threelonmusketeersNov 18, 2023

/c/SpaceX Starship Integrated Flight Test 2 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!

https://sh.itjust.works/post/9381398

/c/SpaceX Starship Integrated Flight Test 2 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread! - sh.itjust.works

# Welcome to the /c/SpaceX Integrated Flight Test 2 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread! | Scheduled for (UTC) | 2023-11-18 13:00 [https://dateful.com/convert/utc?t=1300&d=2023-11-18] | | — | — | | Scheduled for (local) | 2023-11-18 07:00 (CST) | | Launch Window (UTC) | 2023-11-18 13:00 to 2023-11-18 13:20 (20 minutes) | | Weather | Good [https://nitter.net/AdamCuker/status/1725386423723864496#m] | | Launch site | OLM-A, SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA. | | Booster | B9 | | Ship | S25 | | Booster landing | B9 to perform a soft water landing in the Gulf of Mexico | | Ship landing | S25 expected to impact Pacific Ocean near Hawaii | # Webcasts | Stream | Link | | — | — | | Everyday Astronaut (4k and low latency) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6na40SqzYnU [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6na40SqzYnU] | Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-LFzFWaACo [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-LFzFWaACo] | LabPadre | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwhcSwQWOHk [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwhcSwQWOHk] | NASASpaceflight | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOI35G7cP7o [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOI35G7cP7o] | The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0K0uSDE6ks [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0K0uSDE6ks] | Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XbmBspvaHE [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XbmBspvaHE] | SpaceX | https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1725852544587727145#m [https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1725852544587727145#m] | The Space Devs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CREQ3e2Li34 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CREQ3e2Li34] # Stats ☑️ 2nd Starship Full Stack launch ☑️ 299th SpaceX launch all time ☑️ 86th SpaceX launch this year ☑️ 2nd launch from OLM-A this year ☑️ 211 days, 23:27:00 turnaround for this pad Stats include F1, F9 , FH and Starship # Mission Details 🚀 - SpaceX website (archived): Starship’s Second Flight Test [https://web.archive.org/web/20231118130541/https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-2] (archived) - SpaceX website (current): Starship’s Second Flight Test [https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-2] # Starship Dev thread [https://sh.itjust.works/post/8834637]

Show threadclothes

Prediction time!

Stage Zero: Works with only minor damage. Booster Engine Failures: 5 :( Hot Staging: Works, looks cool. Upper Stage: Flies, with significant issues. FTS: Big boom, on time! End result: Booster re-enters in one piece, Ship in many.

Nov 18, 2023 at 5:14amWeb
Show threadthreelonmusketeersNov 18, 2023

I’d be surprised if they had that many booster engines fail. I suspect we’ll see only a couple of engines fail at most.

I’m less confident about the success of hot staging, since they’ve never tested it before. Excitement guaranteed though!

Show threadclothesNov 18, 2023
Totally! I don’t have an engineering reason to think they’ll fail, I’m just suspicious after the static fires couldn’t maintain 33. A hot staging failure would be MUCH more exciting.
Show threadxvlcNov 18, 2023

Hmm, I am a bit more confident in the ships abilities (at least for anything between hot staging and SECO).

Anyways, if it hot stages successfully and the FTS works, it‘s a success. But we should also remember that SN9 landed harder than SN8, and SN12 was way worse than the previous three tests. If stage zero is mostly unharmed, the FTS works, and the authorities are not too unhappy, SpaceX has already produced enough hardware for several tests to get it right within the next few months. A good test is a test where you learn a lot, and can try again soon.

Show threadwearling0600Nov 18, 2023

This is a really hot take, but I reckon if it manages to make if to stage separation in one piece, and the hot staging works, the ship should fly trouble-free.

It’s the one part of the system that they have done significant testing on, not that many engines etc. If they once again don’t make it past staging that would be very concerning for the Starship timeline, Artemis, and so on…

It’ll be so cool to see the booster soft splash.

Biggest hope is that they manage to get away without sandblasting Boca Chica so the FAA don’t ground them for 6 months again.