SpaceX Performs Insane Starship Booster 12 Static Fire! Did It Work?

SpaceX’s 2nd Starship Launch Tower starts Stacking! How long till it's done? Block 2 Starship spotted! What’s the difference? Falcon 9 Failure! How bad is it?
#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: Jonathan Heuer, Stefanie Schlang
Host: Felix Schlang
Production: Stefanie & Felix Schlang
Graphics & Media Processing: Jonathan Heuer, Felix Schlang
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📄Links for this Episode:
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[@Whataboutit]

What was that Booster 12 test on July 11th about? Let me know your thoughts!

[@CleoVR543]

After the spin prime there was a static fire

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

18:17 - /s 😆😆😆

[@diannebaginski4787]

Getting pissed at elons politics antics supporting the orange criminal.

[@wrwhiteal]

When both Falcon 9 and Starship are operational then NASA will have launcher redundancy… different engines, airframes, pads, etc… don’t need another launch provider.

[@Jeffrey-od9uk]

@@wrwhiteal sure there is need. never support a monopoly

[@surferdude4487]

To be clear: The Falcon 9 booster did not fail. That flight proven article performed it's funtion perfectly and was recovered to fly again. What failed was the shiney, brand-new second stage. That's a manufactureing flaw.

[@richardpark3054]

To be true, the 2nd stage engine did not fail, either.

[@simongeard4824]

Yes, but that's arguing about semantics. The Falcon 9 first and second stages are a tightly-coupled pair - neither will ever fly without the other - and the upshot is that the Falcon 9 suffered a failure that has the entire thing grounded for now. Yes, it's nice that they got the first stage back, but that doesn't mean the system as a whole didn't fail.

[@surferdude4487]

@@simongeard4824 Semantics? That means what words mean. The Falcon 9 is called the Falcon 9 because it has 9 engines. The second stage has 1 engine. So, yes, semantics, the Falcon 9 did not fail.

[@NeonVisual]

@@surferdude4487 dude thinks falcon 9 is the name of the engine type.

[@surferdude4487]

@@NeonVisual The name of the engine type is Merlin. It's an open cycle engine that burns chilled RP1 and Lox. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[@stevesoller4571]

The first stage performed perfectly. Focus has to be on 2nd stage...which is not reused and so is brand new each time. So find out the mistake and do a double check on 2nd stages and add to manufacturing process. It is still the most reliable booster in history.

[@Antoon124578]

@@stevesoller4571 i don't know for sure, but with 360 succesfull launches, does that make their second stage Also one of the most succesfull rockets? Maybe the soyuz second stage because its been going for so long.

[@wanee8039]

​​@@Antoon124578interesting and how many lunches have they done in it's Decades of lifetime.? Compared to the falcon 9.🤔

[@julianfp1952]

That was my initial though but it's only a maybe. I think the best case scenario for SpaceX would be that it's either a manufacturing issue somewhere just upstream of the Merlin itself, maybe a flange where the engine connects to the second stage, or an easily fixed design issue not in the engine itself. In those 2 cases all SpaceX needs to do is check any 2nd stages already built (if it's a 2nd stage manufacturing issue) or if it's a design issue then update the design and retrofit the change to any already-built 2nd stages. If however it is even simply a manufacturing issue in the Merlin and not a design issue I would think that all Raptors on all existing boosters would need to be rechecked and even worse if a Merlin design change is needed presumably that would need to be retrofitted to all existing boosters. SpaceX will fix it in any circumstances but I don't think it is guaranteed yet that it won't impact the current boosters if they do need to check every single Merlin in the active fleet and even worse maybe retrofit some Merlin design change. That's one of the downsides of having a re-usable component. If a non-re-usable rocket blows up then once you've determined the cause you just build the next one to an improved design but when you have a whole fleet of re-usable boosters there is the possibility that a design upgrade required for safety needs to be rolled out to the entire fleet.

[@StevenIngram]

I don't think the Falcon 9 will be grounded long. I mean, this is 1 partial failure in over 360 missions. To me, that makes it seem like a 1 off manufacturing defect that affected only that specific 2nd stage module. Otherwise, in that sheer number of launches, we'd have seen a LOT more problems. Just saying.

[@shanent5793]

None of the satellites made it to the intended orbit, so it's a total failure. And it's not known if it's a one off, something could have changed that would affect future missions. It could be a recent design or procedure revision, bad supplies, or an inexperienced worker.

[@TotallyNoAim]

the problem is that it carries astronauts for NASA, so NASA wont just say, "yeah happends go again!". they will take SpaceX unter the microscope and they need to find exactly where the problem came from. How long it has been successful wont play a role here

[@1mariomaniac]

No, it was a total failure of the orbital stage, it exploded and the payload didn't reach its designated orbit. Even if it was a minor defect with that particular Merlin engine, they'd want to see how they may avoid LOX leaks like that going forward. This may result in changes to their manufacturing process and/or a partial redesign of the powerhead.

[@unclelurk1556]

An attitude of it must be “one off” failure sounds a lot like Boeing mentality. Got to do the work to identify the root cause, so it doesn’t reoccur. However long that takes. Like you, I’m hopeful and optimistic, tho 😊

[@StevenIngram]

​@@shanent5793 You're conflating too many things together. The payload is not the Falcon 9. I agree 100% that the payload was lost. But, it's also true that the Flacon 9 only had a partial failure. Think it through... the main stage launched successfully and returned to the surface successfully and landed successfully. The 2nd stage fire successfully and reached space. But developed a leak at that point and when they tried to relight the engine to circularize the orbit, the engine exploded. However, that did not destroy the 2nd stage which is why the satellites were still deployed and commanded to try to lift themselves into a stable orbit, but they lacked the thrust and will eventually fall back into the atmosphere. So out of the Falcon 9 delivery system - only the 2nd stage failed and only during its relight after it had reached space, making it a partial failure. I get it through, you're considering the payload as part of the rocket and I'm not.

[@jaeluatl]

Hats off to, not sure what title it is “construction property manager” that coordinates all these closures and moves that team needs its on channel

[@NeonVisual]

Falcons no longer being used while Starship gets ready for a catch test is the kind of progress we need if we want to get the first warp flight by 2063 🖖 There's no way we can fit the nacelles in the falcon 9.

[@Vogas2]

Hopefull we will meet Vulcans first. Do not want to become slave worker for Klingons.

[@RichardAbendroth]

haha great episode, especially the jokes/clips of Felix hot/cold, scheduled disassembly of his falcon model etc. Had to rewind a couple times since I was laughing. Keep it up!

[@user-pp7uf2wv9w]

Robotic welding machines don't rest. Every second of every day. Assembly lines. Jigs procedures, pre checks. Etc. super fast.

[@WG-tt6hk]

Any other rocket company would be put months behind schedule, but this is SpaceX. It will be 2 or 3 weeks at the longest.

[@khukri_wielderxxx1962]

6:40 Only true nerds love Monty Python

[@Jadefox32]

"GET ON WITH IT!"

[@andrewyoung7682]

Nee, nee!

[@thetobi583]

But do you have a shrubbery?

[@flippert0]

4:37 a trip down memory lane: Franken Crane!

[@linusspace]

Hey Felix, i really love your Videos! But in some clips, it's difficult to say if it's a timelaps or realtime. Maybe there is a way to show this, that everyone knows if the current clip is in realtime or not.

[@Whataboutit]

Thank you! I'll pass it on!

[@trichtertus6221]

@@Whataboutit the same goes for archive and current footage (demonstration footage of a static fire vs. the footage of the actual static fire happen)

[@ShashankGuduthur-jk2kx]

​@@Whataboutit will they ever make a dedicated rocket garden as they aim to ramp up production with 1 ship everyday or is there enough space in star factory for that

[@davidmorgan5626]

Love your info 👏🏻😊👏🏻

[@netstatmint8639]

starship cone section block2 looks sick!

[@lanav9679]

I’ve said it before and I’ll Say it again. WAI is D-Ultimate Super Cool !!

[@matthodel946]

I also noticed that the exterior support trusses on the high bays aren't doing so good in the Texas salt water mist. If you move the steel to the exterior of the building envelope, this is the cost. I would have spec'd a hot dipped galvanized structural system for longer life on these kinds of systems.

[@jony3775]

“The relight worked a little TOO WELL” 😂😂 awesome

[@TheUltimateGamer30]

5:38 in the video, I noticed Rainbow, it wasnt here last time :)

[@BayAreaBerk]

Everyone love Monty Python, just some more than others...

[@Hungary_0987]

0:39 aswell

[@WarrenLacefield]

It is always possible that the failed 2nd stage of Falcon 9 encountered some space debris. Of course, it might be hard to know something like that for sure unless a camera or impact sensor was watching. The results of the FAA report will be interesting.

[@bendungee1669]

12:59 I love this animation of all the rockets going off. Very cool

[@michaelhess4825]

My wife bought me the starship lighter after I got overly excited with the fourth launch. It's totally worth the cost! (It really isn't, but come on!)

[@citizenblue]

I have it, too. Great for bonfires!

[@rzrbk]

you guys should make a playlist for Starship launches

[@panzer.1]

It's an unlucky week for rocket launches 😞

[@jeremytaylor3532]

They need a new launch Algorithm that says, if an engine is malfunctioning, instead of shutting it down they will continue to let it run with balancing engines as required. Then a shorter secondary boost will be required. But they will still attain required altitude.

[@mcburcke]

Loved the July 4th lighter question! 😂

[@JurassicJenkins]

9:59 Bender!

[@richardpark3054]

Agreed!

[@chrisgallagher7847]

Great job. Been with you since the beginning

[@Whataboutit]

❤️

[@pauly3885]

Curious if these tower designs are ever planning to have elevators for personnel access. At some point a starship will have passenger quarters, even if for testing only at starbase.

[@raymacdhomhnuill8018]

They already have stairs and elevator in the mechazilla tower..

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

To add to Ray's info, in the first Everyday Astronaut tour of Starbase ~2yrs back, where they went up the launch tower, they rode up on an elevator. 😉

[@donies1]

Loved the outtakes at the end lol

[@toxickremedy]

Holy shit they be testing boosters and ships simultaneously.

[@nazenr]

keep up with the good job Felix!

[@Whataboutit]

🙌🏼

[@roadsterman]

Your recent video shows welding on curved sections of the top of the starship being welded with robotic arm vertically downwards. These sections are compound curves. This will likely not work. Like a boat hull that is a compound curve after the sections are tacked then the inside should be finish welded First. Other wise problems of warpage could occur. The friction stir welding would not work outdoors.😮

[@davefarmery8180]

Spoken like a true rocket scientist 😅

[@WarrenLacefield]

Welding is as much an art as it is a science and a technology. I respect any person or machine that can weld competently and understands what to do when, with which tools, and how to do that correctly.

[@TheRogersTalk]

Also wondering where we can get that starship and tower that's behind you. Felix.... YOU ROCK!

[@Whataboutit]

Try www.morethan3d.com

[@sadstrom]

What I believe was done with booster 12, is a test to see how quickly they are able to empty the booster tanks in case the capture went wrong on the 5th Flight.

[@simonmedina8128]

Can't believe they're already building the block 2

[@roberthatch6153]

Sorry Simon, I’m not sure why this bugs me and my grammar is terrible but……. They’re*

[@xploration1437]

Learn the difference between their, there and they’re 🤦

[@MasterMayhem78]

They’re*

[@TotallyNoAim]

@@roberthatch6153 chill its not his first language

[@Barthhhelona]

Did you really just say that?​@@xploration1437

[@drfirechief8958]

Considering that the Falcon 9 is a proven, non-experimental system and this and several of the next flights are unmanned, Falcon should be cleared very rapidly. The un-manned flights can be a win, win for the program. It retests the Falcon after the fix is completed and all the scheduled missions will still occur. I have confidence in a rapid release to fly by NASA. Great update, as usual Felix, you ROCK!

[@RyanPappano]

1:05 I see my torch igniter made an appearance…

[@Paul-ng4jx]

Great video Felix like you’re the best❤❤❤

[@Whataboutit]

[@iseiyoulaitre]

Ignitors give a shower of unicorn glitter to ignite rocket love.

[@user-pw7ww7ew3z]

To lessen damage to the quick connect why isn't starship initially angled slightly toward the tower at liftoff so that the exhaust flame angles away from the tower, then after the ship clears the tower reorient starship to the correct trajectory?

[@AenesidemusOZ]

The centre of gravity has to be directly above the engines - the thrust vector has to point directly through the centre of gravity - or the spacecraft will immediately begin to curve towards the ground when the engines are lit. Plus, the weight of the fully loaded spacecraft standing at an angle waiting for liftoff would be enormous; extremely (impossibly?) hard to hold.

[@benjaminrickdonaldson]

Theres 2 tower modules stacked We've seen the SQD, its at roberts road. Appears to be similar. Both chopstick arms have been delivered to sanchez

[@thanksfernuthin]

Thanks for putting the context in on the Falcon 9 failure. Some are making it a big negative deal which is ridiculous. It's time to reflect on the jaw dropping reliability they've displayed for so long.

[@shaunharris2173]

Felix your vids are amazing thanks so much for keeping me updated every week.thx to your team, you're uploading even more frequently soon you will upload every second 😂

[@zargus2]

Your show is my high light of the week, keep up the good work you and your team are doing😃👍

[@johnbeckman492]

What road gets closed and why? Are the locals effected?

[@davethedroneguy]

Thanks!

[@slimeking101]

Thank you 🙏

[@MrBoss-zn5vn]

As far as I'm aware there are no igniters anymore in the raptor 2. Elon himself said it to Tim dodd in the first Starbase walk through, as they were standing next to the raptors

[@davefarmery8180]

The igniters are built into the launch mount

[@MrBoss-zn5vn]

@@davefarmery8180 the ones in the olm are not igniters aswell. Those use high pressure gas to spin the pumps.

[@davefarmery8180]

​@MrBoss-zn5vn my mistake, thanks for the info

[@Hungary_0987]

I belive there are ignitere in the turbo pumps, but not in the C. Chamber

[@T1hitsTheHighestNote]

I'm surprised they haven't solved the QD arm protection yet.

[@TwZlr.]

I really like that you are wearing the same shirt I that I bought from you...

[@Whataboutit]

❤️ Enjoy!!!

[@2150dalek]

I can feel the heat thru this video....Powerful engines 👀

[@PeteSty]

I "SMASHED THE LIKE BUTTON" and broke my keyboard. Not really. Felix is great.

[@kevincoley4662]

They are preparing to launch quickly. I read about space ports launching like airports in Sci-fi books as a kid. SpaceX is making this reality.

[@georgehopkins1708]

Cover the QD with the new tiling system to avoid damage during launches?

[@nerufer]

@whataboutit Hey Felix, what happened to building a bigger tower to accomodate block 2 and 3?

[@charlesoliviersdufaux6943]

Can’t wait to see the new gen OLM

[@NeonVisual]

Space isn't hard. It's more of a crunchy exterior with a soft gooey centre.

[@Hungary_0987]

Ok...

[@daboak3018]

Put some heat tiles on the quick disconnect, silly.

[@uzz32carl]

Mr Shlang you're an entertaining guy

[@SirCharles12357]

Your miming is hilarious and effective. Keep up the good work!

[@rooxynala841]

Wow , every day one launch ...and people feels happy, we deserve to left here

[@Nathan-vt1jz]

Do we have an estimated date for the next launch? September or late August?

[@mrslave41]

5:38 many images are shown too quickly to even be able to pause them even after multiple attempts 😮😮😮

[@kevinim300]

31 and 33 - soooo much change. wow

[@gdibble]

🙌 *BLOCK II* - So exciting. _Thank you for producing and sharing all this info and with such excellent and professional cadence! Keep up the great work WAI Team!!_ 🚀

[@esraeloh8681]

Wonder how small their tollerances are for the tower segments

[@photolife8511]

Felix you know how you showed us new version of QD arm covered with steel, can you make a version of QD attaching to the ship to load propellant bc I think this time they will make it going straight to ship but not like current ones swing from a position to the ship

[@HellenKillerProject]

My thought is why isn't there a counterweight to closely match the weight of the Starship to lesson the stress on the systems they have to lift or lower the rocket. It seems it would be a pretty fool proof system and be a relatively easy way to reduce the stress on the other components and the thought of something giving way could lead to a terrifying disaster. This way the equipment used would be under much less stress.

[@eriknew3584]

Anyone else notice the round part that the booster will be caught on flopping around @ 2:24? Maybe it's supposed to idk.

[@Goddard_Is_My_Hero]

Felix, I really like the way you present the news, especially the sharp humor that does not take anything away from the content and makes me grin. Also greatly appreciated is the high quality of the videos you show.

[@Grey_Area570]

Nice to see the Python content.

[@Lucinda666]

🚀🚀🚀Block 2 Starship is very different!!!🎉🎉🎉

[@clarencehopkins7832]

Excellent stuff bro

[@MistahHeffo]

Given that the 2nd burn of the upper stage for the F9 mission only needed to burn for 1 second, it makes me wonder if instead of trying to relight they could have used the ullage or RCS thrusters to gain the necessary Delta-V without needing the main engine? God knows I done it in KSP enough times.

[@dakotafathke6419]

is there an official or speculated date for for Starship flight test 5?

[@winterhorse290]

Have the quick diss connect swing DEHIND the tower. Build a semi circular arm and that should do it

[@davefarmery8180]

Or a double hinge system with the first mounted on the rear left leg

[@robbandack2048]

thx.:)

[@RV4aviator]

Thanks Felix and Team...! I cannot wait for the next Starship Launch... !!!!

[@bonairediver5293]

Love your videos! Chock full of info and love the cheerful joking as well. Superb!

[@jackhydrazine1376]

If you look at videos of the launch pad quick disconnects for the Saturn five rocket, you'll see that they move/swing away to prevent damage.

[@thatall1145]

everytime this man uploaded make my day a little better

[@Whataboutit]

[@WilboBaggins-dm7ub]

Particularly good today...triffic!!

[@chiaricharlie6608]

Thanks Felix! You Rock!

[@TheNeo2k]

What is the delay between you recording and it being published? the fact there are clips added in, its a weird timeline.

[@jeremytaylor3532]

If they put a threaded lift ring in the very point of the rocket. This could just be unthreaded and bolt threaded in before launch. This would involve no tiles or fancy lift points etc.

[@pilotdawn1661]

Great report - fun and informative! 😃

[@user-hf2dt2iy8q]

Ok , answer me this? How many times has this rocket flown? Then make that the benchmark for safe flight. If it gets worse, than raise the bar for less flights per unit.

[@mshrad]

Love the Holy Grail clip! Tim the Enchanter I believe.?

[@mistergoose6826]

Booster 12 static fire took place at 15 July 10:13:40 local time

[@theastronomer5800]

The images around the 16:15 marks shows a shadow of a "solar eclipse", but there weren't any this month... There was the one in April, and next one is on Oct 2.

[@timst656]

the fakt, that the segment 2 stacking started before this video went live

[@sithpadawan]

Why does the quick disconnect arm need to unplug SO close to the launch? Can't it be unplugged like 5-10 seconds before the liftoff and try to move it away further? Does 5-10 seconds matter that much to all the propellant?

[@TheRogersTalk]

Felix! I'm just happy to be the first to view the video. Shout out from the Rogers family in North Carolina!

[@Whataboutit]

Hello Rogers family!!! Love NC!!!

[@LewisKnaggs]

I don't think Raptor uses torch igniters anymore, raptor 2 deleted them

[@conradnelson5283]

It’ll be interesting to see what we were wrong. Especially after so much goes right.

[@ArcherWarhound]

I'll bet the incident investigation is completed and Falcon9 is flying again before Starliner flies again.

[@garthbews4863]

replace quick disconnect/ the grabber claw..with only quick disconnect..mass matters to speed vs tower stabilities...less mass go faster..this mass limits speed.. so tower dont do twists

[@Khyranleander]

Oh wow, all the Falcons are down now? How long are those Boeing astronauts gonna be stuck?!?

[@dalel3608]

They're not stuck.

[@plainText384]

Starliner is not stuck. They are safe to return if they need to, and the astronauts have even used Starliner as a shelter/ emergency lifeboat while docked at the station. They are extending the mission to potentially learn more about the thruster issues while the service module is intact and in space. With Crew 9 delayed there's no rush to free up a docking port or anything anyway, so they might stay for quite a while. At one point they talked about undocking around the end of July, but at this point it really depends on the investigation and ground testing. If they find the root cause of the thruster issues, they will undock.

[@avanap8096]

​@@plainText384would like not to be on it. Rather be on SpaceX or soyuz

[@ernestgalvan9037]

@@plainText384… you state :: “…they are safe to return if they need to…” Then you state “ IF they find the root cause of the thruster issues, they will undock” … which implies that they will NOT undock without ‘find[ing] the root cause of the issues.”

[@Hungary_0987]

​@@ernestgalvan9037because they want to know it, not because they cant go without it.

[@bastiaan.1108]

I think you probably need headshields on your launchtower, too. 🤔

[@MarkPetersen-hg4ij]

I wonder why they don't add a water deluge system that would flood the OLIT from the top down kind of how most flame diverter based pads have done forever. It wouldn't solve the "damage created by the raptors during liftoff" problem, but I can't imagine that it wouldn't help at least. I've just always thought it was strange that they flood all of the lower portion as they do but leave everything else bone dry.

[@Progamertohu1]

Love starship,love mars❤

[@Alfred-Neuman]

I love watching flight tests from this rocket but I'm not quite sure if even your kids will be able to watch it land on the moon and even less on Mars... Maybe your grandkids?