SpaceX is set to launch the seventh full stack flight of Starship, and this time with a Block 2 ship. This new vehicle has many upgrades over its predecessors, making it much more operational than the older Block 1 ships. Weather is a watch item ahead of the one hour window that opens at 4 pm local time. Until now, SpaceX has been flying these older ships, which were good enough to get the data needed on heat shield performance, raptor engine performance, and many other items. So, this stack of Ship 33 and Booster 14 is the next step in the program. Trajectory, Timeline, and Mission Objectives Regarding Trajectory, Flight 7 is identical to the past four flights. SpaceX still intends to fly a suborbital trajectory that ends with a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. However, the timeline has some changes and additions. Flight 7 does feature a few changes to the propellant loading timings and some additions to the flight itself. Now, even though Ship 33 can carry 300 tons more of propellant, SpaceX has made ship propellant loading even faster. On Flight 6, the Ship prop load started at T-49:50, which was Liquid Methane (LCH4) Propellant load start. On Flight 7, the Ship’s propellant load starts at T-45:54, and instead of LCH4, this time, Liquid Oxygen (LOX) starts first. Ship propellant load then ends at T-03:20, which means a reduction of three minutes and 56 seconds to the Ship propellant load. Booster propellant load is only changed by a few seconds, but overall, SpaceX can now load nearly 5,000 tons of propellant in 43 minutes and 4 seconds. For reference, Falcon 9 starts propellant load at T-35 minutes. Flight 7 Countdown (Credit: SpaceX) The ascent timeline has largely been unchanged. However, boost back burn is only 44 seconds long compared to Flight 6, which was 54 seconds. This decrease in time could be due to either a high throttle setting for boost backburn or Booster 14’s raptors being a bit more upgraded. SpaceX has some ambitious objectives for the first-ever Block 2 ship. This flight is set to be the first ever payload deployed for Starship, with ten dummy Starlinks being loaded into Ship 33’s pez dispenser. This is set to occur at T+17:33, and SpaceX may even show it on the new camera that looks to have been installed on the top of the Flight Termination System box. In addition to a payload deploy demo, SpaceX will once again attempt an in-space relight of a raptor engine set to occur at T+37:33. This will help test the new plumping to the raptors on this new ship. Dummy Starlinks being loaded in Ship 33 (Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF) SpaceX will also test a nonstructural version of a catch pin for Starship during reentry. This is only bolted onto the side and will show if it can survive reentry. If this works, SpaceX intends to attempt a catch as early as Flight 8. The additional test objectives are numerous, with this being the first Block 2 ship SpaceX will attempt to verify all of the design changes. Flight 7 currently has several opportunities for launch windows over the coming week. Currently, it is scheduled to fly no earlier than Jan 15, with backups till Jan 17. All of these windows are for another afternoon launch, which is open from 4 pm to 5 pm CST on all available days. This is so SpaceX can have a daytime splashdown in the Indian Ocean to view the new heat shield after reentry. Each day, the road is scheduled to be closed from 9 am to 10:30 pm CST from Jan 15 to Jan 17. This should allow SpaceX to be able to safe Booster 14 before opening the road. Weather so far doesn’t look the greatest on Jan 15, however SpaceX is closely watching to determine whether or not Starship is good to fly. Ship 33’s Test Catch Pin(Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF) Ship 33 Ship 33 has many design changes compared to the past six ships that have flown on full stacks thus far. This flight is to test and verify all of the changes made. First and foremost, Block 2 will include extended propellant tanks. SpaceX added a ring to the ship, making it 21 rings tall, and moved around the common and forward domes to load around 300 more tons of propellant into the ship. This addition will allow SpaceX to increase its payload to orbit with Block 2. The sacrifice was a smaller payload bay section, which went from five rings to three rings. However, SpaceX retained most of its usable payload space, as the nose cone on Block 2 was completely redesigned. SpaceX kept the payload volume high by compacting and simplifying the header tank package in the nose cone, significantly reducing the size of the flap frames and structural supports inside the nose cone, thus giving more space for cargo. For example, the Block 2 pez dispenser for Starlink satellites is larger than the previous Block 1 design, increasing the number of Version 3 Starlinks from around 40 to 54. Ship 33 in Mega Bay 2 (Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF) The other significant noticeable change is that the forward flaps have become thinner and are being moved slightly up and leeward or away from the heat shield side of the ship. On Block 1 ships, the flaps were 180 degrees apart, and as seen on the past few flights, SpaceX has had heating issues on the flap hinges. Block 2 solves this issue by moving the base of the flaps. The flap hinges and the fairing are 140 degrees apart and out of the main plasma stream for reentry. This will help prevent the heat buildup and burn-through seen on the last three ships that have flown. Another reason for this change was during the suborbital hops, SpaceX found that the old flap design and position could cause the nose to be pushed up during the belly flop maneuver. Ship 33 Nose Cone (Credit: Jack Beyer for NSF) The next significant change is the heat shield. SpaceX has managed to remove almost every heat shield seam across the vehicle. These seams were always at the section weld lines where SpaceX used adhesive tiles, as there were no pins in those locations. On Block 2, SpaceX started to use pinned tiles in these locations, even on the dome welds with the external stringers. The forward, common, and aft domes use smaller gap-filled pinned tiles for the heat shield. This is a significant upgrade over the older design and should allow for a more robust heat shield in the long run. Ship 33’s Heat S Shield with small Tiles (Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF) Ship 33 features moved chopstick lift points, which are now on the payload bay instead of under the forward flap. This move allows SpaceX to have the sticks lower for a taller ship and will be necessary for Block 3 down the line. As for internal changes, Block 2 has four vacuum-jacketed transfer tubes going from the common dome to the engines. Instead of one single transfer tube for all six engines, each Raptor vacuum engine now has its own methane transfer tube from the common dome. In addition, Block 2 now has elliptical domes for both the forward and common domes. This change helps with manufacturing and keeps the design simplified. As for computers, SpaceX has completely upgraded the avionics suite on board the ship to help improve the vehicle’s control and reliability. Ship 33 Transfer Tubes (Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF) Booster 14 Ship 33’s other half is not a Block 2 booster. Booster 14 is still a Block 1. However, this vehicle most likely has many internal upgrades that outside photos can’t see, such as changes to valves and other components. On the outside, a new set of stiffeners has been added just below the common dome of the booster. It is currently unknown why this new set of stiffeners has been installed, but SpaceX could have seen something on the last few flights and decided it was needed. Booster 14 Common Dome (Credit: Jack Beyer for NSF) The only other visible change is removing the engine chill pipe on the hot stage ring. This is no longer needed because on Block 2 of ship the engine chill line is now running through the aft flap hinge and flares out. This is an ambitious flight, with a new, upgraded ship and many test objectives planned. But if everything goes to plan and the catch points survive along with the ship reentering and landing on the mark. SpaceX may go into orbit on the next flight, deploy real Starlink satellites, and maybe go for a ship catch. Featured Image: Ship 33 stacked on Booster 14 ahead of flight (Credit: Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF)