Questions tagged [spacex-starship]
Questions regarding SpaceX's Starship, formerly the Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) upper stage or BFS
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How can the Starship booster stand vertically without falling over?
How can the Starship booster stand vertically without falling over?
In my day to day experience, similar long objects (simple objects that can be easily found in thehouse) tend to fall easily with a ...
12
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2answers
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Which star could Starship reach soonest?
We've been mocking Starship because it's not going to fly to another star, but according to this solar system delta v map it only takes 5.63 km/s from a Moon transfer orbit to Sun escape velocity. A ...
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Can a spacecraft be “too large to dock” to the ISS?
A comment below Is Starship planned to fly directly to the ISS without first stage? Is it even possible? says:
to my best knowledge, the Starship will never be near the ISS. it is too large to dock ...
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1answer
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How could Starship “deep space variants” improve payload performance by “orders of magnitude” (Elon Musk)?
Replying to Scott Manley's tweeted table of payload mass for a given geocentric C3, Musk tweeted:
We could stretch the Falcon Heavy upper stage & increase this a lot, but FH already covers all ...
3
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1answer
200 views
How do SpaceX intend to transport their starship/super heavy?
One of the design constraints of the Falcon 9, its skinniness, is to allow it to be transported by truck back to the launch site.
Falcon 9 is 3.7 metres in diameter, whereas Starship and the super ...
6
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0answers
108 views
Other than safety qualifications, was there any technical/engineering reason why propulsive landing was cancelled for the DragonV2?
The Dragon V2 cannot perform a propulsive landing. But the Starship will be making propulsive landings. Why?
3
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1answer
111 views
Use of Starship Fuel Tanks in a Space Station
In this question, as to whether Reuse of fuel tanks as habitats is possible, it's mentioned that there were plans to do this for Skylab and for the Shuttle tanks.
However this is asking specifically ...
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how does the crew deplane/deship to the surface [duplicate]
When SpaceStarship lands Mars, the crew will be almost 50 meters above the surface. How will they get out with all their equipment?
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0answers
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What was the thin, black object that was moving around the engine bay of SpaceX Starship SN15?
SpaceX Starship SN15 flew and landed successfully but,
A few minutes into the flight, a long, thin seemingly black object was seen moving around the engine bay
What was this object?
What is it used ...
4
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0answers
242 views
What was the cause of the fire on the SpaceX Starship SN15
SpaceX Starship SN15 had a successful test flight and touchdown but a few minutes after it landed, a small fire was seen to break out next to the Fins.
Why did this break out?
What was the cause of ...
2
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1answer
243 views
Why Starship prototype live video feed often fails but rocket telemeteries work consistently?
On board Starship prototype cameras seemed to fail during test launches very often. However, during such video dropouts, the rocket telemeteries are still received without a hitch, so satellite uplink ...
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3answers
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Starship and Raptor
All these SN-flights...seems that Raptor and the surrounding system is still in development and is pretty unreliable. So why go through all the trouble of flying until the Raptors are more mature?
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What can the ISS do that a SpaceX Starship could not?
The SpaceX Starship (lunar and/or crew-rated version, upper stage only) is expected to have more habitable volume than the International Space Station. On the other hand, the ISS is around 400 tons, ...
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1answer
206 views
Was someone killed in the SpaceX Starship SN10 explosion? [closed]
At timestamp 2:44 in this video:
There can be seen something that looks like a person on fire running and then falling to the ground.
Was someone killed or injured in ...
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1answer
106 views
What solution does SpaceX plan so to make it possible for the crew to get out from Starship on other planets, considering the cabin's elevation?
What solution does SpaceX plan so to make it possible for the crew to get out from Starship on other planets, considering the cabin's elevation? Will they use some kind of rope ladder?
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2answers
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Does Starship reuse actually serve a purpose for Mars, or only LEO/Earth-to-Earth?
(In this question, Starship refers to the reusable 2nd stage, not the full stack w/ Super Heavy).
I was thinking about it the other day, and I realized that I'm not sure a reusable Starship actually ...
5
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1answer
132 views
What are we going to do on the moon?
I understand that (after the early stage), we will assemble a gateway and have starship flights to the moon.
But I am not sure if we know what will we be carrying to the moon?
A 100-ton payload, of ...
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1answer
97 views
Lunar starship descent motors' tank design
Just recently nasa has announced the lunar starship as the winner of the Artemis lunar lander contract which i have to say I'm very excited about. In the latest render however, the nose cone of the ...
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2answers
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Why are Starship landings so difficult when SpaceX has landed so many boosters?
Per Wikipedia, SpaceX has landed boosters successfully 79 out of 90 times.
Yet Starships seem to be reliably exploding upon landing.
What is so different about the two that Starships are so much more ...
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6answers
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Isn't Starship way too big?
The Shuttle was designed with a huge payload of 20 tons. This was supposed to not be a problem since:
the reusability would drive down costs until satellite operators dropped expensive space hardware ...
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0answers
99 views
How big are the risks of Starship flipping during or after landing on the Moon?
Now that NASA has announced the selection of SpaceX to manufacture the Moon landing vehicle(s) for the Artemis program, I can't but notice how tall Starship is when compared to other concepts. Chances ...
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2answers
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Minimum reentry velocity ideal for a spacecraft returning to Earth
During the return trip from Mars or Moon, SpaceX starship can refuel it's propellant tanks before reentry. It can use these propellants for reverse thrust to bring the spacecraft velocity to near idle ...
4
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0answers
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How problematic is debris for Starship storage/depots?
So with the recent announcement that Starship has been selected as NASA's HLS (which is pretty radical), it's raised a question in me that been around for a while.
For HLS; a Starship storage(depot) ...
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2answers
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Why does Starship need to transfer crew to/from Orion to land humans on the moon?
In the new NASA Artemis program, Starship needs to transfer the crew to/from Orion.
Why is this even needed?
I thought that the Starship design allows it to travel directly from Earth to the Moon ...
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2answers
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Can satellite internet be used for monitoring rocket telemetries during testing phase?
Latest prototype of Starship is fitted with Starlink satellite receiver. The SN11 prototype was destroyed during landing and the last seconds telemeteries before the explosion could not be monitored. ...
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2answers
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Should the SpaceX Starship static fire tests more closely match actual flight parameters?
Under the current 10 km flight program, all 3 Raptors are used at launch. During the ascent, they shut down one at a time.
After a flop and free fall of several minutes, they are reignited, with the ...
2
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3answers
472 views
Is Starship planned to fly directly to the ISS without first stage? Is it even possible?
I'm having difficulty understanding how/if Starship and/or Super Heavy could be used to deliver crew to LEO.
Is it expected to deliver astronauts to the ISS Crew-Dragon-style, but without the 2nd ...
3
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1answer
141 views
Are the engines present on the SpaceX Starship Sea level engines or Vacuum engines?
The SpaceX Starship will have engines that light up in space and propel the ship to Mars. Companies and organizations use vacuum engines in space.
However, Starship has to land on Mars, travel back ...
2
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0answers
119 views
How much does the SpaceX Starship flex during the Flop maneuver?
Poring over the woes (and sucesses) of Starship prototypes SN 5-11, I had read they were trying a thinner stainless steel skin in later iterations.
The flop maneuver places the centers of drag at the ...
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0answers
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SN11 was launched in fog. Why not wait for better conditions?
The fog certainly frustrated the external observers, but it doesn't seem ideal from SpaceX perspective either.
All the external observers were very distant from the launch/landing site and would be ...
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3answers
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Why have SpaceX skipped the SpaceX Starship SN12, SN13, and SN14?
Something has happened to the SpaceX Starship SN11.
(For full details and answers regarding SN11, check out the question What happened to the SpaceX Starship SN11?)
Elon Musk recently posted this ...
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4answers
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What happened to the SpaceX Starship SN11? Why did it crash?
What happened to the SpaceX Starship SN11?
As per the live streams held on YouTube, I want to know what really happened to SpaceX Starship SN11
The live streams show a lot of smoke and others show ...
3
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1answer
101 views
Could another fuel be used in the SpaceX Starship header tank?
A memory of hexane and water in a separatory funnel brought to mind the issue of helium and LNG in the header tank while the Starship flips and does its powered landing.
There was discussion of the ...
6
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1answer
230 views
Doesn't dirt get into critical Starship parts?
I guess that once Starship prototypes are complete they should be pretty weather- and dirt-proof. They should be perfectly sealed and stainless steel is well-suited to life outside (though sometimes I ...
4
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1answer
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How does the economics of orbital refueling vs bigger rocket work?
SpaceX plans to refuel Starship in orbit for Moon and Mars missions. According to some other questions here, it seems like they would need 6 tanker Starships to send 1 Starship to Mars.
At a glance, a ...
3
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1answer
61 views
Maintaining constant fuel pressure to rocket engine during flight and flip maneuvers
During lift-off and landing, the methane liquid fuel inside the Starship is being consumed. How constant fuel pressure to the Raptor engines is maintained when the fuel is being depleted and during ...
27
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5answers
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Why has a rocket system like Starship never been proposed before? It does not seem to use any new science, materials or fuels
I wonder why nobody ever proposed a space launch system like Starship. Methane as a fuel and all the theory behind are well known, so why?
Is it solely because of IT progress that made returning the ...
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0answers
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How does Starship/Superheavy system compare with the hypothetical successor of Soviet Energia/Buran system, “Uragan”?
The both were meant to be fully reusable and have comparable scale.
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0answers
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Are Starship header tanks used during ascent? And why?
Elon Musk tweeted that Starship SN8 failed to land due to insufficient header tank pressure:
Fuel header tank pressure was low during landing burn, causing touchdown velocity to be high & RUD [......
5
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1answer
178 views
Static Fire Tests: How is the rocket prevented from flying?
In rockets like Starship, if 35 Raptors are firing at same time, then in a full-duration static fire test there would be enormous loads being exerted from 35 raptors, on the clamps holding the rocket. ...
71
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5answers
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Why do SpaceX Starships look so “homemade”?
Maybe this is not possible to answer, but I was hoping there was some reliable information available on this.
It seems to me that the SpaceX Starship rockets have sort of a homemade quality to them, ...
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2answers
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What is a static fire test?
I watched SN10 launching but not the static fire test.
I am closely following SN11 launching, and read about a static fire test today.
I don't know what it is.
Can someone please explain "static ...
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4answers
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Can someone explain the SN10 landing failure in layperson's terms?
The things I can't understand from what Elon tweeted are:
"engine was low on thrust due (probably) to partial helium ingestion"
There are only tanks for liquid oxygen and CH4 - where did ...
2
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2answers
216 views
Mars in 30 Days
My first question so show mercy!
Earth to Mars 150,000,000 miles.
Earth escape velocity ~20,000 MPH (at maximum fuel consumption).
The journey takes 8 Months at that speed.
The Question:
If launching ...
3
votes
1answer
152 views
What will be the final Starship prototype?
So far, Spacex has made and destroyed/launched Starhopper,MK1-MK4, and SN1-SN10. They also have SN11 on the launchpad and BN1,BN2, and SN15-SN20 under construction. What will be the final Starship ...
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0answers
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Will the Starship skirt envelope heat during landing?
Starship lands on the pad using the landing burn of 1-2 raptor engines. The landing legs offer little vertical clearance from the ground, whereas during lift off, the suborbital launch pad provides ...
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2answers
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How many different hexagonal tiles' modules are required to pave one Starship?
Assuming SpaceX would like to avoid absolute unmodularity of STS' thermal protection system, which was composed of (symmetry aside) mostly different and unique tiles. What tiling typologic strategies ...
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3answers
273 views
Why SpaceX want to land the rocket on the ground?
click for full size
Won't it be easier and save a lot of money to just catch it or land it in a basket?
So rocket coming down can open arm longer than the diameter of the high basket where it goes ...
7
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2answers
314 views
Why are the rocket plumes on SN10 different colors?
At about 7:53 (T+2:30) in this official video of the SpaceX Starship SN10 test flight, the engines are shown in the lower right, with clearly different colors in the plumes. The one on the right is ...
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0answers
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What happens at T-0 for the SpaceX Starship?
Every launch system defines a different event for T-0. The SpaceX Starship prototypes seem to ignite the engines at T-1.0 and accent seems to begin between T+1.0 and T+1.5. An overthrust abort for SN-...
