SpaceX is moving forward with its crucial Starship flight test 2 after a spectacular attempt earlier this year that set the firm back by quite a bit as it had to rebuild its launch pad and reevaluate and overhaul several systems on its rocket. Since the April test attempt, SpaceX has poured concrete over the launch site and installed a new plate based cooling system to divert the rocket's heat away at launch.
Now, the firm is ready to see how the rocket stacks up on the site as it has transported the Super Heavy booster to the pad for testing ahead of the flight. However, images of the booster shared by SpaceX suggest that it will have to return to SpaceX's manufacturing facilities since it does not feature the crucial vents to divert the second stage's flames from the tanks during stage separation nor the external coverings for the engines.
SpaceX Picks Up The Pace Towards Starship Flight Test 2 & Moves Booster To Launch Site
So far, July has been a good month for the second Starship flight. Not only has SpaceX started to pour concrete at the site, but it also recently conducted a test of the water cooling deluge system earlier this week. This test was followed up by a pressure test of the Super Heavy booster that saw its exterior turn frosty after super chilled liquids were poured into its tanks.
SpaceX has shared more details about its progress for Starship flight test 2. In a tweet made yesterday the firm shared images of the first stage booster on its way to the launch pad. It added that the rocket iwas shipped to the pad for 'testing' but did not specify which tests will occur. Images of the Super Heavy booster don't show a venting system on its top which is crucial for the biggest upgrade that SpaceX is making to its rocket ahead of the second orbital test flight attempt.
Starship Super Heavy Booster 9 transported to the orbital launch pad at Starbase for testing ahead of flight pic.twitter.com/fF6U13thzs
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 20, 2023
SpaceX will use a 'hot staging' for the second test to separate its Starship rocket's first and second stages. Its chief, Elon Musk, shared these changes in a Twitter space where he outlined that his company is making more than a thousand upgrades to the rocket before test flight 2. These include upgrades to the Raptor engines, which are quite complex to operate but offer more power and easier maintenance over the Merlin rocket engines used on the Falcon 9 rocket.
Upgrades for the Raptor 2 engine include its hot gas manifold, which handles heated propellant and oxidizer at high pressure before they are fed to the combustion chamber to generate thrust. Leaks in this system affected engine performance, and Musk believes that these changes, combined with others, significantly increase the probability of Starship making it to orbit this time around.
SpaceX's latest application for Starship communications in Boca Chica to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lists a start date for the campaign from the 27th of this month. This window will be open for six months, and the firm will also need approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) before its next test. SpaceX has joined forces with the FAA in a lawsuit brought forward by nonprofits who argue that the agency acted improperly in its review of the Boca Chica test site.
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