SpaceX Performs Starship Wet Dress Rehearsal

SpaceX is conducting a full wet dress rehearsal of Starship 24 and Super Heavy Booster 7 at the orbital launch mount. The objective of the test is to practice fully loading a Starship and Super Heavy with propellant as if it were launch day.
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[@vistabuntuu]

5:33:55 Booster methane load begins 5:36:00 Booster oxygen load begins 6:00:51 Starship propellant load begins 6:25:45 & 6:40:15 Tim Dodd (EverydayAstronaut) 6:55:29 Starship propellant load done 7:00:06 Full stack propellant load done!

[@TheApc95uk]

Timestamp people are the best kind of people

[@vistabuntuu]

@@TheApc95uk thanks! I've relied on them before. When I saw none here, I realized the time had come for me to return the favor and fill this role 😊

[@jayogden2701]

Watching your podcast reminds me of the early 1960's when my family would gather in Cocobeach, Florida at my uncle's home to watch the rockets in the early days of space exploration. My uncle was employed by NASA during this time in the history of space exploration. At 70+ years in my life, wonderful to remember those early days and how wonderful it is to watch our return to space now. Aloha, Jay Ogden

[@aerorocketdog6249]

7:14:17 was the best part of the entire stream, CMM

[@rocketman1969]

LOL hilarious joke

[@Justanothertrailerparkboy]

Been watching ever since star hopper.. amazing achievements have been made in the time until now.

[@britboimike]

Ian's voice coverage is top notch, clear calm and professional. He should be doing more commentary elsewhere.

[@SteveInPalmSprings]

I agree. For a young man, he really has it nailed down.

[@mgsls]

[@hydrorix1]

Good to see the OLM can handle the weight of a fully fueled Starship

[@mrandersen6872]

We already knew it could from the test they did a couple weeks ago.

[@scottarnell8764]

Its amazing how man made structures can support the amount weight that they were designed and engineered to endure from the beginning?.

[@tankourito5419]

If you had any doubt that it could do a very basic thing then I'm concerned for the future.

[@ibrahimsyahzairussalam]

Yes! So much engineering has been done there. OLT was doing its job very well by holding 10+ million pounds 🔥

[@jimklintrup669]

Love the " That can be an indicator of something " when the Methan tank started venting.

[@zapfanzapfan]

Frosty the black finned Starship.... 🙂

[@mickpower9208]

Cannot wait to see this unit hit the skies

[@beesod6412]

absolutely worth the wait, NSF only keeps getting better. I look forward to all the amazing coverage this year!

[@corrinastanley125]

Brilliant marathon stream by the team, thanks for helping us watch history as it happens.

[@themiltonguy4530]

coverage? AWESOME! thanks.

[@IsMaski]

Incredible to see the full WDR.. Great work by the SpaceX team. Next up, static fire

[@noel7777noel]

Bankrupting our economy by no paying customers going to Mars. And tax grants to cars for the wealthy. How about you build working-class homes to paying customers with a job. It may not be cool or glamorous to the narcissists, but owning a home is cool and glamorous to the working-class. And no grants needed, because they have a job to pay for it.

[@cas3157]

Thank you for the marathon cover of the first WDR !

[@gamingnerdgirlz]

6:57:05 Fully Fuels Star Ship Tower Time Stamp Here.

[@mr.roboto9629]

You rocks!!! Thanks!

[@DA-nq9lp]

You da real MVP.

[@LinusWelt]

Vielen Dank!

[@marcosgouveia9495]

Os episódios dos Thunderbirds em 2023, estão bem melhores que os antigos dos anos 60, parabéns Disney Ellon.

[@tim64872]

The biggest wait of my life❤

[@macsenplays]

Good to see the Super Heavy nice and frosty, with Starship on top of it nice and frosty. Hopefully we will soon see all the engines roar to life.

[@NateBaxley]

It's surprising to me how MUCH of the ship is NOT fuel, at least as indicated by the frost lines, say around 7:03:00 or so. You can't even see the line between the two fuel tanks.

[@perigeehypertrophy5916]

It’s wild how huge the payload bay is

[@garymyambo4176]

Record breaker: Tallest rocket and heaviest fully fueled rocket 😎

[@jamescobban857]

A Starship WDR is not just cool. It is cryogenic!

[@alessandromoretti611]

Are you 10?

[@asparagusstaging430]

@@alessandromoretti611 Are you 9?

[@GEORGE-oq1gv]

good job

[@davidrediger6407]

Whoot, Whoot!

[@bartmannn6717]

Starship definitely looks like an orca, fueled up.

[@Papershields001]

Looks like snow in Texas!

[@Alex-fh2th]

Молодцы....!!!

[@c.a.g.3130]

I don't understand the fill-up procedure. Why isn't it leaking like a sieve?

[@iamaduckquack]

Next step: faster loading!

[@its_nihar]

This is very fast loading dude. We never saw tank farm goes like this and this is fabulous

[@iamaduckquack]

@@its_nihar It is fast but needs to be faster to he done in the 30 minutes. Unless musk is talking out his backside about that

[@_mikolaj_]

@@iamaduckquack musk often talks random stuff tbh... And if you were to do prop loading at such scale in just 30 minutes i bet you'd be creating quite a lot of stress on the material, and loosing plenty of fuel due to boiloff. I mean, youd be dumping thousands of cryogenic fluids into steel tanks at room temperature. Reason why large rockets, and rockets in general take long is beacuse first you want to gently chill the tanks to cryogenic temperatures by loading fuel slowly, before fast fill.

[@markbrown8584]

qd"s retract after engine start so no disconnect

[@evrydayamerican]

At 7hrs 13sec when the water came on that's the T 0 mark like it was taking off.

[@ridethetalk]

Could the third tower that is being prepared at the Cape be used on the oil platforms (Phobos and Deimos) in order to protect other infrastructure while they're perfecting the catch protocols???

[@markhuebner7580]

Did they use N2 or Merhane/LOX?

[@billg3645]

Not working with liquid hydrogen seems as though it would have to be a big differentiator in the amazing first try success of this WDR.

[@_mikolaj_]

To be fair we have no idea if it was succesful or not, but we should be able to tell in coming days based on road closures and activities. Also keep in mind, they were doing such tests for over a year just never went to full WDR, while with SLS, welp, yeah. It was truly first time bath.

[@deangriffin9095]

When will the first fully stacked launch happen? I need to make sure i get the day off work #BEERSANDROCKETS

[@randreas69]

Where's the time point where they joke about that smaller Starship wanting to watch? It's far off at a distance but it got them to chuckle.

[@edwardrichard5665]

Why don’t they take it for a spin around the block now that it’s fueled up?

[@Belta420]

When's the planned launch date

[@Prestonelmer]

Will the tanks be able to withstand this load under g-force loads?

[@williamgreene4834]

The tanks are pressurized when fueled and launched. This makes them very strong. If you shake up a pop can you can stand on it. Without pressure, not so much. :)

[@Prestonelmer]

@@williamgreene4834 ah. That makes total sense. Thank you.

[@amarkiii]

Are there any environmental constraints on venting that much methane?

[@oksooner405]

Still playing 3 Card Charlie with stacking and unstacking 😬

[@user-nd6hq6fp3c]

😳

[@smacksman1]

Doesn't seem to be much frosting from the ship LOX tank. Maybe a part fill?

[@richardmillhousenixon]

I don't know if the LOX tank goes all the way up to the tip on this iteration because in the final iteration with either crew or a payload fairing the tanks will stop right around when the ship starts tapering down

[@Lundmark54]

There where shrinkage... the whole rocket shrank a bit, that's the panic vent? Look at Nose compared to tower in the beginning vs. the end.

[@popy313]

Comparing the same camera shots from the start and at the end there wast much just different camera angles

[@popy313]

But it is steal so some shrinkage is normal

[@smkj9799]

Bird!

[@rolflandale2565]

It will be impressive of the OLT bare that *Inverted Megalithic Light Saber Aura* of the *Beast* ♨️. Or navigate up of fins on a separate vessel. To bad no adjacent ally falcon/rockets. For Beast to make it a one round trip.

[@jwingit]

can you imagine if a spark had ignited all that vented methane!!!!???

[@iamaduckquack]

Poof

[@JackABeyer]

Yes. Yes I can.

[@maxv9464]

Actually, it seems likely that most of the methane is rerouted to the tank farm, and the oxygen is most of the venting. That way there's much less risk of an explosive mixture. CSI starbase has some great discussion of the subject.

[@iamaduckquack]

@@maxv9464 The venting came from the methane tank so it was methane, lots of it.

[@maxv9464]

@@iamaduckquack You sure? Most of it looked like it was coming off the OLM to me when there was venting around that region.

[@ozchalupkova4688]

I wonder, why they dont start first just the booster... if somethings goes wrong both vehicles are dust... and the booster has a very high probability of rapid unplanned deconstruction...

[@leosieczka3724]

Did anyone else just fast forward through most of this?

[@mbjac]

So we all know there hasn't been a launch in a few years, and I know it's a test program, but is there a good chance that this thing is just going to smash to bits?

[@norinokia2307]

With rockets, especially new ones, there's always a good chance for that. Rockets are still in there 1 to hundreds chances of loss of vehicle. Falcon 9 + Dragon capsule currently shines with 1 in 500 chance for loss of entire crew. But even tho a Super Heavy booster never flew, chances are high it will at least not explode near the pad, which is the best worst thing that could happen during the first test. But the problem is not the fact they didn't launch in 2 years. They still tested, simulated, optimized a lot in that time. Raptor was fired 1,000 times in the last 10 months or so, tanks were tested, etc.

[@mbjac]

@@norinokia2307 I wonder when the launch is soft slated for

[@space_cosmos178]

hello greetings friend

[@MrGeneralScar]

7:50:04 I believe it will float just like the shuttle's solid rocket boosters did. Remember there is 1000 cubic meters of air volume in the payload bay. Plus whatever volume in the O2 tank that is left from the Autogenous pressurisation. I think that provideing the tank and payload bay stays intact and has no leaks, the ship will easily float. Same for the booster with the O2 tank. If methane is lighter than water, then that will also assist with floating after landing.

[@albertvanderheiden7419]

Hope so, the engines are not sealed of ,maybe seawater coming via the engines nozzels

[@MrGeneralScar]

@@albertvanderheiden7419 Yeah but due to autogenous pressurisation the tanks will still be higher pressure than the sea, I dont know how many bar of pressure they have in the tanks for flight, but at 70m below the surface the pressure is something like 4.6ish maybe 5 bar. So if the tanks press for flight are at around 5 bar, they will likely not allow any water in. I would also think that SpaceX would want to seal off any way for sea water to get into the tanks or the turbo pumps so they can assess the engines after a full flight and not have sea water contamination in there. Sounds to me that on landing while the engines are still going, making sure the internal tank pressure is higher will be the best route. That said, with this wet dress rehersal, we say some 2000 tonnes of LOX in the tank, and it all didnt come flying out the engine nozzles until they wanted a spin prime. So it cant be completely open. There has to be a valve somewhere.

[@Grubbbee]

Did they use nitrogen? Or was this actually lox/methane?

[@bongi6811]

This was a tanking test with the actual propellants, so oxygen and methane

[@Footprints1111]

3:03 🦋🌈✨

[@FrenziedMew]

checked the link for plushy but no spot to put in email :(

[@edmondthompson1523]

scientifically speaking, I think it weighs a jillion tons fully fueled.

[@williamgreene4834]

Precisely.

[@Creadeyh]

More plushies more better !

[@davidlang4442]

Something blew a hole in the side...

[@Astromath]

That's a vent preventing overpressure build-up

[@norinokia2307]

@@Astromath Saw many people by now saying something went wrong, like an overpressure event. I don't see how an overpressure leak of that size can rapidly start and stop again 2-3 times. This was definitely something controlled. Everyday Astronaut said on Twitter it could have been the vent of gas in the top of the tanks to fill it with liquid. At one point near top-off that would likely be needed.

[@williamjessemayfieldsr5471]

What are They Trying to accomplish today?

[@derekanderson2645]

tests for groud equipment, official weight test of filly loaded ship and booster on OLM (orbiltal launch mount) and lastly overall practice of loading propellant before the actual launch.

[@ztechrepairs]

I asked myself that everyday. Lol

[@jacobtrepanier1955]

I'm curious about a starship abort system for astronauts. Does an abort system exist?

[@_mikolaj_]

Atm, no. But you can launch them on dragon and dock in orbit in theory

[@exkinky]

How are they going to catch the booster and the starship with only one tower?

[@kemble9900]

The booster will go up and come down again to the tower within I'd assume about 10 mins from takeoff, the starship however will realistically do at least on orbit of earth before coming back so ~90 minute window. So once the booster is caught it will swing round and place it out of the way (probably on the OLM) and then swing back round ready to catch the starship.

[@jamescobban857]

SpaceX still intends to build a second tower. From the aerial views you can see where the base will be poured. The tower segments currently being assembled at Roberts Road near KSC are presumably for Boca Chica because there are no preparation yet at LC40 or any other location in FLA.

[@spitfire2885]

Nerds u got that right

[@highpointsights]

Having seen the Atlantis shuttle inside the museum there in Florida, this is an amazing piece of engineering but it does NOT exceed the Atlantis. The distance from Saturn5 technologically to the Atlantis shuttle is so far exceeds the distance say from Falcon 9 to the Starship that I have to vote for Atlantis and her family to take home the GOAT prize!! Just developing the heat shield tiles was an unspeakable accomplishment!!!

[@Papershields001]

I saw them fly Discovery into Dulles, it was all burned up and badass looking…all I could think was, “that’s a damn spaceship. Not a can with a pop top, a full damn spaceship.”

[@CC-iq2pe]

Hopefully the chopsticks move faster than what we see here. This might be an issue when performing Starship’s return to the Mechazilla.

[@dannymcmahon8887]

Me... Me Mr. .

[@MattattackW]

Too bad the concrete will be annihilated in the 33 Eng static fire…

[@Mr_Battlefield]

There wasn't a Static Fire sadly today. Nothing was lit this time. Just a lot of frost watching. 🥶

[@maxv9464]

That is the definition of WDR. Rest assured, SFs soon.

[@josecosta3334]

no explosion no fun

[@Ingo3112]

idiot

[@michaeljohn5175]

Those predicting May for the first launch have what's called classic SpaceX battered fan-boy syndrome.

[@OneBiasedOpinion]

Those calling SpaceX fans derogatory names are just compensating for lack of fulfillment elsewhere in their lives.

[@Astromath]

March is actually very likely as long as the 33 SF works out by the end of February

[@michaeljohn5175]

Didn't mean to be offensive. I've just seen this syndrome before in sports. If your team has been a disappointment for awhile, it just eventually feels better to constantly set low expectations even when they deserve better.

[@OneBiasedOpinion]

@@michaeljohn5175 I get that, but SpaceX has been the exact opposite of a “disappointment” as far as I can tell. Not sure why you thought anyone following them would feel that way.

[@michaeljohn5175]

@@OneBiasedOpinion Let's be real. We all initially expected this launch summer before last. To say there is no disappointment just proves my point. Battered fan-boy syndrome. All is great!

[@kiwishamoo6494]

Whats the greenhouse effect of several thousand tons of wasted methane?

[@maxv9464]

It's not re-emitted. The vast majority is rerouted and reclaimed to the tank farm. So fortunately, not all that much.

[@paulbrunton877]

The methane is a natural gas that is abundant on earth and trapped many hundreds of feet underground, even the earth farts just like humans and animals.

[@williamgreene4834]

There's not even several thousand tons on site. About 1500 tons there and mostly reclaimed so Max V is correct.

[@stratolestele7611]

The effect? The end of the world as we know it.

[@Astromath]

Firstly, the vast majority of the fuel was pumped back into the fuel farm And secondly, the total amount of methane in the atmosphere is about -5 million billion tons- (edit) 5.3 billion tons; so, a few thousand tons don't have such a big impact. But it still wouldn't be wise to just vent it out into the atmosphere

[@mhsj]

Having orders come up all the time is annoying and below this channel. Are we going to have buy buy all theme. It is a form of click bait. Please return to some integrity. Kill the orders showing please!!!

[@iamaduckquack]

Fans who want to support the channel deserve some recognition. Shush

[@SyntheticSpy]

@@accountnamewithheld every person who shows up on the bottom is offering support. The one member complaining is massively outnumbered. Besides, I assume Michael likes the star next to his name. So I don’t think it’s fair for him to ask that other supporters don’t get to have their representation while he sits here with his

[@iamaduckquack]

@@accountnamewithheld He has a shiny little star next to his name to indicate he supports the channel. The people who purchase merch have their names pop up on the live stream deserve that just as much. Don't defend the troll.

[@noggodtv]

At what time did it happen?

[@JoseCarvalhojpgc]

5:34:00

[@Mr_Battlefield]

There wasn't a Static Fire sadly today. Nothing was lit this time. Just a lot of frost watching. 🥶

[@gamingnerdgirlz]

@@JoseCarvalhojpgc thank you.

[@brett4264]

Thank you very much Jose!

[@victorforzani3433]

starship has nothing to do with Nasa they are going to use their area to launch but Nasa have nothing to do with designing or electronic or nothing for the matter.. so why not start with the starship symbol as well..