SpaceX Starbase Texas 4K Starship 30 New Tile Installation and Look at New Ablative Layer 6/17/24

[@tech5298]

Thank you for zooming in and focusing on the workers

[@brianbankert1411]

Wow wow wow!! This process needs to be fined tuned for sure.

[@JtM8292]

🙌 Shout out to the those workers ! .. That would suck to have to wear a mask in that heat and humidity !

[@hugolandheer7008]

They have ablative tshirts.

[@frankcherewfant6673]

Yeah, it sucks. SpaceX workers at Starbase do that everyday. And, they don’t get the credit for the success of SpaceX that’s deserved. I give Elon credit though, at least, he thanks them a lot publicly.

[@G3org3-X]

Now this is what I call quality-video. Thank you SG, for bringing us an insight of what's really going on with the Heat shield team. This was really valuable :)

[@LindaMadlala]

Glad that all them saw in real time the impact of what they are doing. Most workers never get to experience what this tiling team experienced _ your handiwork and it's fruits.

[@moodmusicytc]

Gazer is without a doubt the best videographer out there 😁

[@eddjordan2399]

amazing shots.

[@co5mic501]

Stay safe out there also, Thanks for covering this!

[@rays2506]

At the 3:27 minute mark in this video, you can see what looks like black sheet material with the pins sticking through it (upper right area behind the scaffolding). That's probably the thin sheet ablator that's being installed between the white ceramic fiber mat and the backside of the tile. In a previous video I noticed workers on the scaffolds carrying rolls of black material about 1 meter wide and maybe 25cm diameter. Sheet ablator?

[@refurbansuburban]

Amazing Video! You truly captured the new design. Thanks!

[@andym8119]

It sure looks like applying the tiles is a slow and inconsistent process, but guessing that it will get more efficient over time.

[@DCGreenZone]

A few thousand tiles here and there.... Yes indeed.

[@SlartiMarvinbartfast]

It'll only get more efficient on the production line when robots are used for the installation (I'm not have a go at the workers here either).

[@DCGreenZone]

@@SlartiMarvinbartfast There must be some engineers at SpaceX holding their tongues, who don't dare speak out.

[@williamlambdin9817]

Curious spraying of each tile, to reveal cracks or other defects I assume. And that they don't have a padded plate of some sort to place over the entire tile applying even pressure as they tap the tiles onto the pins. But if how they are doing it isn't causing too many tiles to break, it's one less thing to worry about. And, not sure where the new ablative coating is-maybe for future versions. Thanks for interesting close ups of this important work.

[@lyricbread]

Thank you! 🙏🏻

[@terriblewords4407]

I'm loving these tile videos. Keep it up!

[@pete2.0.43]

Thanks again SSG . Awesome shots 🤘😎

[@Blob_2_Ship]

Man I wish I had a heat tile

[@keithpenny1119]

Great job you'rew doing guys!....looks like they're spraying to show up any defects in the outer surface. Is that white underlayer new also? .

[@moodmusicytc]

Went back to look at the pics at the end So are they only applying the ablative the most heat sensitive areas such as the aero surfaces? I was shocked to see they're applying the new tiles over the old thermal blanketing

[@scn312]

What's the purpose of the mesh screen?

[@petercozzaglio6070]

At 23:58, imagine working in that much heat and having to wear a mask. I would just collapse.

[@frankcherewfant6673]

White mask? He’s weak. You’re weak. I’m sorry, this job is not for everyone.

[@DCGreenZone]

Imagine having to take a bathroom break with "that guy" hanging around.

[@FerociousPancake888]

Jeez they’re really cooking on this

[@albinblocker4435]

Tiles could? Use a toung an gruve locking mecaneisum

[@replica1052]

on mk1 they were slower pulling the protection film off -and they did not need to put anything back on

[@polyuniverse1908]

Wow, can’t believe how long it takes for one tile.

[@pipersall6761]

Check out how long it took to install Shuttle tiles if you think this is a long time. Lol. In 1979 it took 40 hours for one person to install one tile.

[@SlartiMarvinbartfast]

@@pipersall6761 That was because of the curing time of the cement they used to stick the tiles to the shuttle along with stress tests which many tiles failed, meaning that the process needed to be repeated. The cement was applied in two stages meaning a curing time of 30 hours.

[@pipersall6761]

@@SlartiMarvinbartfast Yes, but the point being that it took that long to do a tile as opposed to how long it takes to do a Starship tile.

[@marcomix17]

Vamos que vamos 🧡🚀

[@PeacefulCountryLife]

Hmm, the way they handle them, it almost looks like these tiles are heavier, right?

[@ct6502c]

They do seem a lot stronger than I thought, they don't have to baby them like they did with the tiles on the Space Shuttle.

[@807800]

So, not all heat shields would have the ablative layer?

[@yawjoy]

It seems so

[@knowledgeisgood9645]

I guess that ablative layer is either only to be used in specific areas or not at all on this ship. The tiles are hardly the same as the ones removed, so we could at least assume they have another consistency.

[@tonyug113]

Really confused at what theyre doing -- 17:00 for instance they are clearly adding new tiles over the fleecy underblanky --- whereas other areas we see the new ablative material ---- do they piy the fleecy back on after the undetiles --- or are some with undertile, others with fleecy?

[@yawjoy]

Its seems the ablative coat is only applied at some areas..🤔🤔🤔

[@knowledgeisgood9645]

If at all.

[@julianfp1952]

@@knowledgeisgood9645 Didn't we see it in some of stills right at the end of this video? Time index 23:23 - the black stuff with the pins poking through? It did look to be more around the flap areas so maybe SpaceX is for now only putting it in limited areas to see how it performs, and also so it doesn't take as long to get S30 ready for flight. That might mean that maybe SpaceX doesn't yet have a full fix for the outer heatshield failure around the flaps and might expect those outer tiles on S30 to fail in the same way but this time the ablative layer might stop any flaps getting destroyed. Kind of a double win, keep S30 intact all the way to splashdown and also test how the ablative layer performs when its outer tile layer is letting in plasma. Just guessing obviously!

[@knowledgeisgood9645]

@@julianfp1952 Good catch. I did not see anyone installing those. Nor anyone covering them with tiles. Curious they kept the thermal blankets in other places. I wonder if they maybe don't have enough of it yet? Will have to look out for more images.

[@watkinscopicat]

i thought the new under layer was black?? they put a white layer and netting on top of that?? so confusing

[@Cruiser_Adriatique]

I ❤ SpaceX 🙂

[@ct6502c]

I'm really excited and cautiously optimistic about Starship...but the idea of going back to fragile ceramic tiles really worries me. How is this going to be any different from the Space Shuttle?

[@io9883]

The construction speed needs to be greatly improved! The material of the insulation bricks is in urgent need of a major upgrade. Thinner, more heat-resistant materials are needed, and they can be reused more than 20 times. If the insulating bricks can only be used once, it is still far from Musk’s goal of significantly reducing costs.

[@stevenlewis7669]

Where is the ablative underlayment?

[@JtM8292]

🤦🙃 put your glasses on !

[@SlartiMarvinbartfast]

It's the black stuff.

[@knowledgeisgood9645]

I could only see the thermal blankets, the netting and the new tiles. Could not see any ablative layer in this video. It might be applied only to specific areas of the ship. We will have to wait and see. I would not be astonished if the ablative layer is only used on new ships.

[@garysarah.middnightspecial]

Try to seal around the tile for at least four or five with a heat resistant sealant for a trial to see if it would be better for the heat shield.

[@knowledgeisgood9645]

That would cause them to crack. There is a reason those tiles are made that size.

[@OurWorldbyDronein4K]

They need room around the edges for heat expansion

[@JJ-oj1ri]

What are they spraying on the tiles?

[@ZeroSpawn]

Some type of SpaceX secret sauce

[@m.c.4674]

Maybe to see if it's cracked.

[@andym8119]

Great question. It’s probably a penetrating dye that can reveal cracks or inconsistencies.

[@ukar69]

Tile shine, for that fresh from the showroom look 😂

[@Jaker788]

Given how at one point a guy sprayed a tile and turned it towards the sun to look at it, possibly. It's some kind of dark looking liquid. ​@@andym8119

[@albinblocker4435]

Stagger tha jts. Using a tile rack

[@albinblocker4435]

Go with what we call lad /with penny tiles mosaiek

[@Asterra2]

So it is just sheets of the stuff. Replacing it ought to be as simple as cutting out hexagons and putting in new hexagons of material before covering it up with a new tile.

[@tonyug113]

doesnt look that way though, what i assume is undertile is either squares, or more likely stips of material (i guess squidgy sice no exoansion gaps) -- waht i dont understand is 17:00 ... have they added that fleecy net, or not undertiling portions of the ship...... also note that the tiles seem to be mainly that black glass covering, and seem to have air gaps between the 3 ptounged pin area ...

[@DCGreenZone]

This all makes perfect sense. 😂

[@3939Chip]

I wonder if this job can be done with a Tesla Optimus robot.

[@ariadnelecoutre9453]

18.000 tiles at that speed, ... :-0

[@user-ok9lb1vt8c]

They should sell the unused ones, probably get $50+ each.

[@tobEwobEmusic]

I got one from ift-4 I'll sell u for 100k 😂

[@qwerty112311]

They could easily sell 1000 of them for $500 each. Maybe not 18K of them, but yea, they could make some cash. fulfillment and shipping would probably not be worth their time and effort though.

[@raydemos1181]

Use the tile for a starship lamp base, just find out where they dump the old tiles

[@MrGaborseres]

✌️👋🙂

[@happycamperinc.]

If 50 people are working on the ship. If one person install One tile/per minute that get you 50 tiles per minute and 3,000 Tiles per hour. So 16000 tiles will take 5 hour 20 minutes.

[@frankcherewfant6673]

Redo your equation. Make that ~5 mins. per tile on avg. for removal and pinning, from what I’m seeing in the video. It looks like a max of maybe 2 dozen workers on the ship at a time. It will take “2 weeks”. 😉

[@Lion_McLionhead]

That's brutal work. Nothing is fitting easily. They're using a template & pliers to get the pogo pins aligned. They're spraying the tiles with probably alcohol to get them to cool down & shrink. Wonder if keep the wheels rollin misses his bus driving job.

[@diogoemon]

if they worked as fast as most Japanese or Chinese workers, this would be complete a lot faster.... maybe it's the Texas heat.

[@knowledgeisgood9645]

They would have too many badly installed tiles. Remember every tile has to stay in place under all conditions. The tiles will also be tested with suction cups. All it takes is one barb on one stud not hooked in place. Yes, the heat too.

[@supernova4760]

Can you imagine 18,000 tiles ... 17,999 to go.......ugh.

[@jeffreyking530]

Black T Shirt +Black Pants+Black Hard Hat+ Standing In The Reflective Sun From The Ship And Having To Wear A Black Face Mask It's Got To Be Brutal

[@robertmiranda2444]

While SpaceX is improving thier heat shield old Boeing still trying to figure out plumbing that doesn't leak. 😂😂

[@TheMoneypresident]

Now they are wearing hard hats and harness. Bet they got a fine.

[@happycamperinc.]

Working at SpaceX .Do you also think it's going to be easy work. Nahhh😂😂. You guys are Literally working on a Mars rocket 😂. So it's all worth it.

[@markoreilly3414]

Yep, Their gunna build 1 per week !! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@djidroneskathrinstudt1893]

OMG , 🫣 a heat shields tile bleib the starship 30 building , but no space shuttle 's heat shields tile , from IFT 4 starship 29 is on the heat shield tile is destroyed by reentry. ☹️ but Elon musk say big problems for a heat shield tile in starship make. 🙄😬

[@macmcguffie1003]

I HAVE THE SOLUTION TO THE TILES . WOKE ME UP LAST NITE ,IT WILL WORK. IT'S NOT IN ANY NASAHOLA GUIDEBOOK.

[@daves9164]

Way to slow!

[@mateussilva3756]

Do you work at NASA?

[@JtM8292]

🤔 You should go help them then 🤷🤷

[@raydemos1181]

I will tile the ship for no salary, just load my pickup truck with the old, discarded tiles at the end of each day

[@Jaker788]

At NASA this would be a whole work day for 1 tile per 2 people.

[@gmarie701]

That installation process just looks so Mickey Mouse. No way those all stay on like they need to. Damn.

[@getl0st]

Yeah, it looks dodgy as F^ck...

[@atemoc]

Similar could be said for the previous iteration of tiles.