SN6 begins test campaign as future Starships hatch...
- by NASASpaceFlight.com
- Aug 16, 2020
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First, SN6 is required to pass numerous tests ahead of the hop, including proof/cryo testing, milestones that occurred on Sunday with the loading of LN2 (Liquid Nitrogen).
Providing all goes well with those tests, the hydraulic rams – placed in the launch mount to impart forces on the aft of the vehicle during pressurization tests – will be removed and a Raptor engine (likely SN29) will be installed on SN6. This will allow the Static Fire test to take place, which will provide a green light to proceed toward the 150-meter hop.
Following the test, SN6 will either be placed back on the launch mount for a second hop or rolled back to the Mid Bay to tap SN5 back into the game for her second hop.
Likely to take place during the hop series, a Test Tank, called SN7.1, will make a trip to the launch site for a test of its own. While both SN5 and SN6 are made from 301 Stainless Steel, SN7.1 is made from 304L (or at least a variant of this alloy). 304L is what all near-term future Starships will be made from before SpaceX employs its under-development proprietary alloy.
Data from SN7.1 will be fed into the data set that will guide pressure allowances on Starship SN8, which has already begun final assembly inside the Mid Bay next to its new neighbor, SN5.
With SN8 also made from 304L, the vehicle is set to provide the next leap forward – or upwards – for SpaceX’s Starship Launch System (SLS – not the orange one).
SN8 is expected to gain the nosecone, made from a five ring barrel section and the fairing dome, along with aerodynamic control surfaces, pointing towards a much greater leap compared to the tests with her younger sisters. While such a completed nosecone has been observed inside the Windbreak, it has not been confirmed that this is the nosecone section that will be installed on SN8.
SN8 Aft Section Flipped, next to SN9 dome – via Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF
Numerous nosecones, to the point of it becoming amusing, can be seen waiting their turn for potentially becoming flight-worthy. Ultimately, the nosecones which include a header tank are believed to be the most likely to fly.
SN8’s aft section is also expected to gain fins, with aft fins already seen on site, along with additional hardware recently arriving via new deliveries over the past few days. Most notably, SN8 will fly with three Raptor engines.
While SN8 presses onwards to become the first full-stack Starship, SN9 has been seen in public for the first time, with a Common Dome section rolled out of one of the Big Tents at the Production Site.
Another update for today but this time for SN8. The aft dome has been sleeved and flipped. (Blue)
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