Kind thanks go to Brilliant for
sponsoring todays episode! What are the differences between
SpaceX’s Starship SN10 and SN15? What are all the changes, Musk talks about? And why is SpaceX disassembling their
Super Heavy booster again? Let’s find out! My name is Felix, and I am your host for
today’s episode of What about it!? And as always, there’s been a lot going on in the
space industry lately, so let ’s dive right in! Starship Updates These are some fast-paced times
for the Space Industry. Development everywhere. Innovation, funding on an unprecedented level even from the private
sector and on top of all that we have SpaceX
building the biggest rocket in human history. SpaceX’s Starship is supposed to be orbital
towards the middle of this year. An internal goal is aiming for July 1st and
even though this might seem very fast, it could still be possible that SpaceX makes that
first orbital flight happen shortly after. To achieve this, Starship #15 is supposed
to improve on many things. Hundreds of internal improvements. Structural, avionics, engines, software. Everything has been developed further
to get closer to the final design. I have been busy analyzing Starship number 15 for
you to show the visual differences between 10
which was still a block 3 Starship and 15 which now according to my internal classification
would be a block 4 Starship. The next step in the evolution. So, let’s do this. SN10 vs. SN15! Here we are. SN15 on the left and SN10
on the right for a direct comparison. Pictures provided by Mauricio
from RGV Aerial Photography! Amazing job! A link to his Twitter and Patreon
can be found in the description! Alright! Let’s do this top to
bottom to not miss anything. All the way on top, what seems to be the upper
header tank vent has been changed in design. Vents have been moved all the
way into the nose tip. Then, the handling points at which SpaceX workers attach
cranes to lift up the Starship at several stages
of construction have changed from a round design to an elongated one. Faster handling
times will shave off some hours! Continuing further down on the Nose,
weld marks have changed quite a bit. Y shaped marks that weren’t even there on SN10 have
appeared on 15 and others have been rearranged. This shows that there is quite a bit of internal
change here which other than by the
weld marks is invisible from the outside. On we go. Compared to SN10 the aerodynamic covers
on the forward flaps have changed quite a bit. Different shape and they seem
to attach better to the hull. Overall a much cleaner look. Jumping down to the top dome area where plumbing
and all sorts of other details can be
found, many things have changed as well. These ports have been added. The Starlink antenna
for testing purposes has been added. Directly above it we can see some v shaped
weld marks again, missing on SN10 and indicating
more internal design changes. And finally, the raceway has been changed a lot. Much cleaner looking and with an extra
pipe leading into the ch4 tank. I am tempted to say that the extra pipe might
have to do with header tank pressurization. Everything here has matured a lot compared
to the rough look on SN10. Even further down the hull, following the much
cleaner raceway and plumbing, the sensor setup
on the hull has changed in many places. Here, SpaceX has switched from one to two sensors. Looking to the side, where the Aft fins start,
we can see major changes on the aero covers. This looks like a completely different design
altogether to change the airflow. An extra hinge seems to have been added as
well, previously not visible on SN10. Jumping back into the middle of the hull,
basically everything is different. Silver heat insulation material present on
SN10 is missing on the cable work on SN15. The cables attach to the hull in a
position much more to the left. Autogenous pressurization pipes coming from the engines
and carrying hot gas from the turbo pumps to
be fed into the tanks again for pressurization attach in a completely different position. This can be an indicator for a different engine setup
or different plumbing inside the engine bay. Since SN15 uses a different thrust puck design
as well, this change might be connected to it. And again, as in many other places of the hull,
different weld marks can be seen on SN15 compared
to SN10 also in the engine section. Again, due to components on the inside added,
left out or positioned differently. That’s quite a bit of change. It’s going to be
very interesting to see how SN15 performs. And we won’t have to wait much longer either. Aiming for a launch next week! 4/20 anyone? I guess, I’ll get everything ready
for another epic launch stream! SpaceX’s testing frequency is
increasing dramatically. As seen on this chart made by BocaCharts on Twitter
the increase in speed can be seen clearly. Where SN9 needed 42 days from rollout to launch,
SN10 needed only 33 days and SN11 22. If SpaceX launches SN15 next week Friday, which would
be the latest possible date before the weekend, we’d land at 16 days which would bring the time
needed down to a little more than two weeks. If it launches early next week the two weeks
mark would fall for the first time. Just hypothetically speaking, if SpaceX keeps
this frequency up, we’d be talking about another
18 possible Starship launches in 2021. That would bring us to a mind
boggling SN33 for Christmas. And that’s not counting Super Heavy boosters which
are being produced in parallel right now. Speaking of Super Heavy Boosters. We already have to say goodbye to the first one. As it is almost tradition at SpaceX, the
first prototype is always just to look
at and to do some training with it. That’s Booster number 1. Never meant to fly and
now SpaceX is already getting rid of it. No transport to the launch site, no
obvious handling tests done either. Just built and taken apart again. And as SpaceX is quick with everything it seems; the
booster already has been taken to the scrap yard
behind the construction site piece by piece. And another one… It’s sad to see it leave like
this, but it opens space for the next one. Never get too attached to a prototype. Its end is always around the corner. And while Booster number 1’s end has come,
SN15 is working on its grand performance. To show the world, how much
it has improved from SN10. First cryogenic testing was done early this
week and everything looked perfect. Business as usual. Liquid nitrogen was pumped first into
the oxygen tank and then into the upper methane tank. Interrupted by several strong vents
to stress test the system. Frost built up on the outside, indicating that this was a
test at flight pressure with completely filled up tanks. All went well. No problem at all. Long gone are the days, when even a cryogenic
test would cause stress and hyperventilation
amongst us Starship fans. SpaceX knows by now how to build a pressure vessel
that can withstand the needed numbers. And yes, they’re not building it in a clean
room and yes, it’s made like a grain silo
and yes, it all worked out in the end. Keep that in mind, when saying that SpaceX
might not succeed with all this. So far so good. As said earlier, a launch is expected to happen
next week and I’ll of course stream the whole
thing again to watch it together with you! Keep a look out for a stream reminder! Now, let’s see, what we can expect from a first Super
Heavy Booster flight and what kind of Progress
SpaceX has made towards the orbital flight! What do you think about today’s episode so far? Liked it? Give it a thumbs up. Didn’t like it? Tell us in the comments,
what we can do better! Subscribe to the channel or even become a member
by hitting the join button under the video and get
awesome perks like access to our Discord and a chance to talk to me and the team or completely
ad free episode releases for supporters! Or get some fresh Waiwear in our merch store! Designs from the community including Neopork,
Nick Henning, Brendan and me! Ready to make you look awesome
for the next launch! Thank you for all your support! You Rock! Now that Booster Number 1 is gone, it opens
up the way for Booster Number 2. The
first one to actually perform tests. Replying to Adam Klotz on Twitter on
March 30th, Musk clarified again, that
BN1 was a production Pathfinder. That they’ve learned a lot and that BN2 would fly. Maybe even to orbit. And maybe even on an orbital
pad and all that by the end of April. Now that sounds like a lot. This is Booster Number 2 and a huge thank
you goes to 3D Daniel from the WAI family
for providing us with this animation! Well done! Cut in half it reveals
the inside tank structure. Methane on the bottom, oxygen on top. Daniel has decided to give the booster 4 engines
as 28 seem to be a little out of reach
right now and until the end of April. So, if SpaceX opts for 4 engines and a 150 meter
hop, this is what it would look like. The internal tank structure
is similar to a Starship. No header tanks though and
the main tanks switched. Methane is on the bottom here. As soon as the ignition occurs, the 4 Raptor engines
start propelling the booster into the air. In this case with a slightly different flight profile
compared to first Starship test flights. SN5 had asymmetric thrust due to one
engine propelling the vehicle. This created a very distinctive
tilted flight path. BN2 won’t need that. No matter, how many engines
SpaceX ends up putting under the first booster, they won’t have to go with an uneven number and so the
booster will perform a much less tilted flight path. And since all this by now is proven technology,
we don’t expect problems either and so
the booster lands just fine on the pad. That’s it. A first demonstration flight for a Super Heavy
Booster and what it could look like when it happens. Do you agree? Is there anything you’d add? As always, tell me in the comments! Neopork has been working on his version of a fully
equipped booster as well and has provided us
with a render of what it will look like when a Super Heavy Booster is performing
the final landing burn. No legs. Still no solid information from Musk as to
what exactly the catch mechanism will look like. A tiny piece of equipment needed for Booster
Number 2 has been spotted by Mary aka
BocaChicaGal at the construction site! Thank you Mary! It is the first ever spotted
complete Super Heavy Grid fin! Smaller than the initial design it still is a giant
and in combination with three other fins it
will be able to steer a booster when returning back to the launch site. We should see first use of these
on an upcoming booster high altitude flight test. And SpaceX is working hard to make it all happen. The launch site right now is one giant construction
site with hundreds of workers working on
about the same amount of projects it seems. As seen from the air through the lens of
RGV Aerial Photography the sheer size of
the construction site becomes visible. Several Buildings, a new unknown foundation
next to the landing pad, the orbital launch tower and a fuel farm
that will be double the capacity of what
the suborbital test pads have to offer. The same goes for the old sanchez site, where SpaceX has
been reshaping the terrain for propellant production. Oxygen and possibly even Methane will be
produced on site to feed the launches. And since we’re talking about another
possible 18 launches this year
alone, the site has to be large. Huge Storage tanks are being prepared on site. More and more of the large silver domes
are being produced and recently also the
tank walls have started production. SpaceX workers have started producing
ring segments at the refinery site. No doubt for the storage tanks and
stacking has already started. Who would have thought, that the knowledge
of building steel tanks could be utilized
in so many places at the launch complex? And the refinery column itself is growing
larger and larger as well. There is no doubt, that SpaceX is
taking all this very seriously. Another amazing sighting has been
filmed by Starship Gazer. A link to his channel can be
found in the description! He was in the right spot at the right time to film
a semi truck going down highway 4 towards the
launch site carrying a very special structure piece. This is the first of many segments for the
orbital launch support tower to arrive on site. A massive steel construction that in the end will tower
around 140 meters into the air above Boca Chica. As seen in the footage, the concrete and
steel foundation for the tower is already
finished and now the stacking begins. The square segments will be stacked
on top in each corner, forming the
frame for the steel construction. In the end, according to Musk, this structure is
also supposed to catch Boosters and maybe even
Starships out of mid air for a safe return. And all this is supposed to
be finished by July 1st. Looking at all this, it doesn’t seem like
SpaceX would have any doubts as to the
success of their prototyping program. It just seems to be a matter of time, before
Starships regularly fly to orbit and beyond. Their confidence in something that has never been done
before can be seen as something absolutely unique. Serial Number 15 is just the next
step in quick succession. I would love to see them succeed. Let’s cross our fingers for SN15, BN2, SN16, and
all the other test candidates to come this year. What do you think is the best
way to learn something? Lectures? Memorizing formulas? Doing odd-numbered exercises from a textbook? Now, I could show you a bunch of research that
shows what the best methods for learning are, but let's be honest — we all know what's the best way
to learn something new: you have to love doing it! You learn best while doing and solving in
real-time and Brilliant’s interactive
lessons are based on this principle. You won't need to memorize long messy formulas
and endless facts — just pick a course
you’re interested in and get started. Brilliant has something for everybody — whether
you want to start at the basics
of math, science, and computer science, or dive into cutting-edge topics like
Cryptocurrency or Quantum Computing. I use Brilliant for my own research. If you'd like to join me and a community of
8 million learners and educators today, click the link in the description down below
or visit brilliant.org/WhatAboutIt Today’s supporter shout out goes to Christian
Bussmann, Roger Whitehouse, Joe Ponce,
Rasputin, Filip Lachmann and many others! You Rock so much! Without you and all the other
supporters What about it would not be possible. Thank you for your support, enjoy today’s ad-free release
and remember to join us on the WAI Discord server! I am looking forward to thanking you in person! Today’s team shout out goes to Justinni
and Mr. Astronautical for being such a
dedicated part of the captions team! We’re so sorry for having forgotten
you on the team list. This has now been changed! Thank you so much for all your
help and again to the rest of the captions team as well. You Rock!
