMC8089]

@@Roguescienceguy Felix is American now too. LOL

[@OGDocHolliday]

Wow, Great Job Brother, Great Episode!

[@bbbenj]

Thank you.

[@wabash1581]

Loved the Short Circuit reference!

[@Mark-ib9xq]

TJ you are doing an awesome job 👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 your narration style and skill compliment the WAI brand perfectly. It gives Felix a break too when he needs it lol.

[@vmoutsop]

Love the Star Trek slingshot shot.

[@glenncrawford3665]

Love the build try and revise strategy!

[@MongoosePreservationSociety]

Love seeing TJ in his element!

[@AdamSpanier]

Name tag says Felix, not TJ.

[@Whataboutit]

we goofed 😅

[@doodocina]

tag needs to be changed

[@ErikBongers]

One of them must be AI generated.

[@yt45204]

@@Whataboutit If you want to write in proper colloquial Texan English, the idiom is "we done goofed"

[@raya.p.l5919]

The truth is near. Try to shut it out hahahahahah Lev 10 projecting thought an memory ❤all are allowed level 1

[@marcusoutdoors4999]

Rapid prototyping is definitely the way to go

[@carlostavaresjr958]

agreed

[@mr_vvs]

like in 3D printing or in prototyping rapidly?

[@Who.is.Clinton]

Great video guys.

[@skysurferuk]

Excellent presentation, T.J., thanks.

[@frankbonnerscotland]

Love the Orbex update. Thanks for the great info and another great episode.

[@rgberry69]

Great video TJ.

[@JGS123WRPTP]

Ayyy UK space got a shout out. Hopefully something good comes of it.

[@hifox21]

Thanks for covering the news. I love Felix and his personality. Many places to get space new nowadays. I’ll spend more time with content that features the people that are familiar and consistent.

[@mercerconsulting9728]

Thanks!

[@guiguicoco2740]

Thanks for the news !

[@dissaid]

Thanks Felix

[@arnoldsmith5754]

thanks fro the info

[@davidreadbikes]

An excellent summary video! It sure will be an exciting month for space launches and exploration. Thanks!

[@johnwilk4525]

TJ, you do a great job. Hopefully, we'll see more of you.

[@331SVTCobra]

The advantage of SpaceX's design/fly/redesign process is that it's faster and less expensive. The advantage of NASA's design/review-to-death/redesign process is that there will be far fewer failures in flight. Though it takes a lot longer to achieve a working vehicle, this process is necessary when other government agencies and social programs want to cut your budget and take it for themselves.

[@Coyote27981]

Its tought listening people talk about SpaceX flights and call it failures... People are so afraid of failure that they dont understand that finding limits is not failure, even if stuff breaks in the process. A so called "success" rarely provides as much useful data as a "failure".

[@mrthecodguy]

@@Coyote27981those are the same people who called falcon 9 explosions failures.. and look where we are today

[@ericmatthews8497]

@@mrthecodguy When you have a payload on top of the rocket and it explodes during a wet dress rehearsal or it explodes in flight (both have happened to Falcon 9) then yes.. it is a failure.

[@ericmatthews8497]

SpaceX will transition in to the NASA model soon once they start Wet Dress Rehearsal's in orbit... You can't send out a couple of guys to fix a propellent manifold, when your tank is orbiting the Earth.

[@rlarno]

​@@ericmatthews8497 That's just it, for SpaceX it'll be a lot cheaper to build a new version on earth and send that up, than trying to mitigate any and all possible issues on earth and find out they are still wrong. Only aspects around humans on board are done the exhaustive design and test before flight way. Cost of loss of life us unrecoverable, all the rest seems doable for SpaceX

[@rolfjacobson833]

great again. thanks

[@spacekrebel2331]

Well done Felix II

[@chiaricharlie6608]

Thanks guy, you all rock!

[@losttranslation8766]

Great job TJ 👏

[@Roguescienceguy]

He sucks

[@-danR]

@@Roguescienceguy I wouldn't go that far, but he's a generic, plain vanilla presenter who doesn't have any life in rocket stuff.

[@jswebbproductions9785]

oh good point....I think you put your finger on my issue with TJ! it could be that he really doesn't love it that much!! of course I don't know this to be true but something seems off about his energy, imho @@-danR

[@Dr.RiccoMastermind]

Hey, TJ again 🙏😎🇩🇪

[@bricktobrick252]

Thanks

[@GabrielVelasco]

I think it's fantastic that full stacking has become so routine. I remember what it big deal it was the very first time they did it and how slowly everything moved. They're approaching the speeds that would be needed for a catch and relaunch within a few hours cadence.

[@Poult100]

Fantastic that the UK is doing this with a new approach! Sounds exciting 👍

[@Cover1987]

0:24 Felix is looking different today 😅

[@jswebbproductions9785]

much better job TJ, your getting more of a natural feel to doing this....I wish you all the luck in future updates.. That being said, I miss Felix!! I'm on the fence as far as weather I like 2 announcers doing the same update. I would rather see Felix give the main starship updates consistently and create a new type of update for TJ so he can make it his own. This is not a dig at TJ, this is just me preferring Felix for starship updates.....maybe TJ can cover some other news updates of things happening around the US/World ??? I'm just thinking out loud here. But I do think this was your best update TJ....

[@randyshanks9176]

Wondering what the inside of starship looks like. Surely they have already built it with some crude crew areas. I mean I hope they aren’t just fuel tanks, ect. I’m a big fan of Musk and his ambitious plans but I would like to start seeing video from inside starship.

[@vanshanand3946]

Orbex one is super interesting

[@AlexanderTaranenko]

Hi, guys Sorry, technical question about your video. How are you making this flashing highlight effect like it happens at 05:30? Is it some plugin or editing technique? Thank you.

[@joseorta13]

Fireworks 🎇 nice

[@ryandavis4448]

Trial and error prototypes are the fastest and best way to see if something works or not. You can see different successful or faults in each launch. SpaceX is doing the right thing so far...

[@sixstringsimpleton]

I've never seen that view of ignition under ship! (3:39 in the middle)

[@damingoflave]

Love the video but 6 commercial breaks is way too excessive. Never seen this many in your videos before. Do better!

[@oliverbergen9630]

Just pay for KZbin

[@iSqually]

YaY 😁 I 💙 You TJ… would 💙 to see more of you.

[@LordDustinDeWynd]

Drawing board at beginning and for system-wide redesign, iterative for everything else

[@rotsen3123]

agree

[@user-go3be3xv1c]

Did Felix get a makeover? WOW! even the graphics have gotten better...lol Keep up the good work guys!

[@victorforzani3433]

he needs a Dentist fast and whitening since he show teeth all the time or maybe a wig...

[@Roguescienceguy]

Haha...graphics and sound are waaaaay worse

[@victorforzani3433]

Kissing ass is a bitch dont you think..

[@eriknew3584]

Drawing board is better for one off or limited and expensive things.

[@tomblandford]

Some dicey unit conversions there!

[@fathom6424]

Really love the obscure references (The Count) (#5 'disassemble) etc. Makes me smile.

[@Nathan-vt1jz]

Given the long term goals, the constant re-stacking is probably helpful for gathering data for future development.

[@simongeard4824]

Yeah, given the aim of same-day re-use, stacking and unstacking isn't the big deal it would be for other rockets. Almost everything else - Falcon 9 included - does all the assembly and payload integration away from the pad, and transports a fully-stacked vehicle to the pad in a big dramatic operation (especially for those with vertical integration and heavy SRBs). But Starship... you just put the booster on the pad, and put the ship on the booster... and if you want to undo it, you just take the ship off the booster and take the booster off the pad. No drama... it's like rearranging the furniture. You don't want to do it unnecessarily, but it's not the multi-day exercise it would be for other launchers.

[@digitalplayland]

Amazing. Felix should take more breaks.

[@faisalsvideoworld]

excited for orbex's prime rocket launch

[@riceburner95n]

I think those new sections of the tower are back ups for when they attempt a tower catch in case the booster takes out the current tower.

[@JurgMKoch]

TJ‘s presentation style is improving, doesn‘t neet to be a Felix clone, but still some steps to go for more authenticity/emotional vs. reading a script. Go for it!

[@MrRockydee07]

I like his approach to R&D, testing, safety, quality and quantity .

[@antibrevity]

3:15. When we say the "oxygen ignited", we mean that it ignited something else. Oxygen itself doesn't burn, but it causes other things to burn. The fuel and heat were already present and the oxygen dump made it worse, though we don't know the exact details as Elon's comment was frustratingly vague. Even stainless steel will burn in a high O2 environment, but high pressures and/or temperatures are required. Starship itself was in near-vacuum at the time of the mishap, but this doesn't tell us the conditions inside the enclosed engine area. It would be nice to know more about this.

[@paulhaynes8045]

"Elon's comment was frustratingly vague" - I wonder why...

[@ericblanchard5873]

Oxygen does infact burn by itself in high concentrations.

[@iancanty9875]

@@ericblanchard5873 I challenge you to direct us to information to back up your claim. You are basically claiming oxygen can ignite or oxidise itself. High concentrations of oxygen will only ignite other materials that are flammable. Oxygen itself is not inherently flammable.

[@brilliant-handle]

​@@iancanty9875 I mean, you could turn it to ozone. But it's not going to do that exothermicly by itself lol

[@chiaricharlie6608]

😂🤣😂🤯

[@AeroGraphica]

At 8:32 , 40 000 sq feet = 3716 sq meters, not 37 000 :)

[@kacyacosta]

@whataboutit I need that staff shirt. how can we make it happen?

[@larsgarmann9674]

An oversized backprinted shirt would be very nice for the WAIWare Shop!

[@kevo6242]

I have some good pictures of orbex test stand I fly over it often

[@fleamhd8979]

0:23 why (wai) is Felix Schlang's media linked and not TJ's?

[@KomradZX1989]

THAT ELON BAKERY IMAGE WAS CURSED!!! 😂

[@cmilkau]

Is the booster pressurised during stacking?

[@richardwickens2923]

"We know the launch date" literally five seconds later "Elon hints at the launch date"

[@mutepakabende3256]

😂 ikr

[@markoconnell804]

This is a faster process.

[@ZuZuu-tl6uv]

When do they launch?

[@fredturk6447]

I suggest that your cost to a production model might be similar to other development approaches by the time you destroy a heap of early prototypes. However, the fast iterative approach as demonstrated by SpaceX is good. They not only iterate on the starship design but also the production process. Once you get a workable starship you also get a system to produce more at a rapid rate and at a low cost. The prototyping process also highlights failure modes which might not have been expected without testing.

[@bstyle82]

When?

[@anthonyblacker8471]

I'm of the opinion that Elon Musk's way of iterating and working at the speed of thought instead of the old tried and trusted way of engineering and meeting and overengineering and meeting more, this build it, break it, learn from it, repeat is AMAZING and as long as we minimize the amount of human life lost (some will die) then we're doing well. Progress in this form will cost lives, it WILL cost life.. it's just part of the deal. I'm thrilled he's broken the mold with Starship!

[@smithtorreysmith]

“February is on the table!” “No launch in February? Yup” Guys…

[@jasongarcia2140]

Do you expect everything to work out perfectly just because you are trying to be patient?

[@jjthejetplane11]

Dangit I was going to make a Kerbal reference but they beat me to it

[@devinhallsworth5531]

I am so UNBELIEVABLY HYPED for a moon landing! Im 39 years old and the last moon landing happened before I was born. It is WAY PAST time to go back!

[@heestand]

TJ is the best

[@duanelawrence4311]

Nice to hear about Orbix. Are there more rocket companies in England?

[@kevo6242]

Orbex is not in England. It’s in Scotland We have skyrora here too

[@micahchapman7672]

Aye, and you can check out the bunch of satellite companies we have here too, like Clydespace and Alba orbital

[@francocastilloAR]

This is not the first time they have talked about Booster 7 to refer to Booster 9. In the previous video you can clearly see how they get names mixed up.

[@steverafferty4114]

More from TJ please, he’s much more authentic and real.

[@randyblake2006]

Where celsius is used (99% of the planet) instead of fahrenheit, a temp below zero is usually designated by saying "minus", not "negative". Just saying.

[@peter_0093]

Hello

[@obialojohn1579]

Woohoo 🚀🚀

[@pedrosura]

I have a hard time believing and accepting the explanation that because Starship was venting LOX, it failed to reach orbit and had a failure. This would point to a serious error in the modeling of the booster which is hard to believe. It seems that something is missing here. I think that the modeling and mission planning at SpaceX is a lot better than that. Something here wrong and to say if we would have payloads everything would be fine just doesnt cut it.

[@matube73]

Attach the hot staging ring to the bottom of Starship. It would double up as a vented skirt for the motors. 🤷‍♂️

[@donmiester45]

Seem to talk about everything except the launch date. FILLIBUSTER !

[@jeffbooth8369]

Thanks for cutting back on the ads!

[@fitnesstop112]

3rd launch on 4/20 would be cool

[@edbrackin]

How can you patent a tank within a tank?

[@rays2506]

My guess is that the uncrewed tanker Starships will be built in the Boca Chica Starfactory and launched there. In a few years from now, SpaceX may move those tanker launches to ocean platforms located in the Gulf of Mexico about 100 km offshore from the beach at Boca Chica. The Starfactory at KSC would build the uncrewed cargo Starships and the crewed Starships that would be used for missions to the Moon and Mars. Those Starships would be launched from new facilities at KSC, probably located North of Pads 39A/B.

[@EmersonSecondary]

Wow TJ nails it. Well done! More TJ!

[@steved2460]

Tj you are very well spoken and professional, we appreciate your effort. I believe the success of this channel is due to Felex’s enthusiastic personality, which made us all fall in love with this channel. We want you “TJ“ to continue. I suggest you give us some of your personality in your videos. It creates more of a connection and brings people back… The content is great coupled with enthusiastic personalities is what sets this channel apart. Thank you.

[@Roguescienceguy]

Blablabla!!! Asked to give a positive opinion, are we? Not even close

[@bobo1959er]

this guy is much better

[@cpm1003]

How very strange that propane, which can easily be liquified by moderate pressure at room temperature, actually has a lower freezing point than methane. I never would have guessed!

[@ayoutubechannelname]

8:27 192,000 square feet is about 17,800 square meters. 40,000 square feet is about 3,700 square meters.

[@logicalfundy]

I wonder how many people got the _Short Circuit_ reference near the beginning of the video?

[@i-love-space390]

Notably, the term "micro launcher" you are applying to the Prime launcher is for a payload capacity that is similar to the payload of the Atlas Able launcher during the beginning of the US Space Program. I think this was also the payload of the Atlas Agena to Mars in 1964 for Mariner 3 and 4. If it doesn't blow up, it will be ahead of the early Atlases.

[@grant2053]

Eyyyy wassup TJ!

[@mutepakabende3256]

Love your presentation, TJ. You rock 👏🏿

[@onwardsdown1294]

Thanks for like 10 ads in a 20 minute video jeez

[@davidmacphee3549]

Let me know if adblock works

[@JamesTyrrellOnline]

Just to point out it says Felix instead of your name at the start ;)

[@sgfx]

9:38 if construction trends at stage zero and observations from the Tesla Gigafactory in Austin have taught us anything, it's that materials like steel, cement, and asphalt are essentially transient. They're as quick to be laid down and ripped up for large structures as children are to build and demolish sandcastles. The approach is to construct based on immediate needs and then demolish and reconstruct as requirements change. At this scale, it's more cost-effective to replace materials than to modify something that's no longer necessary.