I doubt it seriously, even fully fueled, missing the upper stage has it several hundred tons light( I'm not sure what sn24 weighs, thus "several). My understanding is that it has a pretty decent TWR off the pad as well. Not shuttle/sls "big honking SRBs" high, but enough they probably had them at pretty low throttle

Talk about Polar Vortex! Material from a northern prominence just broke away from the main filament & is now circulating in a massive polar vortex around the north pole of our Star. Implications for understanding the Sun's atmospheric dynamics above 55° here cannot be overstated! pic.twitter.com/1SKhunaXvP

— Dr. Tamitha Skov (@TamithaSkov) February 2, 2023

Meh, no big deal, right? Right?

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According to NASA, the prominence is a large bright feature extending outward from the Sun's surface. There have been several such instances in the past but this one has stumped the scientific community.

"More observations of the #SolarPolarVortex reveal it took roughly 8 hours for material to circumnavigate the pole at approximately 60 degree latitude. This means an upper bound in the estimation of horizontal wind speed in this event is 96 kilometers per second or 60 miles a second!" Dr Skov said in a subsequent tweet.

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The prominence mentioned by Skov, something that McIntosh describes as a "hedgerow in the solar plasma", appears exactly at the 55 degree latitude around the sun's polar crowns every 11 years. Scientists know that it has something to do with the reversal of the sun's magnetic field that happens once every solar cycle, but they have no clue what drives it.

"Once every solar cycle, it forms at the 55 degree latitude and it starts to march up to the solar poles," McIntosh told Space.com. "It's very curious. There is a big 'why' question around it. Why does it only move toward the pole one time and then disappears and then comes back, magically, three or four years later in exactly the same region?"

Scientists have regularly observed filaments tear away from this pole-embracing plasma hedgerow, but they have yet to see it form such a polar whirlwind until now.

Scientists know that the sun's polar regions play a key role in the generation of the star's magnetic field, which, in turn, drives its 11-year cycle of activity. They couldn't, however, observe that region directly.

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I dunno why this is a mystery to them. Clearly, the sun gets pissed every 11 years that people haven't shifted to just solar power yet. /algore

NASA just awarded a contract to BO to launch a Mars satellite to study the Mars magnetosphere in late 2024 on New Glenn.

Chances this actually happens in the next 22 months? On a platform that hasn't flown once? That is currently vaporware?

That's a bold move Cotton.

Like SpaceX and they are the better choice to guarantee it gets done, but I also like they support multiple companies to create future competition. With no competition SpaceX will be able to name their price.

Premium said:

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Like SpaceX and they are the better choice to guarantee it gets done, but I also like they support multiple companies to create future competition. With no competition SpaceX will be able to name their price.

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It's one thing to spread contracts out and support multiple launch entities.

It's another thing altogether to award a contract to a nonexistent launch platform.

ETA. I'll be just as fair about this with NASA and SpaceX. Awarding the contract for the moon landing to SpaceX on a completely unproven and tested Superheavy is nuts. And SH isn't even vaporware. It's just somewhere between alpha and beta hardware. But IHMO they should see it fully tested and launch capable before doing the contract.

Gotta have those Congressman's bellies scratched. That contract has political motivation all over it.

Mathguy64 said:

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NASA just awarded a contract to BO to launch a Mars satellite to study the Mars magnetosphere in late 2024 on New Glenn.

Chances this actually happens in the next 22 months? On a platform that hasn't flown once? That is currently vaporware?

That's a bold move Cotton.

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If I remember correctly this was going to launch on a Falcon Heavy until the mission parameters changed and it has since been ready to go but just waiting for a launcher. Basically it's getting pushed out by more prominent missions and assigning it to SOMETHING at least gets it going again.

Any reports on damage to the concrete or launch structure?

Mathguy64 said:

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It's another thing altogether to award a contract to a nonexistent launch platform.

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Falcon 9 didn't exist when Space X was awarded the cargo dragon contract.

Super Heavy Booster 7 completed a full duration static fire test of 31 Raptor engines, producing 7.9 million lbf of thrust (~3,600 metric tons) – less than half of the booster’s capability pic.twitter.com/cNLmp3Pn7G

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 10, 2023

Mathguy64 said:

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NASA just awarded a contract to BO to launch a Mars satellite to study the Mars magnetosphere in late 2024 on New Glenn.

Chances this actually happens in the next 22 months? On a platform that hasn't flown once? That is currently vaporware?

That's a bold move Cotton.

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Nasa didn't want to get sued by Bezos again

Wonder what the ground felt like near the starship static fire?

jt2hunt said:

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Wonder what the ground felt like near the starship static fire?

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Warm

TexAgs91 said:

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Mathguy64 said:

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NASA just awarded a contract to BO to launch a Mars satellite to study the Mars magnetosphere in late 2024 on New Glenn.

Chances this actually happens in the next 22 months? On a platform that hasn't flown once? That is currently vaporware?

That's a bold move Cotton.

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Nasa didn't want to get sued by Bezos again

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Did that happen?

They sued when SpaceX was awarded the exclusive contract for the landing vehicle for the lunar missions.

I believe SpaceX had at least reached orbit by the time the contract was signed. Albeit on Falcon 1 rather than 9. Blue Origin is still going on carnival rides for right now.

Premium said:

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Any reports on damage to the concrete or launch structure?

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The pad appears to have held up great during 31-engine firing, but the engines only produced ~50% of total thrust. At launch the engines will ramp up to ~100%. Interested to see if the deluge is used for the first orbital attempt. https://t.co/0D49aLnLg1

— Michael Baylor (@nextspaceflight) February 10, 2023

Apparently it held up pretty well.

Are static fires pretty much the worst case condition for the pad? Logically it seems like the difference in stresses on the pad vs an actual launch is tremendous.

In this case probably not a 'worst case' as they only fired it for 5 seconds and even then only 31 of 33 engines around 50% of expected launch power. But in a real launch they won't be blasting from that position for 10 seconds at full power either.

With a thrust:weight ratio of around 1.5:1 (and very rapid ramp up to full power for the Raptor's vs. an SRB), this is considered very high though and it should 'get up and go' or clear the tower pretty quickly, especially with no payload on the first attempt (an essentially empty upper stage).

I think it likely went well enough for them to move forward, as Shotwell indicated, with an orbital launch attempt next (subject to FAA license etc):

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Company officials had previously said a full 33-engine static-fire test was the final major test for the vehicle before the first orbital launch attempt. "It's really the final ground test that we can do before we light 'em up and go," SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said at the Federal Aviation Administration's Commercial Space Transportation Conference Feb. 8, when she announced the scheduled test.

Shotwell said at the conference that if the test went well, the company would be ready to make an orbital launch attempt in about a month. That schedule will depend not just on the technical readiness of the vehicle but also receiving an FAA launch license. "I think we'll be ready to fly right at the timeframe that we get the license," Shotwell predicted in comments to reporters after her conference presentation.

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Gotta love defining success as "let's not blow up the launch pad"

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Shotwell, in her conference presentation, suggested Starship might fly 100 or more times before it carries people, although she later told reporters that was more of a goal than a requirement. "I would love to do hundreds before. I think that would be a great goal and it's quite possible that we could do that," she said.

She acknowledged there is no guarantee the first orbital launch will be a success, but that the company was ready to make repeated attempts. "We will go for a test flight and we will learn from the test flight and we will do more test flights," she told reporters. "The real goal is to not blow up the launch pad. That is success."

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Thanks for the detailed response. Yeah I didn't mean this particular fire just in general static vs launch. Not seeing concrete fly everywhere is definitely a good thing. Fun times ahead. Hard to fathom full strength of this beast.

This red outline is a representation of how the covers will sit on top of the new support beams currently being added onto the table. It's going to look amazing once this is complete!!

This will take at least a month to complete (based on past performance)

📸:@RGVaerialphotos pic.twitter.com/ecJtHy4gXV

— Zack Golden (@CSI_Starbase) February 12, 2023

pic.twitter.com/wJkQWRSvDX

— RGV Aerial Photography (@RGVaerialphotos) February 12, 2023

A lot going on. Also the starship without fins or a heat shield is going toward the launch site, curious what they are going to do with that. A lot going on.

Starship orbital launch attempt soon! https://t.co/sjban6T4yA

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 12, 2023

Lots of speculation it may be for prototyping the lander

In the same way that Apollo 8 saved 1968, Elon Musk is saving the 2020s

March 11th?


SpaceX's Starship Rocket Can Take To The Skies On March 11 Shows NASA Calendar
NASA's WB-57 is a vital agency asset that has made several appearances on its space live streams. The aircraft regularly tracks high-flying objects and is the first to get visuals of crewed spacecraft returning from the ISS. During atmospheric reentry, a spaceship encounters high temperatures, which leads to a communications blackout for a short duration. During the mission, this period is often one of the more stressful ones, as ground control teams cannot contact the astronauts to check up on their well-being. However, sometimes even before the communication link is established, the WB-57 provides important visual confirmation of reentry to the teams.

NASA also uses the aircraft to gain visual information about test launches, and now, the space agency has reserved a time slot for aircraft to cover the Starship orbital flight test. Its calendar marks March 11 as 'SpaceX Starship Launch (placeholder),' providing a tentative launch date for the rocket and indicating the assignment's arbitrary nature.

Ullage tests would make more sense, imho. Just to move fluid between tanks would work for their nasa contract I think as a proof of concept etc. The centripetal force variety would be interesting to validate.

Damn you SpaceX! Spring Break starts that weekend for much of Texas (A&M, HISD, etc…) so getting hotels or RV reservations anywhere near South Padre is going to be a mess. Not to mention the drunken crowds.

I hope it slips because I've convinced the wife to make the trip and if it's spring break I'll be staying home.

That Slow motion in the middle is freaking sweet.

But getting some test data on a slick launch like that is probably not a bad idea either, nor would be using it as an early hull iteration for the HLS type upper stage.

Some interesting discussion, and images, though I don't think this writer is very well informed.

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The metal launch tower segments are not that expensive. The launch towers have the robotic arms and power to operate them.

The NASA SLS launch tower cost about $1 billion. It seems likely that the SpaceX Mechazilla launch towers and the oil rig launch towers cost less than $100 million each.

SpaceX will have six operational launch facilities soon and perhaps seven launch towers when the oil rigs are completed. As of 2023, SpaceX operates four launch facilities: Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), Vandenberg Space Force Base Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E), Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), and Brownsville South Texas Launch Site. There will be two launch towers at Boca Chica.

SpaceX currently operates a West Coast launch site located at Vandenberg Space Force Base Space Launch Complex 4 in order to deliver satellites to polar or Sun-synchronous orbits with Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches.

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I really don't think they will build one in California, period. Maybe put a rig offshore in international waters, but even then the real challenge is getting the GSE filled/maintained (SSE? Sea support equipment?). California is not friendly to any industrial construction/materials needs.

Are there definitely going to be 2 OLT's @ Starbase? I remain unconvinced.

The oil rigs have been sold.

nortex97 said:

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Some interesting discussion, and images, though I don't think this writer is very well informed.

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The metal launch tower segments are not that expensive. The launch towers have the robotic arms and power to operate them.

The NASA SLS launch tower cost about $1 billion. It seems likely that the SpaceX Mechazilla launch towers and the oil rig launch towers cost less than $100 million each.

SpaceX will have six operational launch facilities soon and perhaps seven launch towers when the oil rigs are completed. As of 2023, SpaceX operates four launch facilities: Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), Vandenberg Space Force Base Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E), Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), and Brownsville South Texas Launch Site. There will be two launch towers at Boca Chica.

SpaceX currently operates a West Coast launch site located at Vandenberg Space Force Base Space Launch Complex 4 in order to deliver satellites to polar or Sun-synchronous orbits with Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches.

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I really don't think they will build one in California, period. Maybe put a rig offshore in international waters, but even then the real challenge is getting the GSE filled/maintained (SSE? Sea support equipment?). California is not friendly to any industrial construction/materials needs.

Are there definitely going to be 2 OLT's @ Starbase? I remain unconvinced.

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Felix on What About It thought they would be moving OLT parts from KSC to Starbase because the 2nd set that was built there wasn't ready to be used at KSC. He wondered why build the parts and just have it sitting around. But he did see a place at Starbase to put it, although I thought it was pretty close the existing tower. I also saw other discussion that the spot he indicated for the 2nd OLT at Starbase was actually going to be used for water tanks.

bthotugigem05 said:

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The oil rigs have been sold.

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Nooo!