They've had lots of static fires (including in McGregor) but I don't think they've ever done a re-light of the Raptor after a static fire.

My thinking is they'll likely get it to flip back vertical after the belly flop but then have to scuttle into the ocean when the engines don't ignite again.

They have a slight bit of experience relighting engines.....

I'm pretty sure this one will become a dive attraction when the water is nice off the beach, but I'm not worried about their ability to relight the engines. The opv issue they had with one of them was while testing the header system specifically designed for relights.

Static fire looks like it's off for today. Probably due to wind.

lb3 said:

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hph6203 said:

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Go listen to Thomas Mueller (Merlin engine designer) discuss Musk's leadership style and how he's the decision maker on the direction the engineering goes.

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I was in the Hawthorn control center when SpaceX was trying to recover a fairing (back during the Model 3 production ramp) and Elon walked in and sat at the console next to me. He and (I presume) Mueller spent an hour+ discussing technical issues and approaches to various things. I only had half an ear to them but I was impressed with what I observed.

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I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter

bthotugigem05 said:

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They've had lots of static fires (including in McGregor) but I don't think they've ever done a re-light of the Raptor after a static fire.

My thinking is they'll likely get it to flip back vertical after the belly flop but then have to scuttle into the ocean when the engines don't ignite again.

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Today's engine test was supposed to be testing for the return phase, so maybe they'll be testing relighting the engines.

Relighting engines is not that hard. Space X has been doing it for a long time, and the US in general has been doing it for decades.

I think Wednesday the 2nd is still on as a possible launch day.

aTmAg said:

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Relighting engines is not that hard. Space X has been doing it for a long time, and the US in general has been doing it for decades.

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I think you're downplaying the challenges here. Most of the restartable engines in the world are simple pressure-fed hypergolic engines where start-up is just opening a valve. A restartable cryogenic engine is a mark of an advanced propulsion system and the U.S. was basically alone in with this capability for a long time. Europe didn't have this capability until 2005 and I don't think Russia or China have ever flown one. Even the cryogenic restartable engines the U.S. has flown - like RL10 and J-2 - are comparatively simple cycles compared to the staged combustion used by Raptor. This is a step change in complexity over anything SpaceX has done with the Merlin or what others have flown. It's closer to say, a restartable Space Shuttle Main Engine.

TriAg2010 said:

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aTmAg said:

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Relighting engines is not that hard. Space X has been doing it for a long time, and the US in general has been doing it for decades.

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I think you're downplaying the challenges here. Most of the restartable engines in the world are simple pressure-fed hypergolic engines where start-up is just opening a valve. A restartable cryogenic engine is a mark of an advanced propulsion system and the U.S. was basically alone in with this capability for a long time. Europe didn't have this capability until 2005 and I don't think Russia or China have ever flown one. Even the cryogenic restartable engines the U.S. has flown - like RL10 and J-2 - are comparatively simple cycles compared to the staged combustion used by Raptor. This is a step change in complexity over anything SpaceX has done with the Merlin or what others have flown. It's closer to say, a restartable Space Shuttle Main Engine.

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Clearly Space X is not waiting until the 15M hop to first test this. They've been testing these engines for years.

https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_0_8423.html

Musk: Starship with humans to Mars by 2026.

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CEO Elon Musk says that he is "highly confident" that SpaceX will be ready to attempt its first crewed Starship mission to Mars as soon as 2026 almost exactly six years from now.

Made as part of an interview at the 2020 Axel Springer Awards show in Germany, Musk's latest comments represent a marked move towards optimism and confidence about the progress SpaceX is making with its Starship program. Effectively designed to make SpaceX's existing Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets redundant, Starship aims to be the first fully-reusable orbital launch vehicle in the world, capable of placing 100+ metric tons (~220,000 lb) of cargo into low Earth orbit (LEO) at a cost of just a few million dollars per launch.

If that extraordinarily low launch cost can be realized, SpaceX will be able to affordably refuel Starships in orbit to give them the performance necessary to send and land 100 metric tons or more to the Moon and Mars.

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Anyone need a starship Captain?

And...the FAA rescinded it's approval and now SpaceX is shooting for Monday (7th). Also reduced from 15Km to 12.5Km. "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." Comes to mind.

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-high-altitude-launch-debut-faa-approval/

[url=https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-high-altitude-launch-debut-faa-approval/][/url]

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Update: SpaceX's high-altitude Starship launch debut appears to have slipped to no earlier than (NET) Monday morning, December 7th, and been reduced from 15 km to 12.5 km.

FAA-approved flight restrictions filed on December 2nd were retracted on December 3rd for unknown reasons, ultimately giving SpaceX several more days to prepare Starship SN8 for an ambitious high-altitude launch, coast, freefall, and landing attempt.

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Some sort of testing remains possible on Friday. The road closure remains live. Unclear exactly what (perhaps a static fire), but certainly no flight without the TFR.
Michael Baylor (@nextspaceflight) December 3, 2020

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Meanwhile, SpaceX has also lowered Starship SN8's apogee target to 12.5 km (7.8 mi) from 15 km, itself a reduction from 20 km made earlier this year. Why is entirely unclear but it's likely that the company is in active discussion (and probably arguments) with the FAA, perhaps requiring a compromise to ensure regulatory approval.

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I have also heard that this is the case. We are seeing a minor refinement of the flight profile as the teams get closer to the launch date like we saw with Starhopper. https://t.co/SDH716qPfT
Michael Baylor (@nextspaceflight) December 4, 2020

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It remains to be seen if SpaceX will perform any additional testing over the weekend or if the company will attempt to schedule Starship SN8's launch debut on Saturday or Sunday. Stay tuned for updates and Elon Musk's promised SpaceX webcast.

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New window is tomorrow (8 December).

Elon is in Texas and the SpaceX account has a link to the livestream!

They are doing a final "wet" dress rehearsal right now. Loading and unloading tanks. Hopefully it doesn't blow up.

Tomorrow is going to be a lot of fun.

Is there a set time for the test tomorrow?

Livestream is scheduled for 6AM CT. I doubt that's dead on for when it will actually happen as there's no deadline since they're not going to orbit, and I doubt you'll get a much more accurate time.

The road closures start at 8am I think, so no earlier than then

bthotugigem05 said:

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The road closures start at 8am I think, so no earlier than then

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And that's when the TFR begins as well
https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_0_0094.html

The SpaceX link will go live a few minutes before they attempt the launch.

SpaceX feed goes live at 10a central

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Between 2pm and 11pm UTC (9am-6pm EST) today, SpaceX will attempt the first high-altitude flight of a Starship prototype.

The SN8 test vehicle will fire up its three Raptor engines and reach an altitude of approximately 12.5 km (41,000 ft) before performing a controlled dive using its body flaps and landing back at its launch site in Boca Chica, Texas.

As it will be in a horizontal orientation during its controlled dive, a "landing flip" maneuver will have to be performed to turn the vehicle into a retrograde orientation above the landing pad. A successful maneuver would be a first for a vehicle of this size.

SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk acknowledged on Twitter that SN8 has a 30% chance of completing all the mission objectives successfully. No matter the final outcome of this flight, SpaceX is confident that it will help improve the probability of success of future tests in the rapid Starship development.

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Countdown, news, streaming etc here

8 livestreams to choose from!

https://viewsync.net/watch?v=OLpN8Cco3mU&t=0&v=nf83yzzme2I&t=0&v=STGWOEKhrtI&t=18.1&v=n5ozYnVQahE&t=8904340.58&v=qNyEwBW0ZJA&t=6505535.24&v=am2kw1TCNAk&t=152325.7&v=QlryDJqWalI&t=0&mode=solo

Supposedly launching in 8 minutes!

bthotugigem05 said:

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Supposedly launching in 8 minutes!

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According to Flight Aware, NASA is sending a jet that is used for high altitude filming of launches down from Houston. Due to be in the area after 3pm so guesses are the launch happens after that.

3pm CST is what I see as well.