Well yeah, it is a rocket. It's not like filling your car up. It's going to be more complex, but that is part of what's required to refuel it. Good insight on the process though,.

Apparently the de-stack was to fix a faulty grid actuator, fyi. (And they decided to just replace all of them.)

2nd replaced, and the 3rd out.

📸 @NASASpaceflight / @SpaceX pic.twitter.com/MCGmP34B79

— The Ringwatchers (@Ringwatchers) November 17, 2023

OFT-1 had the grid fins fixed.

I like the flamey booster pic

We call things like those "mudufalators." I bet SpaceX spares no expense in their spare mudufalators.

Are you sure? I remember them performing wiggle tests a few days before the first launch attempt. They were planning on a boost back burn and flying the booster to the splash down area. The timeline is only different for hot staging for this test flight. That is unless I missed this.

Are you certain that you didn't hear the term fixed as in the grid fins don't fold up and deploy but are instead "fixed" in the extended position?

Any tips on seeing the full stack up close today? Does it close down at any point today?

Malachi Constant said:

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OFT-1 had the grid fins fixed.

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They were fixed in the up position, not folded down, for the first test. They could still turn and control the booster on the return.

Premium said:

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Any tips on seeing the full stack up close today? Does it close down at any point today?

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Just drive down Hwy 4 anytime today. They will clear the beach and close the road at midnight tonight. there shouldn't be any reason they would close the road long term. They might be rolling some heavy equipment up Hwy 4 from the launch site back to the production site but this will be intermittent. Just be sure to yield to construction vehicles and security. Don't block driveways and in general stay on the opposite side of the road to the various sites if you are parking or on foot.

Watch the video below for details.

Ship is Stacked again this morning!

Full stacc welcome bacc

Ship 25 has just been lifted and placed atop Booster 9 for what may (hopefully) be the final time before liftoff.

📸 - @NASASpaceflight

📺 - https://t.co/9cg7QTG2Lj pic.twitter.com/0GbCUBLMG5

— Max Evans (@_mgde_) November 17, 2023

What time is the launch scheduled for tomorrow?

7:00 AM CST

Discussion stream about to go live - usually a lot of good up to date info.

YellowPot_97 said:

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Malachi Constant said:

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OFT-1 had the grid fins fixed.

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They were fixed in the up position, not folded down, for the first test. They could still turn and control the booster on the return.

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Thanks to you and another poster for the clarification. I (and I think others) know/knew they do not fold so when I read/heard they were "fixed" i thought they were 100% locked in place without actuators for that test flight.

I agree with the reasoning to not fold them. They do create excess drag, but as a percentage or as a lifting capacity penalty the extended fins are probably a much smaller percentage then they would be on the smaller Falcon 9. In fact the added structural and mechanical elements required make them foldable might outweigh the drag penalty. They might also not be strong enough then to be used to catch the booster on landing.

This actually begs the question... Could F9 ditch the landing legs and RTLS to a catch tower at the current landing pads? Would the weight savings from ditching the landing legs out-perform the drag penalty of the grid fins being permanently deployed?

Kenneth_2003 said:

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YellowPot_97 said:

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Malachi Constant said:

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OFT-1 had the grid fins fixed.

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They were fixed in the up position, not folded down, for the first test. They could still turn and control the booster on the return.

---

Thanks to you and another poster for the clarification. I (and I think others) know/knew they do not fold so when I read/heard they were "fixed" i thought they were 100% locked in place without actuators for that test flight.

I agree with the reasoning to not fold them. They do create excess drag, but as a percentage or as a lifting capacity penalty the extended fins are probably a much smaller percentage then they would be on the smaller Falcon 9. In fact the added structural and mechanical elements required make them foldable might outweigh the drag penalty. They might also not be strong enough then to be used to catch the booster on landing.

This actually begs the question... Could F9 ditch the landing legs and RTLS to a catch tower at the current landing pads? Would the weight savings from ditching the landing legs out-perform the drag penalty of the grid fins being permanently deployed?

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The chopsticks don't catch the booster on the grid fins. If you look below the fins, there are two knobs sticking out. Those knobs are what is caught by the tower.

Why truck it in instead building production onsite?

Very little room.

ABATTBQ11 said:

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Why truck it in instead building production onsite?

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I think that's ultimately in the plans... It'll have to be for rapid turn around launches

SpaceX was inquiring with vendors for an on-site air separation plant around 2021-2022. I know my firm bid on it. For the scale they wanted, it's roughly a $10-20 million capex investment. Agree with the comments above that until they've got a sufficient launch cadence you can just truck in a lot of LN2.

Premium said:

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"It's like a little baby unicorn!"

Premium said:

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"What is this, a Starship for ants?!"

I'm crushing your rocket. I'm crushing your rocket. Crush. Crush. [/kith]

Need to get a picture of you laying down and it sticking up from your crotch

Starship stacked for flight. This is another chance to put Starship in a true flight environment, maximizing how much we learn.

Rapid iterative development is essential as we work to build a fully reusable launch system capable of carrying satellites, payloads, crew, and cargo… pic.twitter.com/Gkx7lKYVuz

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 16, 2023

Let's hope if the flight tomorrow doesn't go exactly right that the government doesn't delay SpaceX another 6 months.

TriAg2010 said:

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SpaceX was inquiring with vendors for an on-site air separation plant around 2021-2022. I know my firm bid on it. For the scale they wanted, it's roughly a $10-20 million capex investment. Agree with the comments above that until they've got a sufficient launch cadence you can just truck in a lot of LN2.

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I think it's for the oxygen, not nitrogen.

ABATTBQ11 said:

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Need to get a picture of you laying down and it sticking up from your crotch

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Was going to, but had the kids with us

bmks270 said:

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TriAg2010 said:

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SpaceX was inquiring with vendors for an on-site air separation plant around 2021-2022. I know my firm bid on it. For the scale they wanted, it's roughly a $10-20 million capex investment. Agree with the comments above that until they've got a sufficient launch cadence you can just truck in a lot of LN2.

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I think it's for the oxygen, not nitrogen.

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I thought it was for nitrogen, but N20 rather than LN2?

Good coverage:

https://www.youtube.com/live/6na40SqzYnU?si=ziSydiXfBTrJg_hO

So annoyed that they're not going on YouTube for the live stream. I get that Elon wants to drive traffic to X but at least let us cast that stream to our screens