Questions tagged [spacex-starship]
Questions regarding SpaceX's Starship, formerly the Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) upper stage or BFS
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Could one actually make a grain silo rocket?
Watching the recent SpaceX Starship tests got me to thinking:
Could you actually make a rocket using grain as the propellant?
Image from https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-sn5-second-hop-plans/...
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How tall is SpaceX's launch mount in Boca Chica, TX
SpaceX has a render of Starship launching from a tall launch mount. How tall is the launch mount not including the tower or launch hardware?
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Could the Space X "Starship" be modified for point to point travel on Earth?
After seeing recent successes with the SN5 prototype, powered with very inexpensive LNG, designed to carry 100+ people, is this ... an airliner?
A suborbital Starship could make trans Atlantic and ...
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Why doesn't the BFR/Starship have a launch escape system?
This question let me wonder whether SpaceX' Starship has a launch escape system. It really seems to have none. The obvious question is why not, it sounds pretty negligent to me not to have some kind ...
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Why isn't SpaceX constructing the Super Heavy launch mount on top of the water?
With SpaceX creating their launch facility in Boca Chica Texas, right next to the water, why would they bother building a huge launch pad to withstand the blast, as opposed to building it on top of ...
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What's the new hexagonal structure for in Boca Chica TX, SpaceX
At Boca Chica Texas at the SpaceX launch facility there is a new structure being built. RGV Aerial Photography shows a concrete base with six pillars being built in a hexagonal shape. What is this ...
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Size of the new Starship Launch tower at Boca Chica?
What is the size of the new Starship Launch tower at Boca Chica?
RGV Aerial estimates the size of the new Starship Launch tower at 55-60 feet. I don't think that's accurate.
Is there a better estimate ...
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mass of the decks in the crewed SpaceX Starship [closed]
I want to work out the approximate mass of a Starship (crewed version) deck. We can assume an internal diameter of 8 meters with a 1.5 meter diameter central support tube. The loading is uncertain but ...
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Were there any experiments that produced rocket fuel grade methane on mars?
One of the main reasons that SpaceX's Starship engine raptor uses methane is because it can theoretically be produced there from atmospheric CO2 and subsurface H2O.
Where there any experiments that ...
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What was leaking in Starship SN5 before takeoff?
Just before Starship SN5's 5 August 2020 flight, there appears to be a leak:
Was this planned or accidental?
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How much pressure would the raptor engines experience when Starship does an atmosphere entry burn at Mars?
The Starship second stage has 3 sea level engines and 3 vacuum engines.
When doing the atmosphere entry burn to mars, how many Bars will the raptor engines experience?
I'm thinking that because of the ...
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Electrical power requirements for Starship or Falcon 9
Anybody know where one could dig up electrical requirements for Starship? In other words, if Starship were sitting on the launch pad drawing power prior to launch, what would the load be?
I imagine ...
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Why is Elon Musk building the Starship first? [duplicate]
I mean what is he going to do with the ship alone? Is it even capable of orbital flight on its own?
Now the booster can be put to use immediately, and will probably be easier to make by far (I think)? ...
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How many Raptor engines will Starship use for TMI and Mars landing?
The Starship second stage has 3 sea level engines and 3 vacuum engines.
I don't imagine that all 6 will be used for trans Mars injection, as it isn't very efficient.
And for the Mars landing which ...
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Methane or LOX tank at Boca Chica
As we can see on this picture from Mary "@bocachicagal" on NASASpaceFlight, there are two types of tank near the test stand.
Some are black and others are white or bright and shiny metal, ...
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Can SpaceX Starship Be laid on it’s side?
SpaceX is building Starships at a good tempo and may finally build them faster then they scrap them. The Falcon 9s have always been stored horizontally and erected at the launch pad. I’ve never seen a ...
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Sea launch for starship super heavy will need some kind of flame diverter. Any idea how it will work?
Animations of starship taking off from a barge or platform appear as if there is no flame diverter at all. Any idea how that will be handled, especially since they plan so much traffic? Also how has ...
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SpaceX Body Flaps - Why so Much Power Required
I don't doubt the credibility of this particular source, but why would control surfaces, even at hypersonic speed (in rarefied air, mind you), and even with substantial windward surface, require 1.5 ...
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Relative elevations of the bases for Falcon and Starship pad at LC-39A
The NASA environmental report of August 2019 (https://netspublic.grc.nasa.gov/main/20190801_Final_DRAFT_EA_SpaceX_Starship.pdf) provides a 2D view of of the planned changes to 39A for Starship. A ...
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Why will Superheavy/Starship have a landing pad so close to the launch pad?
According to this image (taken from this answer)
The landing zone is situated right next to the Starship pad.
In contrast, the Falcon 9 landing pads are much much further at 28°29′09″N 80°32′40″W on ...
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What would be the minimum distance from the launch/landing platform to be not be bothered by Starship sonic booms?
One version of Starship has also been proposed to be used for Earth to Earth transportation medium. It won't be anytime soon but when they become normal, how far would the human settlement have to be ...
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Starship Flame trench
During static fires of the Starship engines the exhaust goes everywhere creating a dust cloud, hitting everything with sand.
Why does Spacex in Boca Chica not have a flame trench at the Starship test ...
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Starship lift power to moon
Starship is one of the candidates in the Artemis program. I have heard it would require additional refueling before it gets to the Moon.
It is a bit surprising since Beresheet got to the Moon with ...
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Starship fuel temperature at trajectory corrections on it´s way to Mars
There is no problem to use LOX and CH4 at ambient temperature at the many trajectory corrections on it´s way to Mars? I guess that they will not hold cryogenic temperatures so long. I know that the ...
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How does SpaceX plan to deal with possible methane buildup around Starship?
Starship is going to be fueled with cryogenic liquid methane. Before launch, the vehicle will spend some time fully loaded on the launchpad. Although methane is lighter than air at normal temperature, ...
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How strong is the Starship bottom bulkhead?
I am wondering how much of a role does the pressurization of the propelant tanks play in making them withstand the engine thrust.
What I am getting at is how much would the pressure offset or balance ...
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Why does the Starship methane header tank have so many holes in it?
This picture from Elon shows us the methane header tank positioned inside the main tank.
I understand that one of the reasons for header tanks is to keep them pressurized when the main tanks do not ...
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Why do larger and newer rockets not use electric pumps?
Rocketlab's Electron uses an electric pump combustion cycle with no preburner so all fuel is fed into the combustion chamber rather than wasted in a preburner/staged combustion-powered turbopump that ...
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Details on Starship's Reaction Control System thrusters
Recent renderings of the proposed lunar starship has stirred speculation about what those 12 small landing engines are, half way up the space ship. In guessing they may be the same engines being ...
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Why did SpaceX choose vertical integration for Starship?
Rockets are basically horizontally or vertically assembled and integrated. SpaceX selected horizontal integration for its current Falcon rockets, essentially for reasons of lower cost. This ...
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What makes SpaceX's Starship so cheap?
Elon Musk estimates that a Starship launch could drop to as low as $2 million.
A Falcon 9 launch costs $50 million (when reused).
What makes such a huge price difference?
Will it use a different ...
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Are new Falcon cores still being built at Hawthorne?
Musk has been saying for a while that at some point, they they will devote all their energy to the Starship. Falcon development has stopped at block 5, with no major iterations. It was never clear to ...
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Are there any at least somewhat authoritative estimates of how long it will be before people will land on Mars and setting up camp?
While the naive but perfectly valid question Are they building on mars or do they have a camp there? was closed and overly downvoted, I think my answer there was reasonable; the perception by the lay ...
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What is the two little black side tanks seen at starship?
What is the content of the two little black side tanks at the SpaceX Starship SN3? And what it's used for?
The picture is of Mk1 then SN1 (tanks on left side) then SN3 (tanks on middle front).
Here ...
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Why did SpaceX swap the LOX and CH4 tanks between Mk1 and SN1?
According to most sources, the Starship Mk.1 had its LOX main tank (not talking about the header tanks here) on top and its main methane tank below. But it seems the SN1 revision, and all subsequent ...
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Why create a production line for the SpaceX Starship?
We read that Elon Musk is focusing not only on designing a functional new space vehicle, but almost foremost on creating a production line of Starship. In addition to the existing and expanding Texas ...
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Will SpaceX Starship have launch abort system? [duplicate]
Since future SpaceX Starship is planned as long duration passenger spacecraft for multiplanetary transport will it have launch abort system? Also how is crew evacuation planned during interplanetary ...
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What is a thrust puck on Starship?
Elon Musk recently mentioned a Thrust Puck on Twitter, "We’re stripping SN2 to bare minimum to test the thrust puck to dome weld under pressure, first with water, then at cryo."
He also mentioned ...
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What have been so far the benefits of the competition between construction sites for Starship by SpaceX?
As stated by Elon Musk himself, the construction of the prototypes of the future space vehicle by SpaceX, Starship, should benefit from the competition between two teams at Boca Chica and the Cape ...
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How will the huge SpaceX Starship be moved/ferried on long distances on the ground?
There are evidences that the current rocket by SpaceX, Falcon 9 booster can be ferried on long distances on the regular road network. Long distance road ferry movements seems to be necessary because ...
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Building a city on the Moon using inflatable modules, and the Starship as a launch vehicle? [closed]
What are the main challenges for someone (such as Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk) to mass-produce a flight-ready inflatable habitat(1000 of them), capable of sustaining 16 humans, and use them to build a ...
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G forces of Starship 1 when leaving Earth orbit?
Is there a stated estimate of what the G forces an astronaut would experience on Starship 1 when leaving Earth orbit?
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Why is a 1.5:1 TWR desirable for a reusable launcher?
According to a Teslerati article linked from another QA:
The most critical component for the booster, according to Musk, is that there is “a lot of force pushing up.” He states that to launch ...
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Estimate of how fast will the Starship/Super Heavy be moving 5 and 10 seconds after liftoff?
I am wanting to make a comparison of the expected initial seconds of the ascent of the Starship/Super Heavy compared to the similar time of the Saturn V ascent.
If this chart (from a NASA space math ...
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Why did the SpaceX Starship MK1 prototype pop?
During a pressurization test on November 20th, 2019, SpaceX's Starship MK1 prototype "popped" at the SpaceX facility in Boca Chica TX.
Do we know what caused this apparent failure? Some claim that ...
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Why is SpaceX not also working on a smaller version of Starship?
SpaceX is planning to retire Falcon 9, which would leave it with only Starship. While a Starship launch is expected to be cheaper than a Falcon 9 one, a downscaled Starship launch would be cheaper ...
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Power supply for StarShip?
Early renderings of the Mars Colonial Transport showed 2 fan shaped solar arrays deployed while in space. I haven seen any depictions of the StarShip with a solar array either in orbit or standing on ...
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What is the expected date for the first Starship 20km test flight?
What is the expected date for the first Starship test flight which is aiming for 20km flight? Is there any news about it?
Initially, it was 11th October but after September 27 presentation it is ...
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Why do two Starships dock in such a manner their heat shields face opposite sides?
In the Starship Launch Animation, first, a crewed Starship launches and reaches orbit. Then the fuel tanker Starship rendezvous with the former and docks like this for orbital re-fuelling.
It can be ...
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Why don't we use sound suppression system when rocket lands propulsively?
We know that the sound suppression system (water deluge system) is used to protect the launch vehicle from the acoustic energy produced by the engines. For most of the expendable launch vehicles, it ...
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