Booster 12 static fires on Pad A and Pad B towers are in full swing

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After Hurricane Beryl passed through the Brownsville area without causing significant damage to Starbase, preparations for Starship Flight 5 have been taken to the next level with the deployment of Booster 12 to the Orbital Launch Site and subsequent static detonation on Monday, July 15.

While Booster 12 is being tested, stacking of Starbase’s second launch tower on Pad B is also underway, and new equipment has been delivered to Starfactory. SpaceX is also proposing to increase Starbase’s Starship flight cadence to 25 flights and landings per year, as hardware has been spotted for Starship Block 2.

AMPLIFIER 12

The Super Heavy booster that will be used for Flight 5, Booster 12, was rolled out of Mega Bay 1 to the Orbital Launch Site on Tuesday, July 9, to be prepared for critical testing to prove the booster’s flightworthiness. The booster was lifted into position by Mechazilla “chopstick” arms onto the orbital launch site’s Pad A launch pad that evening.

Booster 12’s test began with a partial fuel load on Thursday, July 11, and may have performed tests involving the unloading of fuel after a capture with the Mechazilla arms. On Friday, July 12, the booster performed a spin prime test with 33 engines. The “spin prime” is when fuel is loaded and the engines’ turbopumps are boosted to flight speed, but the engines are not ignited.

This was the first spin prime performed on a Super Heavy since Booster 9 performed one in August 2023. It was possibly intended to test internal upgrades to the booster or simply as a precaution to ensure the vehicle is performing well, given that a capture attempt will be made during Flight 5.

The next step after the spin prime was the static fire. A static fire was conducted at 10:13 AM CDT (15:13 UTC) on Monday, July 15, and appeared to be eight seconds long.

The booster’s grid fins, which are used to propel the vehicle through the atmosphere for recovery at the launch site, were tested by moving them through their range of motion. The ship’s quick-release arm high on the turret was also moved multiple times to test its function.

Booster 12 appears to feature upgrades from previous Super Heavy vehicles. These include a new flight terminated system box designed to allow for rapid destruction of the rocket in the event of an anomaly. Four Starlink antenna mounts are also present, as well as new “remove before flight” covers for the Raptor boost quick disconnects.

There are now closures planned for the coming week that could be used for testing, including the static firing that has taken place. The primary closure was on Monday, July 15 from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM CDT (11:00 to 23:00 UTC). Secondary closures are planned for Tuesday, July 16 and Wednesday, July 17 at the same times, but if the test is successful, they may not be used.

STARTING PLACE B

The Orbital Launch Site will have a second launch pad, allowing SpaceX to increase the launch cadence of the Starship program. Pad B, as the second pad is called, could also prove useful if a problem takes Pad A out of service for a significant period of time.

The Pad B launch tower has already been installed and the base appears to have incorporated the lessons learned from Pad A. The first element of the new launch tower has now been installed at the base. This segment was installed on July 11 and Tower Module 2 has now been deployed to the Pad B location.

In other tower section news, Tower Modules 4 and 5, which contain additional fittings to allow the quick-release arm to be positioned higher in the tower to support future versions of Starship, have been relocated from the Brownsville docks to Starbase. All nine modules of the new tower, which are pre-equipped with electrical and fluid lines, are now located at the Starbase Sanchez site or on Pad B.

Pad B is a key element in increasing Starship’s launch cadence from Starbase, which SpaceX is now proposing to increase to 25 Starship system launches and 25 Starship and 25 Super Heavy landings per year. SpaceX has filed a request to increase the cadence from the currently allowed 10 launches per year with the FAA, and the draft tiered environmental impact assessment (EA) is scheduled for public release later this month. Public meetings on this draft EA are scheduled for Tuesday, August 13, Thursday, August 15, and Tuesday, August 20, 2024.

There are two meetings scheduled for August 13. The first meeting is from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. CDT (6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. UTC) and the second meeting is from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. CDT (10:30 p.m. UTC on Tuesday through 12:30 a.m. UTC on Wednesday, August 14). Both meetings will be held at the City of South Padre Island Convention Center.

We are committed to assessing the environmental impacts of all FAA-licensed commercial space operations. We will hold public meetings on @SpaceX‘s proposal to increase the number of Starship/Super Heavy Vehicle launches and landings in Boca Chica, TX. https://t.co/nqmmKrVMcB photo.twitter.com/PGzamCSHa0

— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) July 12, 2024

The next series of two meetings is scheduled for August 15, with the first meeting also taking place between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. CDT (18:00 to 20:00 UTC). The second meeting is also between 17:30 and 19:30 CDT (22:30 UTC Thursday to 00:30 UTC Friday, August 16). This time, however, the meetings will be held at the Port Isabel Event & Cultural Center.

The final scheduled public meeting on the draft EA is an online virtual meeting scheduled for August 20 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. CDT (22:30 UTC Tuesday to 00:30 UTC Wednesday, August 21). In addition to flight cadence, this EA will also address vehicle upgrades.

In addition to the request for up to 25 launches per year from Starbase, SpaceX is also planning up to 44 Starship launches per year from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center and up to 76 launches per year from SLC-37B. That will total 145 launches per year of Starship – a rocket more powerful than the Saturn V that launched Apollo missions to the moon.

STARFACTORY, SHIP 33, ETC.

The massive Starfactory has now received its gantry crane, as it is nearly complete. In addition to the Starfactory, work has also been done to upgrade the tank farm for the Orbital Launch Site. Work is still underway on Ship 30’s heat shield tiles in High Bay, and Ship 31 is in Mega Bay 2 after being tested at Masseys. In addition, a nose section for Ship 33 – the first Block 2 vehicle – can now be seen at Starbase.

The forward fins for the new version are mounted further forward on the nose, away from the belly and heat shield tiles, and they are also thinner than the fins on the original flight version. A potential flight article of an operational payload bay for a Block 2 ship has also been spotted, indicating that SpaceX is getting closer to operational flights of the system. The full-scale Starlink v3 satellites are expected to be the first operational payloads that Starship flies.

The testing that Booster 12 is undergoing is important to getting Flight 5 off the ground, but the timing of the flight could depend on how long the heat shield upgrade on Ship 30 lasts. The FAA must also approve a license change due to the planned capture attempt for the booster in flight.

While preparations for Flight 5 are in full swing, the next version of Starship is taking shape and being prepared to fly in 2025. Operational flights and their hardware are being fleshed out, while the company’s currently operational satellite launch vehicle – the Falcon 9 – works toward a return to flight following the July 11 failure of Starlink 9-3.

(Main image: Booster 12 test firing on July 15, 2024. Credit: Sean Doherty for NSF)