SpaceX's shows new Starship Heat Tiles! And they're red!

[@Whataboutit]

What do you think? Which flight will be the first to take place at the new pad? Number 8? Number 9? Give me your best guess in the comments below! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 🎄

[@DreaMeRHoLic]

This is a complex question. I think the main reason for the pad is the block3 version on starship that is even higher and couldnt start from the old pad, because it's to high to stack? We know that the next flight will end up in the indian ocean and gets filmed with the special cameras. I wouldnt wonder if the flight after the next one also gets filmed, but that one with the new tiles AND THEN the they maybe go for the starship catch? I would've thought it's they try it after the next flight, but i think they will test the new heatshield before the catch, to make sure the ship doesnt break apart while the arms grab it. I also think that we will see 2 booster catches first and then, then they're sure, they will catch the booster with the new tower and the old tower will try to catch starship, because if the starship catch fails losing the old tower hurts a lot less than losing the new, taller tower for block3

[@jacobsteele2929]

I think they have control and accuracy of the ship down, so, as soon as they are happy with the heat shield, I think they will try to land a ship.

[@jenohathazi920]

Merry Christmas dear WAI

[@PLANET_ODREDS]

Where do you get these rocket models behind you? They are pretty cool…

[@rickg2520]

I think it will coincide with the refueling test so that two starships can launch and can land fairly close to one another (timewise). So looking late Spring early summer though its possible they would test it with a launch by early to mid spring.

[@WilliamAshleyOnline]

Red makes it go faster.

[@qdaniele97]

Let's hope they won't decide to paint it yellow then 😅

[@737smartin]

Christmas color scheme.

[@Philanthropist.]

WH40K reference 😌

[@Mark-hb5zf]

But more prone to speeding tickets.

[@fridaycaliforniaa236]

Given the fact it has to get rid of speed by releasing heat, it would be better if it made it slower, actually XD

[@JasonHuebel]

I'm just one dude on the Internet and nobody special, but I just wanted to say today you earned my trust to change the bell to "All" on your videos. There are so many AI-generated videos these days. Seeing a real-life person in the video has become a minimum requirement.

[@JasonHuebel]

Oh, and I just joined as a member.

[@manieviljoen90]

When I encounter an AI voice or cannot see the presenter, I downvote immediately. 😊 These people just waste my time, I like humans😂😂

[@sohama-z2j]

Plottwist: he is also AI generated

[@johnstewart579]

@@sohama-z2j Incorrect

[@MrMattuse]

So, Felix is the German, bad acting version of the T-1000? 99.9999% chance that’s not true. The .0001% chance he is? Scary.. hahahaha

[@ryer9646]

Felix... The red tiles are just meant to hold down the felt while the ones nearby get installed, and are meant to be temporary and easily removable. They are already gone and have been for days lol.

[@Whataboutit]

On Christmas Eve! I can always count on you. Merry Christmas to you too.

[@ryer9646]

@Whataboutit Happy holidays, Felix. Good to hear from you again.

[@timojissink4715]

@@ryer9646 ah come on, is this true? I was already imagining how amazing it would look 😂

[@rays2506]

The Starship tiles do not absorb the reentry heat. They block that heat from propagating from the hot side of the tile to the cold side that's adjacent to the stainless steel hull of Starship. That's the function of the very thin glass/ceramic fibers in the white part of those tiles. By far the greatest component of the heat input to those tiles is radiant heat from the super-hot plasma that surrounds Starship during the reentry. The peak wavelength of that radiant heat is in the 1 to 2 micron region of the infrared spectrum. The diameter of those glass/ceramic fibers is about 1.5 microns. That tunes the fiber matrix that forms the tile to strongly backscatter that infrared spectrum away from the cold side of the tile. The backscattered radiation is about 500 times larger than the amount of radiant heat absorbed by those thin fibers. The white part of those Starship tiles has very low heat capacity (i.e. cannot absorb much heat) since that part of the tile is about 95% empty space. Side note: My lab spent about 3 years (1969-71) designing and building similar tiles with dozens of different materials and processes during the conceptual design phase of the Space Shuttle project.

[@TheHatManCole]

I’m so happy to hear a mention of Rocket Lab! I say this all the time but RL is a much more legitimate company than Blue Origin and they don’t get half the attention they deserve. By the time New Glenn becomes feasible it will have been entirely outpaced by not just Starship but RLs upcoming Neutron rocket. We need innovation not procrastination, and BO often gets the two mixed up.

[@Whataboutit]

I looked into my statistics yesterday. I talked about double the amount about RL compared to BO. Happy to see them succeed! ❤️❤️❤️

[@DCGreenZone]

Seems like RL doesn't want to waste too many "iterations" efficiency matters.

[@rayjay848]

The advantage of small and agile is proving itself. Being run by engineers doesn’t hurt either.

[@DCGreenZone]

@rayjay848 I've watched the evolution of the "Starship" from day 1 and I am not impressed. They should have left Elon out of the decision making.

[@dianapennepacker6854]

Rocket Lab. Astra Mechanica. An other one that makes weapons I think. Nah the rocket that blows it out are those working on a RDRE full flow engine, with an aero spike, and that uses Tesla valves! Blows even Raptor 3 rockets out of the water. Oh some of those parts are 3d printed too. NASA, the USAF, and some others are working on that. Forgot the company name.

[@clavo3352]

Merry Christmas Felix and crew. Thanks!

[@Delerium1]

Put me in front of the heat shield, I’ll protect it 😮‍💨

[@ganymede6535]

I believe in you good sir

[@paulmichaelfreedman8334]

Once.

[@fakestory1753]

​@@paulmichaelfreedman8334well, at least it is renewable!

[@billcarriveau]

For a shorter time than you reading this.😂

[@Jose-wr1xn]

a one way journey

[@doorknockerpingu6932]

Thanks for your great coverage

[@johnbazaar8440]

While the tiles get hot, they don’t absorb that much heat. The function of tiles isn’t to absorb heat, it’s to resist the transfer of heat to the rocket’s skin. It’s a barrier between the rocket’s skin and the hot plasma generated by atmospheric/aerodynamic compression. A minor technical comment on an otherwise good video. Merry Christmas to all.

[@StillAliveAndKicking_]

Good point.

[@richardpark3054]

Yes. They absorb almost no heat, they are just very good insulation. The fact that you can pick one up on the edges or corners while the interior is red-hot shows that they transfer heat very poorly.

[@stratolestele7611]

I think Felix's comment might have been more a language error as the concept could be somewhat nuanced. Hard to say, but I remember having those challenges when I took Spanish in grade school and college.

[@-danR]

They don't so much absorb heat, but they definitely absorb IR radiation, emitted from the standoff shock/plasma; the thing is that they absorb that thermal radiation and _re-radiate_ it, back the way it came. If it weren't for their capacity to withstand extremely high temperatures, then in a few seconds they'd be, well... toast.

[@nicosmind3]

​@@stratolestele7611y puedes hablar español hoy en día?

[@josemoutinho7213]

Merry Christmas to all space lovers.

[@Whataboutit]

❤️❤️❤️

[@daveallen63]

We all live in space. :)

[@ExploringCabinsandMines]

Happy Festivus !!!

[@Ottee2]

Merry Christmas !

[@gePanzerTe]

🎄

[@bablutyt]

Merry Christmas to everyone! 🎄

[@DanyalAdam-n3n]

Merry Christmas!

[@Nathan-vt1jz]

Merry Christmas to you too!

[@jonny555ive]

Right back to you..... Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you and your family.

[@TeddyRumble]

Next Christmas...on Mars!

[@DanyalAdam-n3n]

@@TeddyRumble YES!!! or the moon... just saying...

[@alexeykrylov9995]

13:54 "hydrogen is the smallest known atom" - no, helium is the smallest, because it has higher twice charge of its nucleus and the same number of electron layers.

[@J-Johna-Jameson]

I think he meant the lightest not literally the smallest in terms of volume.

[@Kepler-17c]

You're right. Radii are 32 pm for H and 28 pm for He.

[@RandomUser311]

@@J-Johna-Jameson perhaps but that wouldn't be the relevant metric in the context of how hard it is to prevent it from leaking.

[@deltalima6703]

Helium makes a much worse propellant than hydrogen, its true.

[@imconsequetau5275]

Di - Hydrogen is the stable form with two atoms per molecule. But Helium is stable as a single atom.

[@TallinuTV]

The issue with Ingenuity's eventual failure is exactly the kind of "unknown" its mission was intended to discover. Not so much learning something about Mars, but learning something about _operating on_ Mars. We've had a number of landers and rovers allowing us to make incremental improvements in those areas, but as the first aircraft of any sort, all we had to base it on was theory. Now we have more than theory! And just like Spirit and Opportunity, the little rovers that could, Ingenuity proved surprisingly resilient.

[@wheatley153]

Merry Christmas yall, you too Felix 😁

[@christopherlundy5354]

Thanks!

[@Whataboutit]

Thank you so much! Merry Christmas!🎄

[@SaltyVet74]

9 or 10 Im anxious to see the first double catch

[@Worker225]

It is always a fun time when you upload, getting updates on space is important!

[@MonsterSound.Bradley]

I''m still mad that NASA canceled the already built VIPER robotic lunar rover mission. Just a little more funding,needed but NO. Plenty of billions for SLS though. WTF?

[@Wurtoz9643]

I’m right there with you. What was there even left to do?! Like 1 AA battery needed to be inserted.

[@zvorenergy]

In 27 days we'll have an administration that will be very focussed on cost effectiveness and Space eXploration

[@julianfp1952]

@@zvorenergyYeah. And I suspect Musk will have a big influence. Developing rovers that can prospect for resources including water ice seems to me to be something of huge interest to Musk so I would be surprised if he isn’t already bending a few ears to get VIPER back towards the top of the priority list.

[@TheEvilmooseofdoom]

Congress holds the purse strings.

[@benjaminblair3619]

With isic man i and nelson viper might be re enstated

[@RonnGrubb]

I have always thought from the beginning that the heat shield would be SpaceX biggest challenge. It is sure looking that way. It was a big problem with the spaceshuttle that caused it to take so long to refly. From a engineering problem its a very hard one. The forces and heat are big. To have something strong enough an lightweight and nonoblating is a hard problem to crack. But what do I know I'm just a dumb carpenter.😬Oh ya Flight #10

[@TheEvilmooseofdoom]

That's what spacex said too. The TPS is going to be the prime issue.

[@kyemalexander]

Your videos are great! This is one of my main choices for space news and entertainment. I can’t wait for IFT 7 and beyond! This is going to be an incredible year for space flight

[@ryelor123]

And argon can be harvested from the air too. Very useful for TIG welding.

[@bojangles2492]

Casually pulls out a Starship heat tile.

[@Snoodlehootberry]

Hey Felix, brilliant content as usual

[@viewer_5714]

Merry Christmas to you all

[@jonathontinkey3004]

Merry Christmas to you Felix, your family and your team. You are best in class in bringing constant, meaningful content. Merry Christmas to all!

[@psychologicalprojectionist]

When Pab B is ready, it makes sense to launch on one and catch on the other, so we won't have any catch aborts for damage on the pad.

[@T1hitsTheHighestNote]

@@psychologicalprojectionist My thought as well. Pad B for launch and A for catch.

[@rondameron7073]

Total respect for your enthusiasm and accuracy...

[@PaulShanley]

11:54 my first thought is that this is a peel off film that both protects these particular tiles but more likely identifies them from the rest. Don’t touch these with your oily hands. Don’t forget these need special underlayment/need no special underlayment. Do not replace even if all others are. These tiles have special coatings we want exposed to the environment only when we’re ready to start observing them. Et cetera.

[@ademnonscouch3917]

Peel off film? Makes me think it might also be a film to stop tile loss? Would make sense either way.

[@PaulShanley]

@ademnonscouch3917 - I was thinking more like the peel off film you might see on electronics’ screens when you buy new products. This may be to protect from weather and accidental contact scratches from workers and items nearby or as it’s moved. I do not think that the tiles are actually red with a new glaze ceramic coating. Black tiles are black for a difficult to remove from the thermal equation, reason. The shuttle had weather, bird, insect and dust covers over the RCS nozzles and other ports/openings that blew off at launch. I’m not thinking that, but they were red covers too, and that’s what made me think of protective film. I’m still thinking these are more probably peel off protective films, and also to distinguish these tiles from other tiles until preparation for launch, although for reasons I’m not sure of.

[@jenohathazi920]

Thank You dear Felix, and Merry Christmas

[@i-love-space390]

Just like the Shuttle, the heat shield is the Achilles Heel of reusability. Unless SpaceX can solve the heat shield problem, rapid reusability will remain a dream.

[@WJSpies]

Indeed, yes..

[@ryanodneal7001]

The tech implications from a reusable heat shield are wild. Orbital staging and travel. You can launch payload anywhere on the globe quickly. like under an hour. Or faster if you have staged vehicles that just need routed. Also smaller vehicle thruster vectoring control. Space X will own this tech in the future and make cool machines.

[@nicoledreamcr4666]

They'll end up with that shield being single use, one big part they can replace on the launch pad within hours. Like a big shell. There's no other way

[@mtstash]

Replace within hours lol yeah and the hyperloop is just an air hockey table no big deal

[@PodcastOnTheSpectrum]

@@i-love-space390 They'll eventually have to develop some sort of rapid spray on solution.

[@ptinvite7942]

Title subject is never at the beginning where it belongs. Finally shows ups at 9:15

[@codycast]

Do you really think most people interested in this topic are going to skip the first 9 min?

[@freyjasvansdottir9904]

Ich Liebe das Raptör T-Shirt!!! Very cute 😊

[@prestonbuckner4300]

It’s 1:30am during Christmas. That’s how much I love this Channel

[@theguyfromsaturn]

The color of the tiles might just be for identification purposes. If the coating color is not tied to its function, they may have chosen to change the color to easily identify them when putting them on the ship. The tiles are meant to be interchangeable, so they are probably not individually identified otherwise. It's easy to get them mixed at installation time. The color helps reduce risks of mixups. Why are they otherwise painted black? My guess is for better radiation properties, but I know very little about materials so my opinion either ways is useless... except to provide engagement for the channel. Keep up the good work.

[@apsdev]

The black tiles have a layer of pure carbon deposited on them to make them more heat resistant. Thats why the space shuttle has black tiles on the bottom, and white tiles on the back. The tiles on starship are sort of improved shuttle tiles or tufroc tiles. I think the red is just protective plastic foil. As often with aircraft and space ships red things are to be removed before flight. Like the red ribbons on caps on pitot tubes. It does look a bit like foil, i think it is to prevent glue getting on the tiles as the surface has to be as smooth as possible .. and the tiles above the red ones are glued on. As there are no mounting pins there. While the tiles with foil are mounted on pins. So maybe other tiles might have had foil on them too but it has been removed.

[@StillAliveAndKicking_]

@@apsdevI am sure they would have seen the red peeling covering before if it existed. But your suggestions otherwise make sense.

[@Stoic-of-Rome]

It amazes me that those engines can relight with high Mach air ramming into them on the free fall bum first towards the planet!

[@josephpeluchette191]

Merry christmas everyone

[@imadroner]

Alex, I really enjoy your videos!

[@Whataboutit]

Glad you like them! 😄❤️ Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

[@Larrycarr63]

I would love for star-ship heat tiles to be red,, That would be so awesome.. But For the main reason I’m leaving a message,, I’m so happy that you did not have any advertisements.. except for your own merchandise I have no issues with that,, so I happily gave you a thumbs up.. I love your channel,, but there is too many commercials on KZbin and then when you guys do your own commercials on top it just takes the wind out of our sales,, so thank you for not having advertisement in this particular video.. Every time you don’t have a commercial I will happily give you a thumbs up,, i’m pretty sure I speak for many people on this issue,, of the advertisement thing.. If you didn’t have them additional advertisements I would think you would be getting many more people signing up.. I signed up mainly because you give everybody the same amount of contents no matter how much they give. I think that is awesome cause there’s a lot of people just can’t afford to pay a lot of money.. Them other channels have different levels,, the more money you give them the more they allow you to see.. It seems that there in it just for the money,, at least that’s the impression they give.. But your channel on the other hand seem to be very much wanting to do what you are doing.. But with additional advertisement, you’re just trying to make more money.. And I understand that but we realize you get money from KZbin and also from the people like me that sign up and happily pay you for your hard work.. I wish I can afford more than what I give,, but I do thank you and your whole team, including your wife for your hard work.. I think that additional people signing up will help cover the money you make on the advertisement or at least a good portion of it.. I am subscribed because I do like your channel.. And a little side note my mother is from Germany so we have something in common.. (( spectancy Deutsch ))..

[@peterclarke3020]

There is good reason for the heat shield tiles to be black - they will emit more thermal radiation that way.

[@FSK1138]

the speed of development is amazing

[@mark-h8752]

A very Merry Christmas Felix can’t wait for 2025 I’m sure it’s going to be even more spectacular.

[@officialwildcardadventures]

Sweet graphics on this one. The plus (+exp) armor points. 😂🎉 Love it. p.s. great shots Jordan! 🙌

[@noelfalls1240]

Thanks for some blue origin updates on the last few videos! Any and all companies that dare to spend billions on space exploration deserve respect and attention!

[@ElixirCortez]

Merry Xmas Felix! Great vid as always!

[@faheyplayer]

They ought to paint Mars bound ships various shades of green; it would look absolutely beautiful against the red regolith and easy to spot from kms away.

[@appliedfacts]

An excellent reference to the Red Green Show! Plus he was a home grown inventer. 😂😂

[@duncanhill5107]

Given the large amount of thermal heating from the plasma, a tile that is in the red and NIR makes sense as it would be substantially reflective in that part of the spectrum. I would not be surprised if part of the test is looking for coatings to put on the sides of the starship where they have removed tiles for future catches.

[@Stoic-of-Rome]

Why don’t spaceX put tiles on to protect the pad infrastructure?

[@TYavaJ]

tiles can't be placed on the sensitive components they actually want to protect. Besides, they're rated for reentry plasma, not rocket plumes - they may both be hot but very different.

[@TheBlade996]

Merry Christmas Felix and all your team, you rock! 🎄❤

[@STUFF4RC]

Why is there no talk about using the drone to hover over the rover to blow off the dust from the solar panels? Instead of just taking pictures, it could also prolong the life of the solar panels

[@russhamilton3800]

@@STUFF4RC aren't lift and rotor wash two very different things? Getting it to produce enough in 1 percent the density of earth's atmosphere does not seem likely

[@STUFF4RC]

@@russhamilton3800 The force of the props to lift the drone will be equal wind beneath it to blow the dust off the solar panels, that's how I thought it could work.

[@BrendanBurwood]

@@STUFF4RC Correct. That would be how it would work ... if the rover was solar powered, which it isn't. (unlike Ingenuity itself) The rover is nuclear powered (RTG), so there are no solar panels to worry about.

[@chrisalbertson5838]

It would not work on Mars. The dust is held on by electrostatic force and the atmosphere is so thin that even a high speed wind has little effect. Mars is MUCH closer to a vacuum than to Earth-like conditions. Mars' air density is 1% of Earth's.

[@EnDSchultz1]

Curiosity and Perseverance both use nuclear power (RTG). They don't have solar panels.

[@joshoowa]

Hey Felix! Do you personally take these images and videos yourself or do you use/share content with other creators mutually or something? Just curious! I’m very impressed with your work and would like to eventually do a similar thing with a different topic :) Thanks for making fantastic content!

[@Whataboutit]

As much of what you see is made in house. Everything that has no visible credit is either from the team or from a large Aerospace company. Those are credited in the description. The space community content gets the extra visibility from us.

[@joshoowa]

@@Whataboutitincredible!!!

[@anastasiajcrowe]

It’s starting to seem like the FAA is catching up with the rapid pace and is starting to accommodate SpaceX more, Godspeed Starship! Godspeed SpaceX!

[@MojaveMark]

@anastasiajcrowe Being as how Elon is besties with the president elect, it just may have a teeny tiny bit to do with it.

[@anastasiajcrowe]

@@MojaveMark yeah the guy probably pulled some strings 😬

[@AnthonyRomero-w8u]

Dang right he did and humanity is better for it💯🎉😎🇺🇲​@@anastasiajcrowe

[@rayjay848]

But limited to the same flight profile. Stretching flight to HI or TX, orbiting and deorbit, test Starlink deploy, would all need to be to wait for more licenses.

[@desigeekchishi]

​@@MojaveMarkexactly what I was thinking...

[@kennethfredriksen2555]

Your Vulcan 🖖 was incorrect check the thumb 👍 Merry Christmas 🎅

[@Zeyervv]

Being this early feels illegal

[@Godsloveinside]

They may have a different material all together and the red is just to determine which ones were the test articles after it crashes

[@glennkrieger]

Drones in New Jersey. Drones on Mars. What's next? I'd say more but I'd just drone on.

[@richardfellows5041]

We are flying drones in Ukraine too!

[@simonethier5793]

@glennkrieger

[@simonethier5793]

Typical humans

[@jamescooper5598]

Looks like high temperature silicone, and silicone tiles. Just like I said over 3 years ago, stick them on with silicon and blend the tile with high temp silicone.

[@wollis3802]

Hi Felix! Ich wünsche Dir, Deiner Familie und dem gesamten Team Frohe Weihnachten und ein gesundes und friedvolles Neues Jahr!

[@Whataboutit]

Vielen Dank! Dir und deiner Familie wünschen wir das selbe! ❤️❤️❤️

[@davidswift9120]

Merry Christmas Felix & crew!

[@darbyelliott2890]

I would make the inside white so that it's easy during inspections to see damaged sections in the sea of black tiles.

[@thomasjess6131]

Good morning Felix and WAI team!!

[@Whataboutit]

Good morning!!!

[@thomasjess6131]

@@Whataboutit can't wait for flight 7! Should be a great flight!!

[@therocinante3443]

Brother I love space news, but it's frustrating that the title is about red heat shield tiles, but it's only mentioned for 20 seconds halfway through the video. This video isn't about the heat shield tiles.

[@Whataboutit]

How about finding something you really liked and commenting about that? It’s Christmas. Give me a break once a year. 😅

[@Andy-qv9tb]

@@Whataboutit ich höre die KI generierte deutsche übersetzung mit der Frauenstimme so gerne, kommt die noch 😁

[@Calicarver]

Glad Felix mentions Highway 4, it is a minor Texas country road built over a swampy area decades ago that now has in several sections become extremely rough. Lots of patchy repairs, lots of sand, dips and undulations that seems to worsen each time I go down there for a visit.

[@richardpark3054]

The thermal protection tiles absorb almost no heat, they are just very good insulation. The fact that you can pick one up on the edges or corners while the interior is red-hot shows that they transfer heat very poorly (aka: they're good insulation).

[@WJSpies]

@@richardpark3054 I held one of the tiles in my hands when they were still exclusive to NASA (I worked there briefly). SpaceX is no wonderous company, they appropriated those tiles technology from NASA many years earlier. The tiles in question are very very light in weight.

[@domingoiglesias515]

Very good resume. Congratulations

[@Whataboutit]

Thanks for watching! ❤️

[@goontheracoon]

blue origin struggling to get their phallic rocket up is probably the best think I've heard this week.. cant make this shit up XD

[@jackhydrazine1376]

I hope they don't experience premature detonation!

[@Tiberius-vs9wc]

??? Competition in the space industry is the only way to get sustainable technological development. Without competition starship would never be able to iterate and generate better versions. At least- that’s in the long term. Elon musk’s ambitions for starship will keep it afloat for the short term, but any profit seeking entrepreneur will cut costs and begin making shoddy ships.

[@clutchr6688]

@Tiberius-vs9wc idk, if you have the profit margin that SpaceX is set to have for the foreseeable future they could make errors that makes Boeing look competent and they would still be ok financially.

[@clutchr6688]

Not to say they will but it goes to the point that they have the(not so) disposable income to make the most effective vehicle for large objects to orbit that could also get human-rated soon relative to anyone else.

[@KirkMcDonald-h2s]

😂😂😂 BO, aka body odor, must be a junk smell 😂😂

[@darthbuzz1]

Loving your videos Felix. Thank you.

[@BoneTime]

Did Putin ask Musk for the tiles to be Red?

[@rob72]

Merry Christmas 🎄🎁🎉

[@JP_Radar]

Why not have a rolling cover over the launch pad launch cavity, similar to what we do with our nuclear lanch sites. After the launch, have a door roll over the cavity to protect it from the returning booster and Starship? Plus the cover can be easily replaced if it shows signs of wearing in case of a booster failed catch, protecting the launch pad hardware in the cavvity

[@fridaycaliforniaa236]

That's a very clever idea !

[@TheEvilmooseofdoom]

Lots of extra engineering and complexity. Anything strong enough to do that is not going to be so easily replaced.

[@StillAliveAndKicking_]

The majority of the potential damage is caused during launch when all engines are firing. Not only that, the ship is held down for a few seconds to check systems, and then it is released and slowly rises. The giant marshmallow it sits on gets very toasty. During the booster catch only three engines fire hence 1/10 of the total, and it slots into its parking bay pretty quickly and extinguishes the engine. The booster is higher up when caught and not down low next to the launch pad proper. So the heating on landing is nowhere near that experienced on launch. So no a sliding bond villain style cover would not be needed.

[@appliedfacts]

​@@StillAliveAndKicking_Well analyzed!

[@Scanner9631]

Such a cover would cause the exhaust to jet sideways into all the nearby equipment.

[@markbausbanderw1740]

Another very entertaining video, thank you very much Felix and merry xmas to the WAI team and all space nerds around the world from germany 😊

[@toymaster5464]

Yup, the FAA gave SpaceX a early go ahead because guess who's going to be working for the federal government to oversee how federal agencies perform. It's a no brainer. Happy holidays Felix to you and your family!

[@johnsegal445]

Yup, it’s the best thing in the world.

[@meldoon]

@@johnsegal445 The lunatics have taken over the asylum 😂

[@TheEvilmooseofdoom]

The education system has failed.

[@desigeekchishi]

Fasttracking is not a bad thing, but pepple need to understand it's a rocket and is a dangerous thing no matter how fun it looks to launch n land. So environmental research n analysis is crucial. He may be intending to bypass it using his newly found govt oversight power which even has some congressmen dance to his will. Which is unethical n not a right way to do things. What if u like things fast but if it's affecting the natural habitat around the launch site, will u still approve it ?

[@testtest648]

17:08 wow. A clip from "Batteries not included". This is my mother's favorite movie.

[@danielroden9424]

they need to use a YBCO super conducting magnetic shield to repel the plasma. cut the tiles thickness by 50 or 75% and save 12T of mass to orbit.

[@StevenMathews-tz8to]

I think you’re mistaken about additional blades on a new Mars helicopter making some blades redundant. Any missing or damaged blade with seriously affect vibration and balance, which could result in damage to the hub or even ripping apart the helicopter. Any such vibration would require replacement and rebalancing of the blade for it ever to fly again.

[@bob-e3p5y]

painting it red just makes it look cool

[@365SpaceNews]

It’s exciting to see the FAA stepping up alongside SpaceX-best wishes, Starship and SpaceX!

[@simonw3858]

FAA is just scared now Elon could doge their asses. They ain't stepping up they are stepping the f back.

[@BartJBols]

The red tiles are stand-in tiles, and need to be removed/replaced before flight, they are red so they cant be forgotten because they are not functional. How could you have missed this?

[@HarryOttele]

Here are some materials that a heat shield be made out of. Stainless with a titanium screen heat rolled on both sides with Boron heat pressed in. Stainless melt at 1500, Boron with radiation protection melt at 2076 to 2200 and Titanium up to 3000.

[@EverettAriaz-s7w]

Launch mount A, catch mount. Launch mount B, launch pad?

[@iamjuryver12]

Merry christmas to you, Felix! This is the 50th episode i've ever watched!❤🎄🚀

[@5145mine]

Launch #9 will be at pad B, a lot of testing will need to be completed before any launches….

[@dimond1806]

Another great video. I especially loved the use of the movie Batteries Not Included at 17:08 while talking about Ingenuity.

[@Stoic-of-Rome]

I’m in New Zealand and it’s Christmas here already so Merry Christmas everyone

[@starquip]

number 10 , Merry Christmas to ALL 🎄🎄🎄🥳🎉🥳🎆🎆

[@lerinzon.a.d.l8110]

audio track option

[@haroldmclarty7317]

Merry Christmas Guys

[@97BuckeyeGuy]

Merry Christmas, Felix! Frohe Weihnachten!

[@seriamaugenlicher]

Thank you, Felix.

[@rutendochikwanha3350]

Don't we just love the WAI-NIMATION❤❤❤

[@Jemma-yh9yr]

Merry Christmas 🎄🎁 to all

[@JFJ12]

For complex Mars missions, there should be something like a Repair Base, where robots can investigate and repair other broken robots that are acting on the Mars surface or in the atmosphere etc.

[@runePV]

really? lol

[@avid0g]

Agreed. The totally unmanned phase (which will likely last at least 7 years) requires many types of maintenance on systems such as: • Earth-moving machines, • PV arrays (which will likely be Sun-tracking), • panel dusting-off robots, • water mining systems, • atmosphere liquefaction systems, and • Methane synthesis systems. Subsequent shipments will provide improved components for the failing modules.

[@JFJ12]

@@runePV A Moon Base can be serviced in a few days from Earth if need be. But a Mars Base can only be serviced from Earth every 2 years or so. Which means that in contrast to a Moon Base, a Mars Base needs to be 100% self-sustainable from the beginning, or else it will quickly break down.

[@runePV]

@@JFJ12 it will break down anyways.. you'll see

[@JFJ12]

@@runePV that's what you need the repair robots for. To repair the broken ones when they break down and to create new robots when the broken ones can no longer be repaired.

[@officialwildcardadventures]

@Whataboutit what are the testing requirements for expiry on the COPV? With firefighting SCBA there are limits to use and requirements for hydrostatic testing at specific time intervals depending on spec of apparatus (ie.2216/4500 and steel tank vs copv).

[@matthewknobel6954]

is there a way to use a blimp or similar with a expandable bladder and then use props to steer with?

[@GodisElu-zt5ec]

Thanks for the update 😊

[@BackUp-z4t]

Thanks for good reporting of interesting stuff.

[@tttooommm10]

With 5 centre engines, will the block 2 booster still need to relight the ring of 10 engines on its boost back burn, or will only the centre 5 relight?

[@allanchurm]

did boeing make the blades that snapped off ??

[@stevenlewis7669]

Do the Massey test rams for the inner raptor mounts gimble?

[@mojo9620]

It's a no brainer. Red just looks cool.

[@AnupomAG]

Merry Christmas🎉