NEW Flight 4 Shirt: shorturl.at/J8iMd Fully virtual test on both the booster and the real tower. Why not do both? What do you think? Will we see some chopsticks action during flight four?

@kimnelson-barclay7427

Ай бұрын

A test of the chopsticks before a landing seems logical, given SpaceX' dedication to iterative development in all they do.

@fairysox221

Ай бұрын

I don't think it's wise to tell the tower that it's capturing a starship when in actual fact the Starship is nowhere near it... When Spacex's "AI" realizes it has been duped it will quite possibly loose all trust in mankind and kill the human race, at the very least it will then understand deception,, not a good thing with arms as big as the launch tower... This is most likely why they hadn't been brave enough to give it legs !!! Can you imagine a 600 ft tall mechazilla with legs as well as arms, I wouldn't want to be telling it lies !

@user-hc9lp3hb1r

Ай бұрын

Makes sense to virtual test both the booster and the tower so I think they will try that. They only reason for NOT trying it would be if minor damage to the tower during launch could cause further damage during a test.

@appliedfacts

Ай бұрын

I think that testing both at the same time is a totally great idea. Most engineering is done and tested virtually these days. I would have far more confidence in an actual catch if a virtual one was successful first.

@robertmartens7839

Ай бұрын

How deep is the Gulf at the point 20 miles off shore? Way less that 70 meters deep. More like 30 meters deep. They can’t leave it there stuck in the mud.

we have come a long way since 2019, i still remember getting REALLY excited about whenever a single new ring segment was spotted on the build site

@Eclipse-mk3hm

Ай бұрын

stellaris

Felix, "so that it doesn't crash into the tower... maybe a little" Keeping us in good humor! You Rock!

@The1QwertySky

Ай бұрын

Let's be honest, it would look really cool

@Scanner9631

Ай бұрын

@@The1QwertySky But not a cool as the future catching of a booster as it returns from launching a Starship to orbit which a tower collision would delay. I want to see those catches sooner rather than later.

Well I’m hoping the next launch is FLAWLESS . Great channel felix

@Whataboutit

Ай бұрын

Thank you, Ken! Fingers crossed! Keep in mind: Flawless is unlikely. Too many aspects that still need basic testing.

@kimnelson-barclay7427

Ай бұрын

I don't expect flawless. To get where they want to go, they have to test the machines and processes to the breaking point. That way they find the weak spots or unsuitable processes and can correct them. There are still a bunch of prototypes that will be used and expended.

@dextermorgan1

Ай бұрын

I hope so too but I don't expect them to "Get it right" until flight five or six at the earliest.

@PortRhouse

Ай бұрын

I think it’s fair to say expectations have never been higher for flight 4, which creates an interesting dynamic for this launch. I really feel like the pressure is on in a way it hasn’t been before. I’m personally hoping for successful re-entry and soft booster splashdown, I’d be thrilled with that result. Seeing the flip and burn is just going to be the cherry on top for me.

Feeding the booster position relative to the virtual tower, back to the real tower, so that it can also do a virtual catch, is a really good idea! 😃

@appliedfacts

Ай бұрын

If I was in charge I would say, "Make it so, Number One."

Virtual landing only 19 miles away means that a good camera with the right telephoto lens can get video if mounted on the top of the tower.

@Whataboutit

Ай бұрын

Yep! We're planning something even crazier. We'll have John, our photographer, in a Heli during the launch!

@ghost307

Ай бұрын

@@Whataboutit Great idea. Just don't get yourselves in trouble with the NOTAM.

@williamhatfield8935

Ай бұрын

A lot of speculation on just where the next catastrophic explosion will occur.

@BarriosGroupie

Ай бұрын

@@Whataboutit Isn't this risky for the launch if something goes wrong? But the footage will be fantastic if you manage to film it trying to land.

@Scanner9631

Ай бұрын

@@williamhatfield8935 A lot of speculation on just where the next catastrophic explosion will occur. All the past ones were needlessly pessimistic and I expect the same this time.

Felix, your show just keeps getting better and better. Great job

I love what about it can’t wait to watch the launch with you Felix, you rock

Felix, your channel has really come a long way. I really enjoy your videos and great information. Awesome work and keep it up!

I always love these up dates so interesting.

I love the snappier full throttle presentation

You all are knocking it out of the park. Keep up the good work!

It would be cool if they used a floating target zone for the returning booster.

@Scanner9631

Ай бұрын

Anchor an inflatable pool at the site and hopefully get video of it vaporizing as the booster hovers on target above it.

If the hot staging ring detached before the 'rapid disassembly, then it's still whole and at the bottom of the ocean. Near the debris field of ship so they should send a sub down to look for it. This would confirm the theory.

@mrdebris1217

Ай бұрын

I don't think it will survive the impact on the water surface.

Fantastic job today Felix = lots of facts, no big gimmicks. Great detailed explanations with great pictorial videos. Great job = thanks

Great show, Felix & Crew!

@Whataboutit

Ай бұрын

Thanks Greg! :)

Wow, yet another fantastic and epic set of updates on SpaceX; Electron; and Haven! I love what ya'll do and look forward to the next set of updates! Well done to both Felix and his team!

They should make a special edition cybertruck using hull of a starship from the rocket garden.

@WeAllLaughDownHere-ne2ou

Ай бұрын

That's should be the only thing that death trap is doing. It shouldn't be on the road at all.

@Hungary_0987

Ай бұрын

@@WeAllLaughDownHere-ne2ou👍

@lcarlson7725

Ай бұрын

You have zero idea what you are talking about. Until informed, I suggest silence

@ArcherWarhound

Ай бұрын

Tim Dodd asked Elon about that awhile back and Elon said they could/would, but I haven't heard anything since so it labor and machining cost to cut and shape the panels to a truck may have made it so unprofitable that they decided it wasn't worth it.

@Whataboutit

Ай бұрын

Yes... yep... Ja... Totally!!!

Great vid thanks guys.

Can't wait so see world's biggest plasma-based lightsaber light up again!

@Whataboutit

Ай бұрын

@user-ge8ci7le5h

Ай бұрын

I'll be honest, starship looks more like a crossbreed between a squid and a vibrator that's having a themal runaway with the batteries.

I love the montage and video editing, perfection!

08:16 - Been on this channel awhile now, this... this actual LOL. You guys have been up the production game and it rocks!

@Whataboutit

Ай бұрын

:D Thanks!

Great update!

Thank you for the video! While SpaceX is still having issues with tiles, I am thinking of a backup plan by spraying Starship with an oblative coating first which is then covered by the tiles. If the tiles hold, there is no need to re-spray and the Starship still has a quick turnaround. If there is a failed tile, the oblative material underneath will protect it for that mission and they only need to re-spray that one spot. If they spray the entire ship and too many tiles fail during re-entry, they can roll the ship to the other side where the oblative material kicks in. It would result in a longer turn-around to re-apply but that is only if significant issues had occurred. if all goes well the oblative material is not used and there is a quick turn-around. If SpaceX can solve the tile problem, great, but good to have a backup so other missions can continue.

thank you for the 3d models. I am excited to get one.

As any fan of the Karate Kid knows, the trick of catching a flying object lies with the skill of the one holding the chopsticks. Just getting the booster to return to the tower is only half the battle. Timing the "grab" will be nearly as big of a tech achievement.

@Hungary_0987

Ай бұрын

*if not bigger

@matthiasm.7667

Ай бұрын

@@Hungary_0987 Definitely not bigger.

Great update on the upcoming launch date

@Whataboutit

Ай бұрын

❤️

I cant wait!

This channel is awesome. Very well written scripts, great speakers w/ TJ and Felix, and Of COURSE the whole team of people they have behind that the scenes that makes these guys shine so bright. Best Space travel channel out there

One thing I've not heard mentioned is that perhaps the only reason why they weren't going to attempt the flip on the last flight was because they were doing the propellant transfer, so couldn't use the header tanks for the landing.

Looking forward to the next Starship Launch, just keep improving each time!

Rockets are so beautiful and starship looks amazing with the Starlink dishes looking like windows just awesome.

tilting the rocket toward the tower at launch would stop the burn of the fuel connector. landing over a water cooled plate beside the launch base might work but a separate catch tower eliminates massive delays

@TheEvilmooseofdoom

Ай бұрын

Yet they have to go to great pains to make sure it's perfectly vertical.

Danke Felix, für diese wie immer tollen News! ;-)

Great video, thanks a lot ! Every flight corrected the major issues of the previous one. So for the 4th flight I'd like to think they won't have too much troubles with attitude control during reentry. Plus they worked so hard on the heat shield. I, for sure, would love to see both stages of this monster achieve a soft "landing" in the ocean, that would be epic ! 🤞

❤😂🎉 Excited, and looking forward to see the launch. Wish all the best for SpaceX .🎉🎉

Another quality episode.

I feel pretty good About this launch ,Thanks Felix

Huge news let’s go 🎉

Particularly in space, heating from the engines likely destroys the heat treatment of the structural steel in the hot-stage ring. So they would either have to heat treat the whole thing to rehab it after landing or, replace it anyway.

@Scanner9631

Ай бұрын

Depends on how long the heat is on. A second or two shouldn't have a lot of affect. Takes time to heat up more than just the surface.

@just_archan

Ай бұрын

Personally I think it got more to do with aerodynamic and weight. As for heat, it could have also influence but less on ring itself, more on system below ring, like batteries and motors. they can withstand this short burst of heat, but maybe this ring is KEEP heat in this area. Look at booster concepts block 2 and 3. Gridfins are much lower, basically in tanks. I suspect that there will be some kind of inset in tanks that hold motors and instead full ring like this what we have now, upper dome will be designed to to work as thrust spreader, with interstage similar to Soyuz type. OFC this is just... Educated guess

With starship well on its way to certification and things are looking good cross your fingers; the space industry is going to start needing to see all sorts of other stakeholders that are not traditional to space flight. In order to develop Luna for fuel production mining and human occupation. We're definitely going to need a lot of adapted equipment that we're used to using here on Earth. One class of equipment is heavy Earth working equipment. Companies like K-tec, Caterpillar, John Deere, & others would be a valuable addition to the research community for lunar development. Getting the designers engineers from these companies into the same room with people who really understand the surface conditions on the moon would be a valuable beginning.

@mirochlebovec6586

Ай бұрын

Can’t wait to ride my John-Deere lunar tractor🤣

@realfoggy

Ай бұрын

​@@mirochlebovec6586Imagine how long you'd have to wait for a technician to get to the moon to do repairs!

@dphuntsman

Ай бұрын

Caterpillar has been involved in past discussions.

@Astroponicist

Ай бұрын

@@realfoggy That depends on if a local dealership could be established.

@Astroponicist

Ай бұрын

@@mirochlebovec6586 It might have to be an all-electric powered by a KRUSTY space rated nuclear generator with a big fat Lithium battery bank to hold the charge..

A video editing tour de force. Subscribed.

I will luckily be vacationing on the beach during the launch!!! What luck. Hope to see you around town.

So excited!!!

I'm getting excited!!

Jettisoning the hot stage ring will definitely be a temporary thing. Likley for current boosters only. I'm very curious how they will solve this issue. I'm sure they're already working on solutions for future versions of boosters to maintain control during re-entry with a hot ring still attached.

@TheEvilmooseofdoom

Ай бұрын

Likely. The HSR was added late after all the modelling was done and the boosters already being built. Later designs will likely have it designed in.

@smavtmb2196

Ай бұрын

@@TheEvilmooseofdoom Agree

Felix. Your Channel it's definitely the best. One note though...... The shirt logos don't let me see your videos on my Smart TV

Hi what about it thanks for your video of the space race let’s hope everything will go smoothly this time David 🚀❤️👌🇬🇧👍

It seems possible that in the future, fully production boosters may come either with or without hot staging, depending on mission profile.

I think a solution to keep the tiles from coming loose due to forces of vibration during launch, could be to place some kind of plastic wrap around the whole ship, somewhat comparable to those plastic wraps you use when stacking boxes on wooden pallets and keep them together and from falling apart during transport on a fork lift. When the ship enters back in the atmosphere, the wrap then just burns up. But I guess the forces on the tiles and their connections during re-entry are much smaller than during launch.

@just_archan

Ай бұрын

It will be impractical for "rapid reusability". So they "just" need to figure out mounting and durability of tiles it self without sacrificing quick change of tiles. We saw few months ago prototype ring with much smaller tiles with different attachment system on tile side . Instead 3 small stripes of steel with single hole for pin in each tile, new type of tile is much smaller, and with single, larger plate with 3 holes for pins. But this type we will see probably on block 2 starships.

@JFJ12

Ай бұрын

@@just_archan Something tells me the 'separate tiles' concept will allways fail with a rocket like this. The huge vibrations caused by the enormous power of the engines of this monster will always cause tiles to come loose. If not in the first flight, then in the second or third... - So I think some sort of "skin" that sits around the whole vehicle is what will be the solution in the end. - Musk wants 'rapid reusability', but where is the need for that with such a huge thing like Starship?

I would actually love to join this party!!! Unfortunately I'm at the final stage of highschool in northern Germany, Bremen...😢 Have fun and see u live for IFT4

Hello Felix, I think that throwing away the ring will significantly lower the centre of mass of the rocket. I think that will make the rocket easier to control during the boosters entry into the atmosphere. Returning into the atmosphere is a very delicate process, in the old days of Apollo the angle to enter the atmosphere should be exactly 4 degrees. Too steep, and you would have too much friction and the rocket would melt away, too little angle and the rocket could bounce back into space. Less mass of the rocket also implies less fuel to slow down the rocket. To summerize: when the centre of mass is lower, the rocket is more likely to stay into a downwards position and is easier to control with the gridfins

@Whataboutit

Ай бұрын

Yes! Every little bit changes the outcome! The difficult part is to change it towards success! Thank you! Great comment!

@TheEvilmooseofdoom

Ай бұрын

All the flight modelling (grid fin size etc) was done without that 10 ton hat on top. It has very likely thrown the models right out and the easiest thing to do (with these test articles) is to return the booster to the state the original models were expecting it to be in for these tests. A HSR can be designed into the later versions.

@simongeard4824

Ай бұрын

@@TheEvilmooseofdoom Yeah, that's my view too... it's an interim measure to get better flight data while they're waiting for the next-generation test hardware to become available.

Another news filled show, thanks Felix and the team. A question about the hot stage ejection: you seem to be suggesting this happens during booster ascent, since the booster is still running, but whete are the rockets that lift the ring? As importantly what carries the ring away from the booster itself instead of dragging along the booster body like the iceberg on the Titanic? BTW what a great shot of the lightning and the Starship , nice artwork ❤

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, ideas and videos. Always interesting and entertaining to watch. As a sideline, strange that they have left two sections of the second tower in Florida and not sent to Texas as they have the others. With the work progressing on the second tower I’m left pondering why? Are they using a modified design in Texas than in Florida for just those two sections? Why are they doing more work on the tower than the launch platform? I’m pondering that the next tower way initially just be a recovery tower without the need of a launch platform or fueling lines setting the tower a bit shorter. If the first recovery attempt fails it’s cheaper to replace or repair only the sections needed for recovery. Will keep an eye on the building progress in Texas on the second tower. Wishing you and your family the best.

🎉 both. Hopefully. Love from OZ. Down Under. 6725

Seems like it would make sense to have a (the) second tower catch the booster in the future - so the launch tower would not need to be immediately critical for that.

13:49 “I’m not saying it was the aliens” while showing a ship passing by!😆😆 Classic!👌😂

I feel like most people don't realize how big this project is. Great video!

I’m excited they are going to do virtual landings for both the booster and starship! The livestream is going to be epic!

@Whataboutit Are vaccum engines chill at the same time as booster engines?

I think the mechazilla virtual catch will be tested afterwards and only if good data is captured from the booster. Not going to be simultaneous.

Interesting that you portray that all of this is exciting and new for flight 4. They have had all of these targets in every flight profile. If anything they’re pulling back on what they’re targeting per flight.

Cant wait i hope it everything works out as planned

Will this channel livestream the 4th starship launch as well?

@Hungary_0987

Ай бұрын

Probably

Felix, why don’t they make the heat shield tiles much larger? It seems that would make installation quicker and each tile could have more attach points.

@Ismael-tv3dx

Ай бұрын

Larger tiles don’t approximate a cillinder’s circular base as well as smaller tiles.

7:29 If you look at the cloud line, IFT3 spun out of control as soon as it hit that cloud layer. I think the pressure difference caused the booster to spin out of control

Without doubt Booster recovery will be easier without the Hot-Staging ring. The most likely blockage problems is ice. Shortening fuelling times will help that issue, adding heaters to the thrusters to ensure attitude authority is another unless SpaceX goes for hot rather than cold thruster systems.

Cliffhanger...what was done in addition to baffling the inner tanks? Chokepoints? Pre cutoff pressure increase? What about it?

"Maybe a little", along with the look on Felix's face when he mumbled it, was priceless! I need a good laugh now and then and this one was choice!

Why does chilling reduce cracking? - surely maleability increases with temp!

With VAST, I wonder if the reduction in diameter is to allow placement of tanks and equipment, which will be housed under a impact shield/cladding that is the same diameter as the lower section once finished? If so then it will look like the rendered concept.

Have a launch tower and a separate catch tower .

I could not find contact info for SpaceX. Do you think adding a strong plastic film to the heat shield exterior to keep tiles from popping off before reentry is an idea worth testing ? I am thinking something like a heat shrink/windshield safety layer hybrid. Together they stand divided they fall off.

I have always thought thier simulated catch will involve the tower doing its thing in complete sync with the booster doing its thing, just when the two are 30KM apart and things cant go too pear shaped. I am hoping we get to see both the tower moving and the booster doing its burn and soft splash down in the ocean.

IIRC they did once say that the hot staging maneuver can get an increase in payload up to 10%. With the hsr alone being 9 tons (almost 10% of the expected Block 2 payload capacity), is the hot staging business even worth it?

What about the lunar sample return mission that's going on ?

9 tons of steel grid just in the staging ring. The scale of this beast keeps evading me.

Nice video. So much better than the AI ones.

Hi Felix, at 4:30 it looks like you have the timeline titles the wrong way around? To fit your narrative, shouldn't the left column be Flight 4 and the right column Flight 3? 😉

To chill cryo pumps at work, we vent liquid nitrogen (which is all we deal with ) thru the pump to chill it icy before adding any liquid whatsoever. Liquid cryos, even a small amount will crack the steel.

Why no heat sheild tiles on the launch mount? Seems like that would protect many things.

@nickcollins1528

Ай бұрын

Most likely would get blown to bits

Doesn’t jettisoning the hot staging ring make it not a fully reusable system?

So many things to go wrong it will be a small miracle if they ever meet their intended goals.

what if hot stage rings sides stays with 2 stage?, and they can put landing legs to it, and put some flaps to it and it can be come flap by it self, no?

Wai is the best channel on KZread!

@Whataboutit

Ай бұрын

Thank you!!! That's quite the compliment!

They could move the booster quick disconnect to the 6 o'clock position relative to the tower

@linuxxr

Ай бұрын

tilting the rocket toward the tower at launch would stop the burn to.

i guess it could go one of two ways: Either they do it at real time, which would be awesome, or if it gets to that point, they will get the telemetry necesary to confirm if Booster kept on hovering on the same spot before splashing down. I think either way it goes, excitment its guaranteed, i mean, we will be so excited to see it a few meters over the sea that it will be a sucess in and of itself

wow launch just days away now seems for IFT 4 and that vast prototype seems bad ass.

Starship booster landing will sure be interesting

Has anyone figured out how the jettisoned hot staging ring would come down? Might the open structure create enough drag to keep the dome facing down and trap enough air on landing to keep it afloat?

Felix, Good day from Lismore, NSW. 🌏

I think they they should build a dedicated landing tower to use until they have a high degree of confidence that the technique works or introduce landing legs. As it stand F9 and F9H can land anywhere with a prepped surface. Starship and SH are stuck with the launch site as the only landing location if you want to recover the booster. If something goes wrong would have now lost your launch site until repairs/rebuild are complete...

I highly doubt they'll jettison the shield+rings due to mass, at least in this test. They have a big fuel reserve, due to the booster needing in the future to hoover near the tower to align perfectly.

Latent heat of vaporisation (gas production to fill the volume of fuel and oxidiser consumed) leading to freezing of the LOX.

Is there insulation under the heat tiles?

i checked Im still subscribed

D-Ultimate Super Cool Dude ! !

Just got another update from the FAA

Use the Starship side maneuvering rocket's and do away with the 20,000 pound hot stage launching shield.

😊😊😊 - i'll bet on some success an some probs