Starship Flight 4 milestones effect changes to Flight...
- by NASASpaceFlight.com
- Jun 12, 2024
- 0 Comments
- 0 Likes Flag 0 Of 5
— Adrian Beil (@BCCarCounters) June 12, 2024
Adrian Beil for NSF got a response from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in regards to a possible Mishap Investigation for Flight 4: “The FAA assessed the operations of the SpaceX Starship Flight 4 mission. All flight events for both Starship and Super Heavy appear to have occurred within the scope of planned and authorized activities.” With no mishap investigation needed SpaceX can push ahead with Starship Flight 5; however, there is no word on whether or not the current license can be used for a booster catch. Considering a landing at the launch site is not included in the current license SpaceX will likely need another modification.
Overall, the launch preparations for Flight 5 will be interesting to watch as SpaceX readies for a catch and aims for a much better performance during reentry.
Ship 30 Tile Removal Underway (Credit: Mary/BocaChicaGal for NSF)
Orbital Launch Pad B
Construction of the next Orbital Launch Pad (OLP) is gaining speed. SpaceX has the last two sections, along with the chopstick arms and carriage, on their way from Florida. With these parts arriving, SpaceX will only be missing a Ship Quick Disconnect Arm. There is one still at Roberts Road, where SpaceX has been building OLP parts. However, this arm may need to be updated and will probably be built new from scratch at the Sanchez Site.
Regarding when the tower might start stacking, teams have made significant progress on the foundation, with the Pile Cap of the tower being poured and parts for the crane needed to stack the tower arriving. Unlike the last two towers, SpaceX will not use the Liebherr LR11350 crane but a Demag CC 8800-1, which has more lifting capacity.
Orbital Launch pad B Pile Cap Pour (Credit: Mary/BocaChicaGal for NSF)
A new interesting note about this tower is that the foundation will have hollow steel columns filled with concrete rather than concrete that needs steel shielding added. The Orbital Launch Mount (OLM) will be placed to the south, giving some incredible views once a vehicle is stacked on this new launch pad.
Lead Image: Ship 29 and Booster lift off for Starship Flight 4. Credit: Mary/BocaChicaGal for NSF
Please first to comment
Related Post
Stay Connected
Tweets by elonmuskTo get the latest tweets please make sure you are logged in on X on this browser.
Sponsored
Popular Post
Tesla: Buy This Dip, Energy Growth And Margin Recovery Are Vastly Underappreciated
28 ViewsJul 29 ,2024