SpaceX's Starship: Major Heat Shield Upgrade Unveiled!

Ship 26 Static fired! But what was the test actually about? Starbase Survived another launch! When will it be ready for another flight? Starship is getting a massive Heat Shield update! And it's ablative?
#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: Nathan, Soren, Oskar Wrobel, Felix Schlang
LIVE Production: Astro Roadie, Jonahan Heuer
Host: Felix Schlang
Production: Stefanie & Felix Schlang
Graphics & Media Processing: Jonathan Heuer, Felix Schlang
Credit:
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📄Links for this Episode:
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[@ajctrading]

"A flame diverter ,what a novel concept"... 10 out of 10 Felix 😂

[@Whataboutit]

😄

[@kimmokannala4576]

I've been smiling like Felix for past 15min. Well worth my ~$2 support.

[@jonniiinferno9098]

watching that flame diverter in action - it seemed to me as if it is not deep enough - anybody else think that ?

[@palindromic7873]

It's as novel as everything else about this project. Not.

[@palindromic7873]

Who'd have thought?

[@crashtestrc7213]

Can ‘t wait to see Tower try to catch The booster.

[@familyvideosonline]

If the booster lands in the chopsticks on fire, like it was when it landed in the ocean, how will they put the fire out?

[@shirolee]

For reals!

[@stratolestele7611]

​@@familyvideosonline they won't. If it's not perfect, they'll sacrifice it into the ocean.

[@vzorglub1]

​@@familyvideosonline😊

[@Nuke-MarsX]

​@@familyvideosonlinethe only flammable thing on it is fuel and when it lands it has basically zero of it

[@baziwan9407]

I would say ship 26 is likely their ground tester, they are making a LOT of ground equipment modifications, they need a live rocket to plug in to everything to make sure everything is functional. They also get to use it for any new features they aren't sure of and don't want to commit a flight test to it.

[@pikaachoo3888]

Its also the best candidate as a ground tester/guinea pig. It has no heat shield that would fall off every static fire. No flaps that require maintenance. Its just a pointy cylinder with engines with the same necessary connections as orbital ships. Perfect test article to validate infrastructure upgrades and changes. I think Ship 26 would live a long life, if Ship 26 was a person, it would be some middle aged man working as a car mechanic with dark dirty and oily clothes 😂

[@kylewood2715]

Ship 26 could definitely do a lot worse than being the starship equivalent of a lifelong, NFL backup Quarterback

[@terrybailey2769]

Could 26 be the first in orbit refuel depot? That would not need a heat shield or flaps.

[@shrinecastle1121]

I think you are correct. That makes sense.

[@VistokDB]

Thats what i was thinking too.

[@GawainNYC]

A catch attempt at flight 5 will definitely be "Excitement guaranteed"!

[@familyvideosonline]

If the booster lands in the chopsticks on fire, like it was when it landed in the ocean, how will they put the fire out?

[@nocivolive]

@@familyvideosonline I'm missing something? Was confirmed that it was on fire?

[@joshuagarcia2868]

I hope it doesn't hit to tower at terminal velocity that explosion is going to be huge 😅

[@joshuagarcia2868]

​@@familyvideosonlineI mean it needs to survive the entire engine thrust anyways so I think the minor fire we saw isn't going to be that bad for the chopsticks.

[@peterwilson7532]

​@@nocivolive See @ 5:51 to 5:57 this a view from a buoy of IFT-4 landing on the water. That's a pretty big flame coming out one side. It had one engine which blew up on the way down, so maybe not a typical sight on every landing.

[@jerryodell1168]

The continue upgrade after each flight reminds me of what we were told many years ago, " Engineers don't make mistakes, they make revisions and upgrades ". Yea, they attempt to do the best they can the first time, but testing to failure under controlled environment has its benefits. (Personally, I believe the final production level should be somewhat higher than the current accepted levels. That's another story.)

[@MrGoesBoom]

Yeah, simulations and models help immensely but until you try things in the real world you won't REALLY know how things will work. Something the mainstream media and most of youtube seems to miss out on. These are all prototypes, even failure....hell especially failure, lets them know what's good and what needs work. Sadly everything is about money and succeeding before all else anymore and failure is a taboo topic. As such so is learning from mistakes/failure, and when things do fail most companies do everything they can to cover it up instead of just admitting to it, learning from it, and getting better.

[@sysbofh]

@@MrGoesBoom Remember: we only learn when we fail.

[@shaung949]

These are seriously outdated test vehicals they are flying with only the critical upgrades installed. Soon we should see the new ones which will include all the upgrades and get a true idea of how far along the starship program actually is.

[@patrickfox-roberts7528]

@@sysbofh not true

[@themysticalunicorn9754]

The booster is nearly empty when it will arrive at the catch arms of the tower, so if they get the approach right, it could do it with ease, but we will have to wait till they try it to find that out.

[@familyvideosonline]

If the booster lands in the chopsticks on fire, like it was when it landed in the ocean, how will they put the fire out?

[@themysticalunicorn9754]

@@familyvideosonline There won't be a big fire has it just likes to show off or so they say? and will burnt out quickly enough like the falcon do when they land on the droneships.

[@Whataboutit]

Absolutely! But if it does end up slipping through the arms, it would fall right onto the OLM, which would most definitely cause damage. So, excitement guaranteed!

[@sysbofh]

@@Whataboutit Unless they use a failsafe: "If rocket looses tower catching, boost engines to 100%, do a "fake launch" and ditch it on the sea." Because, You see: it will explode ONLY if breaks up on hitting ground. Sending it away is always a possibility. It wouldn't even need too much fuel: the beach is... 500 meters away? How much fuel would we need to fly just 3 km? Remember: it's an empty booster.

[@michaelmicek]

​@@familyvideosonlineif it's on fire when it's headed back to the tower they can just skip the catch attempt and send it into ocean straightaway.

[@Bryan-Hensley]

I would love to see the booster catch, but I'd think they should practice at least once more because if the booster crashes in the wetlands around the tower, the environmentalist will be filing lawsuits left and right.

[@JeremySmith-k6n]

I agree, lets not give the full-time litigators more things to hang their suits on. Plus I don't think the booster has quite the pinpoint guidance & control accuracy yet that will be required for a catch. Especially with the possibility of one or more random engines being out.

[@ReiseLukas]

If only environmentalists could file lawsuits against any large asteroid that threatens the planet. 😂

[@amann3161]

I think they need more than 1 more practice I think they need to land it back on earth before ever thinking about the mekazila catching it.

[@jounaidbeaufils]

Well… i guess they built a second tower for a reason 😂

[@andreaswiklund7197]

Maybe try to land on one of the landing ships for the other rocket.

[@OlleMattsson]

Catching the booster with the tower feels like our generation's equivalent to the Apollo 11 moon landing.

[@xxtoptankxx6873]

I’d reserve that for the HLS starship being used. But excitement no doubt!

[@just_archan]

Tbh, I doubt. Fans are and will be excited anyway, haters will hate because of reasons, and media will give it a note that will be internet equivalent of second last page in bottom corner in news paper.

[@OlleMattsson]

​@@just_archan I feel you, it's quite frustrating. But who cares about what the lesser idiots think tbh? Let's just enjoy the spectacle and let the idiots do whatever it is that idiots do.

[@Whataboutit]

There's more to come after that!

[@marccracchiolo4935]

Absolutely agree if you would have asked me ten or fifteen years ago if these things were possible I would have said maybe some day. Luckily for us Elon & company are impatient and in a hurry to get to mars. Now that I understand the economics of this can’t stress enough the importance of reusable for a system of this size and capacity

[@rays2506]

I don't think that the ablative material is in the form of hexagonal tiles. It would be a flexible ablative sheet maybe 4mm thick. Probably just cork (an excellent ablator). And it would replace that white flexible ceramic fiber blanket now installed between the backside of the tiles and the stainless steel hull. That ablative sheet will protect the hull if a tile becomes detached. In a normal entry where there are no lost tiles, the ablator would be covered by the tiles and would not be heated by the hot reentry plasma unless the tile became detached. That ablative sheet would likely be glued to the hull using an adhesive that works at liquid nitrogen temperature (these do exist).

[@mirochlebovec6586]

Well that ablative layer would make sense in a hexagonal tile form since replacing the burnt ablative hexagons would be easier than replacing a part of burnt sheet.

[@Jehty_]

Cork? You mean actual bog standard cork? How would that do anything to protect the ship? Wouldn't it just burn away in an instance?

[@brianhowe201]

​@Jehty_ it has air bubbles which are insulative and the material will char into carbon, which is a good heat sheilding material.

[@Jehty_]

@@brianhowe201 cork starts the thermal decomposition at 200 °C. The current non ablative heat shields SpaceX uses have to withstand 1300°C. I still don't see how cork could be used as a backup ablative heat shield. Just makes no sense to me.

[@brianhowe201]

@@Jehty_ I agree. The material is most likely not cork. I was just explaining how cork might be better than you'd think, but I dont think it's good enough for reentry.

[@bernventer5949]

Why does Space X not use the tiles as heat shields on the orbital mount? Is it that the blast will blow them off?

[@BCR81]

The tiles are too fragile. The exhaust and the deluge system would make them shatter

[@artembolshakov3901]

Many cheaper, heavier alternatives. Tiles are made with weight considerations in mind. No need to use rocket quality on static systems

[@Whataboutit]

We'll tackle this for you on the next episode!

[@perpetualpunster]

Ablative Heat Tiles...a decent stop-gap until the Block 2 ships with the repositioned flap hinges.

[@Whataboutit]

I have a feeling that it’s not just the flap hinges. I think that the current shield is not sufficient basically all over the place. I’ve seen tiles that went through reentry and they were half gone. It’s a non ablative tile that ablates.

[@everettwalker9141]

Shouldnt the ablative tiles be on top of the regular tiles?

[@perpetualpunster]

@@Whataboutit Interesting. It'll be very informative once they start catching the Starships to see if the tile ablation is evenly distributed or if there's a pattern where some areas have more ablation than others. Similar to aerodynamic and hydrodynamic there does seem to be a plasmadynamic at work across the surface of the ship. There may be areas that have a higher "flow" of plasma that would require the two-layer or thicker tiles approach while other areas could remain thinner/lighter. I'll look forward to watching your videos on future developments. 🙂

[@rocroc]

I think the flaps will be moved on the next flight. Musk has already said they still don't have a solution to the tile problem and what they are doing next is a stop gap measure that includes an ablative layer and thicker more robust tiles.

[@RightWingNutter]

@@rocroc Basically agreed. What would probably happen with repositioned flaps is that the base mount of the flap can be a mini-flap stub with the actual flap hinge back set from the edge of the stub. Instead of the hypersonic air pressure hitting the hinge, it would flow off the edge of the stub and impact the flap some distance away from the hinge. As for the non-articulating parts of the ship hull I think @perpetualpunster nailed it. Catching some Starships and inspecting the wear patterns will give them the data they need to design a non-ablative tile coating.

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

If it's an unmanned Starship, they can send it to Mars anytime they like, so long as they have the fuel to send it and can wait long enough for it to get there. The usual transfer window is just the most efficient time and route to use. Send one out so it loops past the orbit and has Mars catch up to it when it's dropping back sun-ward and the window opens up further. Fit a NERV and the window gets wider again.

[@drachenmarke]

H😂

[@DCGreenZone]

Oh, a flame trench, where have I heard that before. 😂

[@fredgarv79]

I'm 63 and saw the first moon landing on a blurry black and white tv set before cable and sat tv. I was so dissapointed that all we had was the space shuttle in the 70's-90's. But we did have the Viking program which as a 15 year old I watched as the first photo came down with Carl Sagan eagerly watching. Now things are really starting to move again. I hope I live long enough to see the first man on mars, or woman and I'd love to see some proof of an earth like planet surrounding another star. If I make it to 93 that gives me 30 years to see all of this happen. Thank god for space x because nasa just can't do it. they should just concentrate on things like the JWT and mars rovers and forget about giant rockets to the moon and mars. They way they do it, a mission to mars would cost about as much as the yearly defense budget

[@TheOriginalLennie]

As someone who grew up watching Star Trek etc as a kid, I was disappointed with the lack of progress after the moon landing.. (only born in '78) But at last we have a Zefram Cochrane in Elon Musk.. I sincerely hope you get to see a Mars Landing..

[@faisalsvideoworld]

yeh NASA cant do a moon and mars landing with good budget

[@SomeoneExchangeable]

My guesses: 1. Catch tower: I think it makes perfect sense for SpaceX to catch the booster and the ship on different towers for the time being - at the very least until catch works reliably enough to risk both ship, booster and launch tower all at once. 2. (Sorry, edit, sent to early): Starship 26 will be scrapped. It was a test article to test the test stand.

[@michaelmicek]

Any returning Ship apart from tankers, and possibly those as well, could and should be caught at a separate Ship catch tower. Of course, if it eventually becomes the case that 80-90% of launches are tankers, maybe never mind.

[@rickferrier3496]

SpaceX is a perfect example of the saying that there are no mistakes only lessons.

[@Whataboutit]

Yep! As long as the tendency goes up everything is on track!

[@bailesie]

The pause after the flame diverter comment 🤣😵

[@tuberroot1112]

I much appreciate the new calmer presentation. Less, over-excited shouting is good.

[@nickrobertson9533]

I love playing "where's Waldo" with the little astronaut animation!!!

[@Whataboutit]

[@Stabruder]

Im excited for fight flive! 🚀 Fliflifl? I meant flight five 😂😊✅️

[@atomicsmith]

A “catch only” tower makes a lot of sense, especially during this testing phase. A crash at the current tower would not only jeopardize the tower, but probably destroy the tank farm as well. That seems like an unacceptable risk.

[@shaung949]

Nasa probably insisted, they are rather paranoid when it comes to 39a.

[@michaelmicek]

A catch-only tower for Ship makes sense long term. There's no reason to occupy the launch tower with Ships that need to be brought to the ground for reloading.

[@Asterra2]

@@michaelmicek Precisely what I came here to say. There will be 10x more Starships in circulation than Boosters.

[@atomicsmith]

@@michaelmicek I think there’s an argument for that also

[@shaung949]

@@michaelmicek The ship won't occupy the launch tower for long, catch detank and destack two hours later you have a new ship stacked and fueled on top of the booster. Catch only tower still needs access to a tank farm to store the drained fuel and an OLM to put it on for processing so not a great deal less risk than a full up launch tower. Plus it's an extra tower and ground systems for every location.

[@antonriemens3029]

Caching the booster at flight-5 , is a must! Knowing if it will work is a major milestone for the future. I hope i'ts going to happen next flight. Thumbs-up!

[@TerraChaos]

Why they EVER thought that large vertical tanks right next to the launch tower was a good idea is baffling. The new horizontal layout makes way more sense, as well as being easier to shield it from the launch blast.

[@MoraleIsHigh]

Well, when it was only high altitude hops, it was perfectly adequate.

[@coolbionicle]

If I remember correctly, the vertical tank farm itself was made with resoursefulness in mind. It was to prove that you could use used starships to make the tanks, so it was sort of a prototype for the future tank farm in Mars. At least I think that was the original plan.

[@ChrisSchaff]

@@coolbionicle do you have a source that you can remember? That's super cool and I've never heard that before

[@coolbionicle]

@@ChrisSchaff only channels I've trusted for news and speculations of starship have been WAI and nasaspaceflight. I'm almost certain it was from here in WAI.

[@coolbionicle]

Only channels I've trusted with news and speculations of starship have been WAI, nasa space flight and spacex pink. But I'm fairly certain it was from WAI.

[@nickstrowbridge5097]

i have no doubts that elon will catch both vehicles.......eventually, but i fear trying to catch the next flight will be another mistake, like not having the water system before flight one, really really hope im proved wrong :-)

[@Bryan-Hensley]

I agree, if it would happen to crash in the wetlands, they'll be filing lawsuits left and right.

[@ReinReads]

The catch only tower in Florida is likely for initial Starship catches. Catching Starship will be much more challenging than catching boosters. It’s also possible to launch in Texas and catch Starship n Florida.

[@michaelmicek]

The only Ship that could be caught and immediately stacked would be a tanker. Other kinds need to be brought to the ground anyway, so it makes sense to have a catch tower for that indefinitely.

[@jroar123]

If SpaceX wants to launch 1 or 2 times a day, they are going to have to build their own LNG plants and O2 plants in both Florida and Texas close to the launchpads.

[@edwardsummey8843]

There is a natural gas head at the Sanchez site; Last I heard, SpaceX is in a lawsuit to determine ownership of it. If SpaceX gets control of it, they can extract and purify methane at Starbase. Liquid Oxygen (and nitrogen) is not a complex build.

[@Nuke-MarsX]

That so far in the future its not worth thinking about

[@Whataboutit]

True! The amount of trucks needed would surpass anything feasible. But we're still a bit out from that happening. The plans for Florida do include an air separation unit! LNG could be done via a pipeline.

[@jroar123]

@@Whataboutit: I am an engineer who specializes in LNG. We built a plant in Topoc AZ. that is about a quarter of a city place for scale. We could build a plant close to a Natural Gas Pipeline and accessible by pipeline (above ground). It would save SpaceX millions in the long run. It could also supply LNG by tanker down to Mexico. The plant would be a winner!

[@josez8500]

@@Whataboutit there’s an LNG plant currently being built near Starbase,TX they can probably make a deal with them for a quick pipe line

[@dudermcdudeface3674]

Recommend that a catch tower be called "Mechazilla Minus One."

[@patrickfox-roberts7528]

I suggest 'molten scrap iron'

[@RECHARGED77]

"With that out of the way, we're" ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE EDGE, AND IM ABOUT TO BREAK

[@SirCharles12357]

Best edited SpaceX channel out there. Kudos to your production team. Love your enthusiasm and great information! Thanks!

[@Whataboutit]

Thank you so much for the nice comment! The team will be happy to read it!

[@wescoleman8281]

You and the team are doing amazing work keeping us informed on SpaceX progress and construction updates and the damage assessment from the launch of IFT-4! In addition, your enthusiastic delivery is fun to watch too!

[@jac0m1n0]

"What a novel Concept" and sarcastic nod/smile. 100% AGREE! We're all SpaceX fans but this entrenched--pun intended--lunacy needs to stop. The OLM needs a substantial redesign benefited by lessons-learned. It stands as a solid FEED Study to grow from. The current design is a reuse nightmare on costs, safety, maintenance, and reliability.

[@Asterra2]

The flame trench doesn't exist because the FAA/EPA would be extremely unlikely to allow it at that location. The current design is so much easier to install that I wouldn't be surprised if future launch pads incorporate the idea, now that they have evidence that a simple deluge plate can withstand the strongest rocket ever created.

[@Yattayatta]

Like Asterra2 said above, it's likely due to regulations and such. It's like the vertical tank farm, they were terrible, and SpaceX likely would've used bullet tanks straight away, IF, they were available. They had the welding equipment to make their own vertical tanks, so they just went with that instead of waiting 2 years for bullet tanks before even starting. The downside of the SpaceX approach is that you break a lot of stuff. The upside is that you are very agile, if something doesn't work out, you can change it a lot quicker than if you had all the designs finalized and built together in perfect fashion and then it turns out something went wrong.

[@Whataboutit]

I expect the second OLM to look radically different. The water plate under the OLM is another nightmare. It works and fixed the old design but it's far from what would be simple and effective.

[@Asterra2]

@@Whataboutit SpaceX won't be permitted by the FAA/EPA to install anything substantial at OLM2's location like a diverter. Expect to see another deluge plate. Though they will probably incorporate more of the platform into the deluge since things are still getting burned in the current design.

[@DeSmith-o4b]

Star Trek Enterprise had the NX-01 Enterprise with the first Ablative Plating on its hull. This is cool.

[@simonmedina8128]

I would be very excited if they actually try to catch it in the next flight

[@reactions4u438]

They will

[@familyvideosonline]

If the booster lands in the chopsticks on fire, like it was when it landed in the ocean, how will they put the fire out?

[@Args-z7c]

@@familyvideosonline there are flame diverters right beneath.

[@mikegriffith8266]

For Spacex, impossible is only difficult.

[@Grubbbee]

Wasn't ready for the animation at 8:52 !

[@jonniiinferno9098]

no doubt - that was like watching those smart bomb's precision strikes in the gulf war and later...

[@waynemacomson6448]

Felix is becoming a real seasoned journalist.

[@jasonpanah4261]

Sn26 is probably going to be a prototype tanker to test fuel transfer from one ship to another.

[@michaelmicek]

A tanker needs a heat shield, and the ability to carry a payload, which none of the v1 Ships have done.

[@Jehty_]

​@@michaelmicekwhy would a one-time tanker need a heat shield? It would only need a heat shield if it's supposed to land, which there is no need for testing fuel transfer.

[@Nathan-vt1jz]

WAI team, you really need to fix your live stream problems. This last live stream was hard to watch and the one before it also had issues. It wasn’t just a few seconds or minutes, it was constantly having problems. I am a patrion supporter and love the work you do, but it’s really hard to not switch to a livestream that is actually working. It’s the first time I’ve not shared the recording of the launch with friends/family. I know it’s fun to go down to Raptor’s Roost, but it didn’t work. The background noise, audio issues, loss of internet connection, and power outage are a lot of hurdles to overcome. It wasn’t a single fluke issue. Please understand, my criticism is one from an avid fan who will watch the launches with WAI. Thanks for the work you do.

[@sadstrom]

Another episode of WAI is here, I was looking forward to it.

[@DonD532]

Great video Felix. Things are now moving so fast I’ll have to keep the popcorn machine turned on all the time, just in case!🍿🍿

[@kevin-l7r7p]

Be interesting if the new heats shield solution is just an interim until design changes are made to the ship to move the flaps/hinge points etc

[@peterclarke3020]

Stage zero continues to improve with each integrated flight test. It’s still an area of development, steadily becoming more robust.

[@shneiorblashnikov3646]

Love your content

[@DanTheman14_44]

11:23 Man this guy is just amazing, making us laugh while giving us important info. Hes probably wanted in every news broadcasting😂

[@ekij133]

Launch ship 26 and leave it in orbit as a target for later launches to test docking and refueling in orbit.

[@rexrider2099]

That's my guess as well.

[@jhboulder]

"Leave it in orbit" SOUNDS good, but things don't tend to just STAY in orbit. Slight perturbation due to the moon, the sun, and even Earth's oblateness, change the shape and size of the orbit. This ultimately means that the craft needs to be able to perform station keeping and orbital maintainence maneuvers. This can definitely be done with Starship, but reliability of relighting those engines in the cold of space after a long down time just isn't there yet, so maybe this will be more reasonable for layer Starships, but likely not Ship 26.

[@roadsterman]

I am so glad to see a launch pad AND a landing pad! After the spaceship has landed the mechazilla arm could just turn 90 degrees and lift up the spaceship and place it on the Launch pad on top of the booster. NO NEED TO TRY TO CATCH THE SPACESHIP WHILE IT IS LANDING and possibly destroy the mechazilla tower. A MUCH better plan. Brilliant!!

[@roadsterman]

No need to try to catch the starship while is falling. Just wait till it lands then move it. 17:57

[@rberg135]

They should cover the launch pad with the Starship tiles material.

[@surferdude4487]

I don't think that the heat tiles would stand up to the pounding from the raptor exhaust.

[@wombatillo]

​@@surferdude4487yeah, way too fragile against direct exhaust.

[@robertkerby2581]

Felix, you gave us an amazing set of updates on SpaceX's Starship for which I am so very appreciative! Well done, Felix!

[@PtrJns]

Why does SpaceX not cover some OLM parts, legs etc. in heat tiles? Original, ablative or test recipes. Can't hurt anything...

[@davidmoore8741]

Prolly because they don't want things flying around like bullets

[@mcnackel]

Can't wait for the footage of the catch attempt. Guaranteed excitement! Thanks for the amazing content Felix and crew

[@familyvideosonline]

If the booster lands in the chopsticks on fire, like it was when it landed in the ocean, how will they put the fire out?

[@JP11999]

They should use some of those ceramic tiles to protect the launch site from the rocket lol

[@panzrok8701]

Those tiles protect against heat and not physical force. They would shatter immediately and fly off.

[@mrvoyagerm]

"Only if everything checks out will they then change the boosters heading and land at the launch site - OHHHHH" Felix, you made me laugh right out loud !

[@Whataboutit]

🤘😅

[@ajctrading]

People on here saying its ok, the booster is nearly empty when its attempting landings want to think about a little thing called kinetic energy. 250 tonnes of stainless steel smashing into the launch tower or fuel depot at 500 to 1000 kph would make a nice big hole at the launch site😂

[@Whataboutit]

Even at far less speed. Engines first into the OLM is going to cause serious damage. 👌

[@MrMindYourFB]

​@@Whataboutit but imagine the footage 😉

[@cambelin1545]

13:50 "Fight Flive" had to double check I wasn't having a mental XD

[@Threadripperbourbon2024]

This was by far one of the best updates. So much info presented. Just excellent Felix & WAI team.

[@DarkTranqz]

They absolutely should test at least once or twice more before attempting the booster catch, and giving time for the second tower to be built first, just in case things go sideways, literally. That way there will be redundancy with a second launch platform, and, hopefully, will give them more data to perfect the booster landing, so it doesn't potentially cause legal issues if it crashes further away from the tower in protected land. I want to see them pull this off as much as anyone else, but, I also dont want to see further delays in any testing at all because something negative happens.

[@richardwarren449]

I second that emotion!

[@michaelmicek]

You get that bit at the end that having a goal of making a catch attempt doesn't mean they actually will attempt it, right?

[@Jehty_]

Building the second tower first in case something goes wrong does not speed up the process. Time wise it shouldn't matter if they build the second tower before or after the first one is destroyed. The time it takes to build it stays the same.

[@ianjanusz4109]

The videos are really improving since the re-brand. Great work going on at WAI!!!!

[@simbacuty944]

i passed out when he said "they plan to send their first starship to mars in 3 years" 16:30

[@johnwiggill17]

Felix, love your little blooper display at the end of the videos! Great Personalization! Always brings a Smile!

[@brewdin62]

"What a novel concept!" ... Stares at camera... as in... Well Duhhh!... Loved it Felix!.

[@gregorychaney7604]

It would be great for WAI if they started using the Cape for Starship testing!

[@RV4aviator]

Love learning Space Rocketry with Felix.! I think I could watch Flight 4 in loop for about a year...! Cheers

[@lucidmoses]

I'm glad your changing your mind on the catch only tower.

[@djohannsson8268]

There has always been an underlying question with the older tiles design being an improved Shuttle tile. The Shuttle was a Low Earth Orbit vehicle, it was never designed to enter deep space requiring speeds above 11.6 km/s. LEO only requires 7.7 km/s. Upon reentry, the ship uses the atmosphere breaking vs using fuel to do a breaking burn to slow the vehicle down from supersonic to subsonic speeds. This extra fuel would have added substantial weight to both the booster and Starship, reducing the payload capacity of Starship. After overcoming the fragility of the tiles, Space X may need to also improve its refractory capability or quality. When reentering from space(>11.6 km/s) the tiles will be subjected to a far longer duration reentry burn to reduce its speed.

[@Papershields001]

It’s amazing how long it’s taken spacex to just give in and dig a flame trench.

[@michaelmicek]

They didn't "give in". If they had given in, the other towers being built would be on flame trenches also. The test site is just for rocket static fire testing, not testing launches. They want the OLIT to be something manufactured and installable anywhere in the world (or at least any east coast) without having to move earth.

[@julianfp1952]

It's going to be so interesting to see the new launch mount and tower. Given how effective the shower head on tower one seems to have been I wonder if we will see high-pressure water cooling used in more places on the pad during lift-off to give extra protection e.g. for the top surfaces of the launch mount, the bits of the legs that take a battering, and maybe even the BQD hood. Also, if the SQD is still getting too much damage I wonder whether on the next tower it might not only swing away as it does now but at the same time have that arm not be such an open structure so that the SQD can retract into a metal box maybe with a hood a bit like the BQD. It would make the SQD arm a lot heavier but if SpaceX can design chopstick arms that can lift a booster, and they have to also move up and down the tower, then I'm sure the SpaceX engineers wouldn't have a problem designing a new SQD swing-arm that could manage the extra weight of a fully enclosed structure and hood.

[@gwyn.]

If they can reliably catch the ship or the booster it'd be the greatest aerospace engineering feat ever done

[@steveschritz1823]

I think it makes total sense to have one tower for launching, and one for catching. It’s safer and they can customize each one for its specific purpose. And since they have short arms on the tower they built in the Cape, that’s probably the plan

[@zlozlozlo]

Congratulations, you got "fight flive" past the editors.

[@johnhanson6039]

Adding clarity lower material is ablative, but is blanket like material that is wrapped onto ship, quickly NOT separate tiles, and any damaged area can be cut out and replaced quickly. As I said it replaces the white stuff they have now

[@franklinparent5574]

Ship 26 could be used for fuel storage in outer space. since it doesn't have heat shields, it could be that they launch it into space. It would stay there, fill it with fuel, and when they send crew missions to the Moon, it could be used for refueling.

[@wayne.edward.clarke]

They should cover every part of the launch system that's vulnerable to rocket exhaust with their hexagonal heat shield tiles.

[@jjthejetplane11]

I noticed that it seemed the flaps melted due to the gasses getting into the gaps of the hinges. I think they should try adding kevlar fabric head shielding in the hinge joints (like the fabric used in inflatable head sheilds)

[@kevinharmata4084]

3:46 OMG look at the scale of the chopstick arms.....sweet

[@rafaiaa13]

Amazing content as always! Love your channel, Felix.

[@Whataboutit]

Thank you very much! ❤️

[@christophermaguire9206]

Great episode, Felix, you rock

[@frankkolmann4801]

There is only one thing that can protect the launch tower from the worlds biggest most powerful gas cutting torch, that is the starship exhaust. The heat shield tiles, but built much larger for flat surfaces. The only metal that can withstand that gas torch exhaust is Tungsten, and then only for a short while. Otherwise kiss landing at the tower goodbye, you need an undamaged tower for landing. Also kiss quick turnaround goodbye, you need an undamaged tower for quick turnaround....

[@johngay8416]

Ship 26 would be perfect for an in-orbit fuel station. Especially if they added more tank storage in the payload area. In permanent orbit, it doesn’t need flaps or heat shield tiles.

[@R1Armadill0]

Love seeing Thingamajig spelled out! Such a fun word! Can't wait to see this "catch"!

[@aarondyer.pianist]

I think ship 26 is exactly what it looks like: a spare set of rockets to stand in for testing, and which needs no further dressing up or other preparation.

[@odysseusrex5908]

If an unmanned Starship goes to Mars anytime in the next ten years, I will be delightfully surprised.

[@bwalle]

Excellent Report on the QuickDisconect!

[@MRMIKE276]

I noticed something, I used to think the booster was wagging its bottom end (at 5:50) during the landing sequence but what's really happening is a lensing effect from water on the clear housing that covers the camera.

[@etherealstars5766]

A catch tower makes sense. They can practice many catches without needing to build the launch infrastructure. The first 4-5 catches can't be entirely trusted to be reliable so having that test redundancy is great.

[@jtechboy]

How about Ship 26 will become a "fuel transfer test" ship? Then.. it doesn't come back to earth...just spins around the earth and moon..... :)

[@Asterra2]

My suggestion at this point is that we don't need previews at the beginning of updates. That's the role the first 20 seconds of the video is already filling.

[@FurianDeLurker]

So now I want to see #26 star in its own version of Space Invaders. Thanks guys.

[@casnimot]

It's an amazingly simple idea, sending Starships to Mars ASAP to ensure you can land 'em safely. And once you do, you have habitat, hardware and storage options right there. Just pick the right spot and start landing advance Starship freight drops.

[@spacehabitats]

I think catch only towers make sense, not just in the short run but in the long run as well. I know Musk has a dream of rapid reuseability that includes catching and launching starship with a minimum turnaround time on the same tower. But you can have the same rate of launches using catch only and launch only towers. You just need more starships. As soon as one starship launches, you can have one in a staging area ready to be lifted into launch position. Meanwhile, another starship could be landing on a catch only tower while another is being moved to the staging area. It makes no sense to risk a very expensive, complex and difficult to replace launch tower during the catching procedure.

[@ads06.1]

Would like to thank you for your amazing channel! I absolutely love every report and breakdown that you give.

[@Whataboutit]

❤️Thank you!

[@ads06.1]

@@Whataboutit You're most welcome!

[@williamstucke5445]

A Catch-Only Tower is pretty obvious. It will be much simpler and cheaper, with no OLM, BQD or Ship Quick Connect needed. It also doesn't need all the plumbing for fuel. Just a Tower, a concrete pad, and a Water Deluge system. And if the Ship or Booster catch fails, there's so much less to repair.

[@OurWorldbyDronein4K]

I really think they should be building a massive flame trench for these launches. I know they will be dealing with water during construction but it’s still technically possible. This would solve so many issues for them post launch

[@stephenknox2346]

I think the heat tiles are hard to spin as a good idea as opposed to a concession to engineering reality. Necessary sure, but it was precisely what they had been trying to avoid to allow truly rapid reuse.

[@JeanJacquesNantel]

There is a solution for the Starship heat shield problem. (The sheer quantity of ceramic tiles increases tremendously the probability that some of them will fail and cause a catastrophic accident). The solution would be to drastically reduce the temperature of the tiles during reentry by increasing the time necessary to dissipate the heat generated (two hours?). It could be done by unrolling cables behind the Starship during reentry. That would increase the drag on the vehicle, would reduce its speed and the temperature of the tiles.

[@jony3775]

I’m guessing Ship 26 might be launched as a test for future orbital fuel depots

[@nightwolf8215]

I can't wait for "fight flive" either lol. Just joshing you brother, love the channel!

[@Fatpumpumlovah2]

Believe 26 will be the first Tanker to stay up in space for refuel testing.

[@PaulJR-hp2qm]

What a great update and summary 😎

[@VinamraKumar-vi8wy]

last 5 sec is always awesome 😎

[@svenbeowulfsson641]

Felix, danke für dieses spannende Video. Gruß, Sven