Elon Starship Statements
Starship statements by Elon, SpaceX and Sources for reference as it can be hard to find them on Twitter or other places on the internet
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Successful ascent, switchover to header tanks & precise flap control to landing point! 3:02 PM · Dec 9, 2020
SpaceX@SpaceX
- Watch Starship high-altitude test live → http://spacex.com/vehicles/starship
- https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1OwxWVgPaVeJQ 3:02 PM · Dec 9, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @elonmusk
- Fuel header tank pressure was low during landing burn, causing touchdown velocity to be high & RUD, but we got all the data we needed! Congrats SpaceX team hell yeah!! 3:07 PM · Dec 9, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Just a static fire tomorrow. Flight no earlier than Wednesday. Sunday 11/29/2020
Ben Carter@bcart03
- Are you nervous about people watching from the build site? I can’t believe it’s almost the same thrust as a F9
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Static fire is not risky from build site, but we need to clear the build site for early flights
Marcus House@MarcusHouseGame
- How goes the debate about the legs? Still thinking they will be similar flip out style to Falcon 9? If so, how would they be shielded on the windward side for reentry?
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @MarcusHouseGame @bcart03 and 2 others
- Starship legs are one of the hardest problems. Externally mounted legs require shielding, which adds mass. Wider stance adds mass. Shock absorbers add mass. That said, we need better legs. 2:57 PM · Nov 29, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Good Starship SN8 static fire! Aiming for first 15km / ~50k ft altitude flight next week. Goals are to test 3 engine ascent, body flaps, transition from main to header tanks & landing flip.
3:59 PM · Nov 24, 2020· Michael Sheetz@thesheetztweetz Replying to @elonmusk
- How are you feeling about Starship’s chances of landing in one piece?
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Lot of things need to go right, so maybe 1/3 chance
- What what!? My new video is up! Recently granted funding for SpaceX to develop refilling tech will go a long, long way. Here is a video talking about why this is so important. This tech alone would change the world in many ways. Rocket https://youtu.be/Q91ujUhQ7BA
Elon Musk @elonmusk Replying to @MarcusHouseGame
- Rapid & complete rocket reuse, low cost propellant, orbital refilling & propellant production at destination are the four essential elements of making life multiplanetary
10:49 AM · Nov 24, 2020· Everyday Astronaut @Erdayastronaut Replying to @elonmusk and @MarcusHouseGame
- When will you start utilizing / practicing ISRU and sabatier fueling at the pad? Are you actively engineering portable fueling plants yet for Mars?
Elon Musk @elonmusk
- Maybe start on that a year from now. Depends on how Starship progress goes.
@StarshipFairing Replying to @elonmusk and @MarcusHouseGame
- How about this tanker v2 design? [Drawing]
@StarshipFairing · Sep 20
- Starship Tanker v2 With the Superheavy booster, this will bring approximately 50% more fuel to orbit than the default Starship. @elonmusk, what do you think? Please RT so he can see it! Summary, uses, and specs in the comments - go read it!
Elon Musk @elonmusk
- Not bad! We will definitely need more engines if we make the cargo bay all propellant, but it’s probably smarter than a whole new shorter external hull.
- The next unofficial @SpaceX Raptor GIF - The LOX turbopump, which pushes about 3.5 times as much fluid as the fuel turbopump. How close am I @elonmusk ? [GIF] Nov 19, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- I can’t comment on turbopump internal details, but you’re roughly in the ballpark. Wow, rocket turbopumps, especially if oxygen-rich, are insanely hard! Arguably, the hardest mechanical/fluids/combustion problem known to exist. Nov 19, 2020
Lucas@LUGG4S1 Replying to @elonmusk and @pcgamer
- What caused a raptor melting on sn8? Are you planning to recommence testing this week? 8:42 AM · Nov 17, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @LUGG4S1 and @pcgamer
- About 2 secs after starting engines, martyte covering concrete below shattered, sending blades of hardened rock into engine bay. One rock blade severed avionics cable, causing bad shutdown of Raptor.
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Avionics cables moving to steel pipe shields & adding water-cooled steel pipes to test pad
Viv Dragon@flcnhvy
- When’s the Starship update blog post coming? Eyes
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Maybe making some notable changes. Will wait until figurative & literal dust settles.
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @tobyliiiiiiiiii @SpacePadreIsle and @austinbarnard45
- Maybe melted an engine preburner or fuel hot gas manifold. Whatever it is caused pneumatics loss. We need to design out this problem. [After SN8 test firing] 6:18 PM · Nov 12, 2020
- Burst disk worked, so vehicle appears to be ok. We’ll have to swap out at least one of the engines. 7:26 PM · Nov 12, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @austinbarnard45
- We lost vehicle pneumatics. Reason unknown at present. Liquid oxygen header tank pressure is rising. Hopefully triggers burst disk to relieve pressure, otherwise it’s going to pop the cork. [After SN8 test firing]
6:09 PM · Nov 12, 2020 ·
- Very close to actual expected flight!
Erc X@ErcXspace
- Starship Full Flight Animation. [Youtube Higher Resolution]
Co-created with the brilliant @smvllstvrs!
Austin Barnard🚀@austinbarnard45 Nov 1, 2020
- Hey @elonmusk will SpaceX livestream the 15km hop. The excitement for this flight is unlike anything ive ever seen. Understandably its a test, but it would be a great way to help get more people excited about the program! More people have seen the 150m hop than the ITS animation!
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Sure, although it might be quite a short livestream! Lot can go wrong, but we’ll provide video, warts & all. You will see every frame that we do. 12:57 PM · Nov 1, 2020
Replying to @elonmusk @NASASpaceflight and @Erdayastronaut
- Is the bellyflop the part of the flight that you’re most concerned about? Or the flight in general? 3:00 PM · Oct 31, 2020
Elon Musk @elonmusk Replying to @KlotzAdam @NASASpaceflight and @Erdayastronaut
- Understanding exactly how the body flaps control pitch, yaw & roll during descent, such that the ship is positioned well to relight, flip & land, would be a big win
Everyday Astronaut@Erdayastronaut
- Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is a very novel control scheme, right? I mean controlling aerodynamically purely with drag only while completely perpendicular to the wind stream is something new, correct? Landing on target seems hard to me! Grimacing face
Everyday Astronaut @Erdayastronaut
- Curious if there's been any sub scale little RC planes or anything tested to make sure that control scheme actually works!? :Thinking face:
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- We’ve tested a sub-scale version in a wind tunnel with active aero closing the loop for stability, so it will probably work at scale, but reality tends to bite you on the ass 7:02 PM · Oct 31, 2020
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1322659546641371136 Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @NASASpaceflight and @Erdayastronaut
- Stable, controlled descent with body flaps would be great. Transferring propellant feed from main to header tanks & relight would be a major win. 2:59 PM · Oct 31, 2020
Adam KlotzJack-o-lantern@KlotzAdam Replying to @elonmusk @NASASpaceflight and @Erdayastronaut
- Is the bellyflop the part of the flight that you’re most concerned about? Or the flight in general?
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Understanding exactly how the body flaps control pitch, yaw & roll during descent, such that the ship is positioned well to relight, flip & land, would be a big win
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @elonmusk @NASASpaceflight and @Erdayastronaut
- But, a RUD right off launch pad is also possible. Fortunately, SN9 is almost ready. 3:00 PM · Oct 31, 2020
Replying to @elonmusk and @SpacePadreIsle
- What’s happening tomorrow w/ SN8? While cryos are scheduled for Sun- Wed, somehow rumor was we’d hear Raptor roars tomorrow... Is that true? 7:49 PM · Friday Oct 29, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @bluemoondance74 and @SpacePadreIsle
- Some challenges with high winds. Looks like Sunday for static fire. 8:09 PM · Friday Oct 29, 2020
Toby Li@tobyliiiiiiiiii Replying to @elonmusk @austinbarnard45 and @SuperclusterHQ
- Could you give us an update on the date for the Starship presentation? November's coming up! [Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat] 12:53 PM · Oct 23, 2020
Elon Musk @elonmusk Replying to @tobyliiiiiiiiii @austinbarnard45 and @SuperclusterHQ
- Good point. Probably next week in form of a written piece on SpaceX website.
Everyday Astronaut@Erdayastronaut
- Maybe I can help make up for the lack of an in person presentation and do that tour with you while I’m down there for SN8! [Thinking face] [Winking face]
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- I’m in Boca every week, so maybe we could talk then. Given that Starship is not exactly subtle, this is more of a design clarification to match what people can already see.
Everyday Astronaut@Erdayastronaut
- Starship is anything but subtle Face with tears of joy there’s definitely been a million changes and cool iterations that really cool. It’d be great to just chat about some of the exciting things to come and give people something to look forward to Raising hands 2020 needs all the good news it can get [Face with tears of joy]
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Sure 2:01 PM · Oct 23, 2020
Everyday Astronaut@Erdayastronaut Replying to @elonmusk @tobyliiiiiiiiii and 2 others
- [Alright. Then it's a date GIF.] 2:13 PM · Oct 23, 2020
- Data from 3 engine Starship static fire this morning looks good. Proceeding with nosecone mate. 3:17 PM · Oct 20, 2020
Everyday Astronaut@Erdayastronaut [See Chart]
- Forget thrust to weight ratio! One key metric for Starship / SuperHeavy that's vital is thrust to area ratio!!! Raptor is currently at 270-ish bar & 1.66 mN for SN5/6/8. It's slightly below Merlin, but once ramped up to operational levels, it can easily match and exceed Merlin! 11:08 AM · Oct 20, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Raptor has now run for 90 secs at 300 bar chamber pressure before encountering issues. 210 mT-F sea level operating thrust seems achievable with no major changes.
R-Boost variant is aiming for 300 ton thrust at 300 bar with same nozzle exit area. Will need bigger pumps. Replying to @elonmusk
- Those are some impressive numbers! R-Boost sound incredible!!! But what’s currently running developmentally on SN5/6/8 is a little lower bad right? More like 270 bar and 1.66 MN? Although I’m sure future versions will start running at higher pressures soon 👍 5:29 PM · Oct 20, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Those engines could go 300 bar, but would be dicey. Pushing it for near-term tests doesn’t achieve anything, but I’m confident Raptor will do 300 bar for orbital flights. 6:33 PM · Oct 20, 2020
Pranay Pathole @PPathole Replying to @elonmusk
- Will the nosecone & fwd flaps be installed on the SN8 before the Static fire? 🔥
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- After Oct 14, 2020
- Will be less roomy with 3 vacuum rocket engines added [Under skirt pic by Elon]
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- 9 meter or roughly 30 ft diameter Oct 14, 2020
Everyday Astronaut@Erdayastronaut Replying to @flcnhvy @elonmusk and 10 others
- Kinda nuts there’s a full blown metallurgy team now!!!
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- SpaceX/Tesla metallurgy & new materials team is next-level
- I think that'll work! Starship heat tile render test. [Starship art rendering]
- is there a consensus yet on exposed vs concealed heat tile pegs? The adhesives method didn't appear to work well :Thinking:
@ElonMusk Replying to Caspar Rocket (Stanley Creative) and 7 others Elon Musk @elonmusk
- Tiles will be on hot side of flaps too. A very tough problem is sealing the moving flap to body joint without melting or shredding the seal. Oct 9, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @NASASpaceflight
- [SN8] Passed cryo proof 12:05 AM · Oct 9, 2020
RGVAerialPhotography@RGVaerialphotos
- Which nose cone will be used on SN8? [Aerial pics of several options]
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @RGVaerialphotos and @SpaceX]
- I’m proud to say that that nose is pointier than it needs to be haha 2:07 AM · Oct 9, 2020
- Starship Enterprise. [Pic Render]
SpaceX and 4 others Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @ErcXspace @SpaceX and 3 others
- Great render. Note, there will need to be an arm that lifts booster to launch stand & ship to booster. Oct 8, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @brendan2908 @BocaChicaGal and @NASASpaceflight
- High bay should be finished (except for the giant gantry crane) within a few weeks. Super Heavy stacking should begin around then.
Marcus House@MarcusHouseGame Replying to @elonmusk @brendan2908 and 2 others
- A while back you mentioned the 22% methane ratio. Were you talking volume or mass ratio?
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Mass ratio. Liquid oxygen is much denser than liquid methane, even when the latter is cooled to just above its freezing point. Oct 7, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Aspiring to have no flame diverter in Boca, but this could turn out to be a mistake Oct 7, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @klod_ua @Erdayastronaut and 3 others [In reference to SN8
- Cryo pressure test succeeded, but a small leak opened up near the engine mounts, possibly due to differential shrinking
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- 7 bar absolute, which is fine for flight. This was a proof test, rather than a burst test. We’ll hopefully fix the leak today & retest. Oct 7, 2020·
Toby Li@tobyliiiiiiiiii Replying to @elonmusk @RationalEtienne and 8 others
- Do you have an update on the October Starship presentation if it's still happening in October?
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Oh yeah, Starship update coming in about 3 weeks. The design has coalesced. What is presented will actually be what flies to orbit as V1.0 with almost no changes. Oct 2, 2020
- is there any substantial difference between ring sections of Starship and Super Heavy? Safe to assume Super Heavy uses thicker steel rings to support higher loads, right?
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- The ship rings are thicker than they need to be (for now), so same thickness works for booster & ship for hoop stress. Booster lower tank will have longitudinal stiffeners to prevent buckling. Oct 1, 2020
- And ultimately this upgrade will result into cutting the number of refuelling flights to 4 instead of 8 which would be a huge improvement! Oct 1, 2020·
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @PPathole @Erdayastronaut and 3 others
- Probably 5 or 6 with an optimized tanker, although filling up the ship in orbit isn’t required for Mars, so 4 is possible
Austin Barnard🚀@austinbarnard45
- SpaceX crews working relentlessly on this blistering hot Texas day, StarShip SN8 has been mounted onto the launch stand. Meanwhile SH highbay is nearing completion, progress on the orbital launch tower is really taking shape and three pathfinder nosecones have been aligned. Sep 30, 2020
Elon Musk Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Weld esthetics will improve greatly in upcoming Starships Sep 30, 2020
- We just need enough height to test body flaps & drawing propellant from headers vs main tanks. Will do several flights to confirm working well, then add heat shield & go high Mach.10:46 AM · Sep 26, 2020
Replying to @elonmusk @austinbarnard45 and @PPathole
- Sidenote: Did SN7.1 get to an acceptable bar rating before pop? (per SN8 confidence, given the same alloy).
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- 8 bar differential in ullage, 9 bar at base due to propellant head. It’s enough. Improvements in work.
- Starship SN8 with rear body flaps [Photo]
10:36 AM · Sep 26, 2020 Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @elonmusk
- Nosecone & front flaps next week. SN9 next month.
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- First flight is to 15km or ~50,000 ft
Everyday Astronaut@Erdayastronaut Replying to @elonmusk
- How are they powered now? I know for a bit there was talk about motors just spinning hydraulic pumps but you wanted it to eventually just be directly drive by the motors...
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Yes, the flaps are now directly driven by electric motors with a gearbox! No more hydraulics.
SpaceX@SpaceX [See link for clip]
- Completed a full duration test fire of the Raptor Vacuum engine at SpaceX’s rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas · Sep 24, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @Neopork85 @SpaceX and @MarcusHouseGame
- Most likely, all flaps will fold after landing to reduce wind tip over force. There may be some cases where flaps deployed help stability (change in wind direction), in which case one or more flaps will extend. · Sep 21, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @elonmusk @Neopork85 and 2 others
- We really need better legs for Starship. They’re coming. · Sep 21, 2020
Matt 🚀🌌@MatthewCable6 Replying to @elonmusk and @ErcXspace
- It's nuts now! SN8, 9, 10 and 11! what SN Starship do you think could reach orbit first when SpaceX begins to do orbital tests?
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Just a guess, but probably mid teens. Booster & stacking on orbital pad are likely limiting factors. We’ll build several ships just to improve the production system. Sept. 14 2020
- You know it’s Endgame when SN8 does this. [Simulation]
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Pretty accurate simulation, although SN8 will use 3 Raptors. If SN8 craters, SN9 & SN10 are close behind. High production rate allows for fast iteration. Sept. 14 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- SN8 Starship with flaps & nosecone should be done in about a week. Then static fire, checkouts, static fire, fly to 60,000 ft & back.
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @elonmusk
- One way or another, excitement guaranteed! Support of greater Boca, Padre, Brownsville community is very much appreciated. Sep 12, 2020
- The first Raptor Vacuum engine (RVac) for Starship has shipped from SpaceX’s rocket factory in Hawthorne, California to our development facility in McGregor, Texas
[Pic of 2 Raptors] 154 KB Sep 4, 2020 Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @SpaceX
- Worth noting that thrust is only slightly higher with the big bell nozzle version. Larger bell is primarily for efficiency in vacuum. Aiming for 380+ sec Isp for RVac long-term. Initially likely to be ~372. Sep 4 2020
- Turns out you can make anything fly haha
[SEE SPACEX SN6 FLIGHT CLIP] 10:02 PM Sept. 3 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @austinbarnard45
- Starship SN6 flew asimilar hop to SN5, but it was a much smoother & faster operation
4:40 PM · Sep 3, 2020
Marcus House@MarcusHouseGame Replying to @elonmusk @Neopork85 and 7 others
- Thanks for the reply on that. Is there currently a Super Heavy thrust structure being built? I can only imagine the design that needs to go into making something that can support the huge thrust of 30+ Raptors.
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Yes. This is the hardest part of the booster design. Aug 29, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @Neopork85 @SpaceX and 7 others
- Booster design has shifted to four legs with a wider stance (to avoid engine plume impingement in vacuum), rather than six Aug 29, 2020
- I think @elonmusk enjoys watching rocket nerds making guesses about construction at Boca Chica.
1:04 PM · Aug 22, 2020· Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @DJSnM
- They’re quite accurate!
Viv Dragon@flcnhvy
- Any update on this year’s Starship event? Still aiming for September? Rocket
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Neuralink this month & Tesla next month, SpaceX probably October. We will have made a lot of progress by then. Might have a prototype booster hop done by then.
Everyday Astronaut@Erdayastronaut
- For just a booster hop you could probably get away with 3 or 6 Raptors only... But it’ll be a while before you have 2 dozen + similar and capable engines for an orbital booster, right?
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Only need 2 engines
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Raptor reached 230 mT-F (over half a million pounds of thrust) at peak pressure with some damage, so this version of the engine can probably sustain ~210 tons. Should have a 250+ ton engine in about 6 to 9 months. Target for booster is 7500 tons (16.5 million pounds) of thrust.
Owen Sparks Earth globe americas@OwenSparks Aug, 2020 Replying to @elonmusk @PPathole and 3 others
- Would starship be able to lay down on the surface of moon / mars to make a permanent habitat if needed? Linear seems better than vertical for long term use.
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- No
Everyday Astronaut@Erdayastronaut Aug 25,2020 Replying to @elonmusk @dauqhx and @universal_sci
- How will lunar starship refuel? It needs to go back to Earth orbit, and then get refueled by multiple tankers to do that round trip each time right? Can’t make methane on the moon sans a large cow farm, right? 😂
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Starship propellant is ~78% oxygen, so an O2 plant on the moon would be enough. Otherwise, we could brute-force it with tankers to low Earth orbit. That’s probably faster.
Everyday Astronaut@Erdayastronaut
- Didn’t know it was still this much of a debate. Water tower or launch pad? (When will you people stop thinking SpaceX is building water towers all the time) :Face with tears of joy: Water Tower 19.8% Orbital Pad 47.6% Both! 13.5% What? 19.1% 20,958 votes · 14 hours left Aug 24, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @Erdayastronaut
- Orbital launch mount
- Raptor engine just reached 330 bar chamber pressure without exploding!
- SN40 is about to be tested & has several upgrades over 330 bar engine. For reference, 330 bar on Raptor produces ~225 tons (half a million pounds) of force. Aug 17, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @KenKirtland17 @torybrunoand 6 others
- Here is a graphic I made of America's Fairings! Looks like we're going to be bringing some big stuff to space (and the Moon).
- All the fairings shown are scale to one another [ULA - SpaceX Falcon and Starship - Blue origin comparison graphic shown]
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Starship fairing will actually have more height than shown here. Dome will be flatter & more of tip is accessible. Usable volume ~1000 cubic meters. · Aug 13, 2020·
Everyday Astronaut@Erdayastronaut Replying to @elonmusk @KenKirtland17 and 6 others
- Will there still be a header tank up in the nose on later Starships?
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Yes, integrated with the tip of the nose
- SN7 will be new alloy test tank taken to burst pressure. SN8 will have body flaps & nosecone. Aug 11, 2020
- Starship takes flight [SPACEX VIDEO CLIP] Aug 4, 2020
HiSTORIC LAUNCH Aug 4, 2020 Pranay Pathole@PPatholeReplying to @elonmusk @TrevorMahlmann and @arstechnica
- What's next, Elon? 20km hop?
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- We’ll do several short hops to smooth out launch process, then go high altitude with body flaps
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Progress is accelerating
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Mars is looking real Aug 4, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- When space travel becomes as common as air travel, the future of civilization will be assured Aug 2, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @NASASpaceflight
- Scrubbed for the day. A Raptor turbopump spin start valve didn’t open, triggering an automatic abort. We’ll figure out why & retry tomorrow. Aug 3, 2020
- Starship SN5 just completed full duration static fire. 150m hop soon.
1:05 PM · Jul 30, 2020 Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Static fire drone photo Jul 30, 2020
- SpaceX begins building upgraded Starship prototype (Photos by @BocaChicaGal)
- A Starship part spotted on July 20th confirms that SpaceX is already well into the process of building a significantly upgraded full-scale prototype. Following in the footsteps of five or six...
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @Teslarati and @BocaChicaGal Jul 21, 2020
- We’re rapidly changing alloy constituents & forming methods, so traditional names like 304L will become more of an approximation
- SpaceX is building floating, superheavy-class spaceports for Mars, moon & hypersonic travel around Earth
Gavin - SpaceXFleet.com@SpaceXFleet
- SpaceX is hiring for Offshore Operations Engineers in Brownsville.
From the post: "Work as part of a team of engineers and technicians to design and build an operational offshore rocket launch facility" With thanks to @CowboyDanPaasch for the scoop. https://boards.greenhouse.io/spacex/jobs/4764403002?gh_jid=4764403002 Russ Parrish@russ_parrish
- Refurb oil platforms with a hyperloop to transport from land?!
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Pretty much Jun 16
In reference to SN7 test tank: Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @SciGuySpace
- Tank didn’t burst, but leaked at 7.6 bar. This is a good result & supports idea of 304L stainless being better than 301. We’re developing our own alloy to take this even further. Leak before burst is highly desirable.
3:06 PM · Jun 15, 2020
- Manhole size rupture on #Starship SN7 test tank but it still stands. They're getting closer to perfection. #SpaceX #BocaChica #Texas
Elon Musk Elon Musk@elonmusk
- No problem, we can buff it out
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Maybe some Flextape Jun 15
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @jamesrtyrrell
- Actually, we’re on SN30 for Raptor Jun 10, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmuskReplying to @SciGuySpace
- Quite a piece! I should credit Soviet/Russian engine work in the 80’s as being a factor in deciding to switch from H2 to CH4. They demonstrated excellent performance on test stands, with Isp up to 380 secs.
10:52 AM · Jun 10, 2020· Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @elonmusk and @SciGuySpace
- Combined with SpaceX deep subcooling of propellants to near liquefaction temp of N2, use of common dome (CH4 & O2 liquid at similar temps) & higher T/W of engines enables de facto higher delta-V than an H2/O2 stage
Everyday Astronaut@Erdayastronaut
- What ever happened to Raptor upperstage for FH? I assume it’s higher TWR and higher min throttle would crush about any payload, and adding another prop / manufacturing complexity wouldn’t likely be worth it. But there sure were talks of it for a while with the Air Force.
Everyday Astronaut@Erdayastronaut Replying to @elonmusk and @SciGuySpace
- I know you’d never add unecessary complexity in the manufacturing line, but I’m still surprised you never made a closed cycle Merlin Vacuum to get closer to that 380 mark. Especially with SpaceX’s experience with ox rich preburners now with Raptor Rocket
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- We could never reach 380 Isp with RP/kerosene. CH4 has higher Isp potential on paper, but even better in practice. With CH4, you can reach >99% of max theoretical combustion efficiency, but RP is ~97% on a good day & requires desooting of turbines between flights.
Everyday Astronaut@Erdayastronaut ·Jun 8
- How different will Lunar Starship be from a standard atmospheric Starship? Like those thrusters on top seem like a pretty big shift from a standard Starship... are they still methalox? Related to SuperDraco in any way?
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @Erdayastronaut
- Forward thrusters are to stabilize ship when landing in high winds. If goal is max payload to moon per ship, no heatshield or flaps or big gas thruster packs are needed. No need to bring early ships back. They can serve as part of moon base alpha.
- Starship Production Complex Boca Chica, Texas
Chris B - NSF@NASASpaceflight · Jun 6
- Amazing how much the place has grown. Any more additions we can look forward to? Like another High Bay, some more big tents, etc?
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @NASASpaceflight
- Giant high bay coming soon · Jun 6, 2020·Twitter for iPhone
Chris B - NSF@NASASpaceflight · Jun 6 Replying to @elonmusk
- Oh my! And we thought the High Bay currently being used to stack Starship was impressive. Something for Super Heavy stacking I assume? KSC VAB scale? Astonished face
Elon Musk@elonmusk · Jun 6
- Yeah, for Super Heavy stacking
Everyday Astronaut@Erdayastronaut · Jun 6
- Holy moly!!! How tall will the building be? 80m tall-ish? Thinking face
Elon Musk@elonmusk · Jun 6 2020
- 81m
- SN4 passed high pressure (7.5 bar) & engine thrust load at cryo 9:48 PM · May 9, 2020
- Hey @elonmusk how did the 2nd static fire go? Successful?
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @YoavOffek
- Yes. Static fire feeding from fuel header vs main tank. [SN4]
1:00 AM · May 7, 2020
- Starship SN4 passed static fire May 5, 2020
- SpaceX has been selected to develop a lunar optimized Starship to transport crew between lunar orbit and the surface of the Moon as part of @NASA’s Artemis program! https://go.nasa.gov/3f0o3ux [See pic of Moon Starship with side thrusters]· 10:09 AM · Apr 30, 2020
SpaceX@SpaceX
- With large habitable and storage volume, Starship is capable of delivering significant amounts of cargo for research and to support robust operations on the lunar surface to enable a sustainable Moon base
SpaceX@SpaceX
- Last year, NASA announced Starship as eligible for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative – to deliver payloads between Earth and the Moon, and to enable humans to return to the Moon
SpaceX@SpaceX
- And just last month, NASA selected SpaceX to deliver supplies to Gateway!
- Quote "TweetSpaceX@SpaceX · Mar 27
- SpaceX will launch a variant of Dragon, optimized to carry more than 5 metric tons of cargo to Gateway in lunar orbit https://twitter.com/JimBridenstine/status/1243604344748101634"
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @HarryStoltz1 and @JaneidyEve
- Static fire with Raptor hopefully later this week 10:15 PM · Apr 26, 2020
Replying to @elonmusk @HarryStoltz1 and @JaneidyEve
- Raptor as in one or three?
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Just one. SN5 will get three.
Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo @JaneidyEve
- Congrats! 🚀 What bar strength did it reach!? 9:59 PM · Apr 26, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- 4.9 bar. Kind of a softball tbh, but that’s enough to fly!
- SN4 passed cryo proof! 😅 Apr 26, 2020
Pranay Pathole @PPathole Replying to @elonmuskand @Cardoso
- Will SN4 be doing a 150m hop or 20km?
8:35 AM · Apr 26, 2020· Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @PPathole and @Cardoso
- 150m Apr 26, 2020
- SN4 passed ambient pressure test 8:21 AM · Apr 26, 2020
- Aiming for cryo pressure test tonight Apr 26, 2020
Everyday Astronaut@Erdayastronaut
- 😍 this might be the best picture of an mVac we’ve ever seen!!! Hilarious to think this is a “simple” engine as far as rocket engines go Face with tears of joy jeeeeez! Congrats on the 100th!!!
@SpaceX and @elonmusk 4:46 PM · Apr 24, 2020 Quote Tweet SpaceX@SpaceX
- Falcon 9’s second stage engine at our Hawthorne headquarters before shipping to Texas – it is the 100th second stage engine SpaceX has built
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Merlin is very simple compared to Raptor
Yuri@yourfavgas Replying to @elonmusk
- Are you confident enough that a landing starship can get the skydive maneuver right on the first try? Seems risky with fuel farm being so close to landing pad. Or aiming for soft water landing first? 5:12 PM · Apr 24, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- No, good chance of RUD (rapid unscheduled disassembly) event, but landing pad is separated from launch pad
- SN5 nosecone has been stacked in the high bay at SpaceX Boca Chica. Star-struckRocket
@NASASpaceflight Elon Musk@elonmusk
- These won’t be strictly coupled to ship serial number. Might be on SN5 or might just be used as a manufacturing pathfinder.
Toby Li@tobyliiiiiiiiii Replying to @elonmusk
- What Is the latest SN number for the raptor engine? Apr 15, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- SN26
Michael Baylor@nextspaceflight @Erdayastronaut
- Will SN4 hop to 20 km or just 150 m if the pressure tests and static fire goes well? 7:29 PM · Apr 15, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- SN4 won’t get flaps, so can only do flights with engine on. Just did a reset this week on flap, actuator & static aero design. Either SN5 or SN6 will get flaps.
Yuri@yourfavgas Replying to @elonmusk @Erdayastronaut and 3 others
- Thrust section seems intact, any plans to reuse it, or just build a new one? 12:23 AM · Apr 5, 2020
@Erdayastronaut and 3 others
- Hard to hide anything from the Internet! Yeah, we’re going to reuse much of the thrust section. 12:24 AM · Apr 5, 2020
Austin Barnard🚀@austinbarnard45
- StarShip SN3 has ruptured due to cryogenic pressurization testing, on to SN4.🚀 (Source:@LabPadre) 12:34 AM · Apr 3, 2020
- We will see what data review says in the morning, but this may have been a test configuration mistake 2:13 AM · Apr 3, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @spaceXcentricand @LabPadre
- Some valves leaked at cryo temp. Fixing & will retest soon. 7:36 PM · Apr 2, 2020
- Starting to get chilly in South Texas with liquid nitrogen being pumped into SN3 for a pressure test (see frost ring). Live video below:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=iw5bYl8v3nY 3:09 PM · Apr 2, 2020 Elon Musk@elonmusk
- SN3 passed ambient temperature pressure test last night, now doing cryogenic
Elon Musk@elonmuskReplying to @kimitalvitie
- Yes, v close! Nice work. Those are V0.9 legs, so major upgrades coming. Need wider span, longer stroke & ability to auto-level for uneven ground or leaning into high winds. Apr 1, 2020
Everyday Astronaut@Erdayastronaut Replying to @elonmusk and @kimitalvitie
- Yes!!! Auto leveling!!! That’s going to be key for other planetary bodies!!! Will SN4 probably still just use these for now though? Good enough for these controlled environments :Ok hand: 2:14 PM · Apr 1, 2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- Yeah Apr 1, 2020
- The legs extend & telescope out, so are longer than they seem, but not as long as they will be for SN4+ [about SN3] 8:11 AM · Mar 31, 2020
- Now on launch stand [Two Pics on Twitter] 11:27 AM · Mar 30 2020
- Is Starship development still on track?
- Why was a new Dragon variant proposed for Lunar Gateway resupply missions?
- Hopefully, Starship will have enough flight history to substitute for Dragon for NASA missions too 11:36 AM · Mar 30, 2020
- SN3 [Two pictures] · March 26, 2020
Rafael Adamy@fael097 Replying to @elonmusk
- A recent ArsTechnica article mentioned Starship will be 17 steel rings + nosecone. Is that correct? Independent measurements suggest it should have 20 rings.
- Pretty close. Design is evolving rapidly. Would be great to flatten domes, embed engines & add ~1.5 barrel sections of propellant for same total length. Also, current legs are a bit too small. 9:55 pm · Mar 17, 2020
- Some parts will use 304L, as it has higher toughness at cryo temps. Will move to internally developed alloys probably end of year. Mar 14, 2020
- Sleeving SN2 dome in the high bay 12:55 AM · Mar 3, 202
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @flcnhvy and @JaneidyEve
- We’re stripping SN2 to bare minimum to test the thrust puck to dome weld under pressure, first with water, then at cryo. Hopefully, ready to test in a few days. · Mar 2, 2020
- Third Raptor test stand activated at SpaceX’s rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas. In the past year, the Raptor team has accumulated over 3,200 seconds of testing across 18 engines, including multiple full-power firings
SpaceX@SpaceX Last year, we completed a 150 meter hop with one Raptor engine, and the Starship team is gearing up for more spaceflight activities in Boca Chica, Texas · Feb 27, 2020
- Testing Raptor in vertical configuration (on the giant tripod) should allow us to simplify some aspects of the engine design Elon Musk@elonmusk · Feb 27
- Will the fins still be actuated by electric motors & batteries? If yes, does utilizing Plaid powertrain & upcoming new Tesla battery tech that you’ve teased mean a significant improvement in efficiency & power?
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @flcnhvy
- Yes · Feb 25
Pauline@justpaulinelol Replying to @elonmusk
- Still 3 Raptors planned or other plans? · Feb 25,2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- 3 on SN2 · Feb 25
- Starship SN1 tank preparing for Raptor attachment & static fire · Feb 25,2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- SN2 tank integration starts this week with much less circumferential pucker. Thanks Fronius! · Feb 25,2020
Pranay Pathole@PPathole Replying to @elonmusk and @JohnHanzl
- I wonder if having the O2 header tank in the tip is strategic to allow the boil-off to be consumed by the occupants? Conversely, keeping the CH4 header tank and associated piping away from the occupants is better for safety. · Feb 20,2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- It’s mostly to balance the ship during entry. After delivering satellites, the front is light & back is heavy due to engines & landing legs. · Feb 20,2020
Elon Musk@elonmusk
- High bay for stacking Starship engine bay, propellant tanks & fairing (fka nosecone) sections is almost done! · 2:29 AM · Feb 20, 2020
DropletSydEVBattery@sydney_ev
- Will starship be moved to launch pad vertically? What is NASA doing with their old Shuttle and Saturn crawler carriers?
Elon Musk@elonmusk Replying to @sydney_ev
- Attach wheels to the landing legs & tow Starship to the launch pad · Feb 20
Stephen Ross@pentaquarky Replying to @elonmusk and @Erdayastronaut < NEED LINK, could not re-find
- How do you keep the oxygen in liquid form? Insulated header tank? · 9:57 PM · Feb 19, 2020·
Replying to @pentaquarky and @Erdayastronaut
- The whole nose tip has to have heat shielding for atmospheric entry at Mach 25+ anyway, so is effectively already insulated well in orbit · Feb 19,2020
9/22/2019 tweet:SpaceX Foundry is used exclusively for advanced alloys/shapes for Raptor, incl our superalloy, SX500
TESLARATI@Teslarati · Sep 9, 2019
- SpaceX tests ceramic Starship heat shield tiles on Starhopper's final flight test. Although it flew under the radar in the heat of the moment, SpaceX’s final Starhopper test flight – completed on August 27th – happened to include an unusual bit of test hardware – eight (give or...
Elon Musk@elonmusk · Sep 9, 2019
- The hex tiles are actually mechanically attached, which is important to allow for very high temp on back side of tile that would destroy any adhesive. Marshmellow-looking thing is a rope seal.