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hey, Marcus House with you here. This week starship number 15 and the testing of
the latest changes to the Raptor engine configuration was underway. We dive right into
all the updates at BocaChica Texas. We had the always amazing launch of the Delta IV Heavy
with the NROL-82 mission as well as yet another Starlink launch. We catch back up on the
latest flight from the mars helicopter Ingenuity. The SLScore stage was delivered to Kennedy
space center and we have a few things to share with both the Crew 1 and Crew 2 missions.
Yet another eventful week of space news. So this has been a really important week for
starship development. All eyes have been on the latest starship prototype. Starship 15 of
course has many changes to its design compared to previous prototypes. Due to that it has been very
interesting to watch the testing process play out for this one in particular. It has undergone
several risk reduction checks ahead of its engine static fires. The first of those tests fired
up all three of the Raptor engines number 54, 61 and 66 for just a few seconds at 4:57 pm local
time on Monday April the 26th. We all get that front row seat due to the amazing BocaChicaGal
and NASASpaceFlight capturing this wonderful detail. Shortly after this event concluded Elon
Musk said that the launch could happen later this week meaning that the static fire must have gone
well. This test called a tank handoff utilizes both tanks during the three second ignition, handing
over from the main tanks to the header tanks. A quick data review followed as it always does. What
we generally see with such reviews is that SpaceX finds issues with one or more of the engines which
then require a swap out and a repeat of the test in the following days. Just get this though SN15
found no issue to address. This is the first time that a full scale Starship prototype has ever
not needed a Raptor replacement. This we believe is mostly thanks to the upgrades to this new
generation of Raptor engine which appears to have performed extremely well with that initial static
fire. That same evening SpaceX distributed safety notices to Boca Chica village residents indicating
that a second static fire was planned on Tuesday. Fast forward to that day at around 6:49 pm and
SN15 performed another static fire drawing its propellant solely this time from the header
tanks to further validate the vehicle. Elon Musk concluded the event on Twitter right after saying
that the results are all good so far. Starship SN15 once again is expected to target a similar 10
kilometer flight where it would perform a complete ascent, controlled belly flop, landing flip
maneuver and this time hopefully a soft touchdown. All four previous failures ultimately had
different causes that have been solved and fixed along the way. Starship SN8 lost fuel tank
pressure starving its Raptors and causing a loss of thrust during the landing. One of SN9s
raptors failed to ignite for a landing burn leading to the vehicle not being able to correct
its orientation. Starship SN10 landed in one piece but that lone landing engine underperformed
when it began to ingest helium ullage gas. Goodbye shortly after there for SN10. Then SN11
exploded almost immediately after attempting to ignite its three engines for landing. Luckily
beginning with Starship SN15 SpaceX has moved to an upgraded iteration of the next generation
engine raising hopes to substantially improve the reliability and success of these high altitude
launch and landing tests. While all of that has been going on Starship 16 is not far away from
its testing regime itself with it already in final stacking. Its nose cone underwent RCS tests
in front of the low bay early in the week and it was then stacked on top of the nose cone barrel
soon after. Late in the week we saw it receive its nose cone via the high bay bridge crane so we hope
to see that prototype be readied for flight soon. Furthermore Super Heavy booster number three's
after dome was sleeved and part of Starship 20's after dome was spotted as well. As mentioned in
last week's video these are the two vehicles that are planned to be used for an orbital flight
before July. This will be an amazing milestone and if you want more detail on that and missed it
last week, do check out that video. We cover this each and every week so if you want to follow this
progress just click all those things that you need to click and we can all follow it together. Thanks
very much for your support of the channel here. Along with SN16s updates SN17 has begun stacking
as well with its common dome being lifted into the mid bay and then stacked on top of the middle
liquid oxygen tank section. We are thinking that SN17 is going to receive a full heat shield belly
as both that common dome section as well as the nose cone barrel section have been spotted with a
plethora of tiles over one-half of each of those sections. Now the orbital launch site is a hive
of activity as well with the installation of the ground support equipment or GSE tanks as well as
work on the launch mount and integration tower. The tower itself has now started to rise into
the air next to the mount. When finished this is going to be the tallest structure in the
region at nearly 152 meters in height. This tower will eventually feature a crane to stack the
ship and booster onto the mount and as well it's going to include arms that are designed to catch
the returning booster. We have also seen multiple comments from elon musk around the potential of
catching the Starship itself as well. That to me still seems a little unnecessary considering
that the starship must have legs to land on Mars. The booster I get removed the legs to save mass
catch the booster repeat and yeah. Seems like a logical idea even if it does sound like something
out of the distant future. We did think that about landing orbital class boosters only a few
years ago though so i've learned not to write these ideas off right away. Given though that the
Starship itself requires legs regardless you would think that the most important thing for spacex
to do is make these landings so ridiculously effective and accurate that the risks associated
with this type of landing become extremely small. I'm interested in your thoughts on attempting
a Starship catch. Let me know what you think in the comments below. So yes this orbital launch
tower is being constructed out of steel columns at the corners with cross beams running between
them. These cross beams are then also supported by diagonal beams. All together this makes
it so that each level will have four columns, 12 cross beams, and 24 diagonals. Additionally
we found that each of the first level columns are roughly 18 meters tall. From the second
level and up these columns seem to be around 15 meters. That means that with the 12 meter tall
concrete base, the 18 meter tall first level, and then the following 15 meter tall levels, we
will likely see a tower that stretches up nearly eight entire levels here. You may be wondering
how they're going to manage lifting bolting in and connecting all of these parts over at the
orbital launch pad. Well in these photos from RGV Aerial Photography we've found what looks to
be jigs for assembling the columns, cross beams, and the diagonals all at once at the Sanchez
gas site. By taking the pre-assembled completed structure and rolling some self-propelled modular
transporters or SPMTs underneath you could take an entire level over to the launch site in one
single trip. This would minimise the amount of time required to install each level piece by
piece. So yes we're hopeful that this is going to enable quicker assembly by only picking up
the level in its completed form which would then let workers immediately fit that and begin
welding or bolting it together. With all of this figured out we believe that the tower assembly
will ramp up even faster and may likely allow for orbital attempts in July assuming that the
booster and Starship are ready for that attempt. Also some more information has come to light this
week as to how those GSE tanks at the orbital tank farm could be insulated for long-term propellant
storage. We'll talk more about that in a moment but just quickly a huge thank you to Squarespace
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You'll find that link in the description below. We have been noticing some 12-meter rings being
produced over by the Sanchez gas site for almost two weeks now. These rings were spotted early
last week in RGV Aerial Photography's flyover, and it's clear that a total of eight domes
have been assembled. This correlates to the seven cryogenic liquid storage tanks, and
one water tank that we have been suspecting. We believe that SpaceX is producing 12-meter
tank shells to insulate those GSE tanks. These shells would not hold pressure but rather just
insulate with perlite foam, or some other type of spray foam. This shell would leave around
1.5 meters of room filled with insulation to protect the internal tank from thermal boil-off
of the cryogenic propellant. OBL here has been producing some animations to demonstrate what
these shells will look like over those tanks. We measured out that these tank shells will be
around 20 rings or around 36 meters tall. That means that they'll sleeve perfectly onto
the GSE tanks which are about 33 meters tall. Additionally, we've noticed that the methane GSE
tanks will be two rings shorter which correlates to their respective stands being slightly
taller. This likely is due to SpaceX wanting to unify the height of the total tank farm,
and keep all elevation changes minimal. So yes with all that new information about the orbital
launch tower and GSE tank shells, do you think that SpaceX are going to be able to bring their
orbital facilities up in time for a July launch? Let me know in the comments. Now last week as our
video went live Crew 2 had only just docked to the International Space Station. This incredible shot
here that was released by NASA just days later, is of course SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour.
The very same Crew Dragon that Bob Benken and Doug Hurley rode to the station last year. The
SpaceX Crew 2 astronauts have joined expedition 65 shortly after docking with the harmony modules
forward facing international docking adapter. Just after this though was the video of all of the
crew gathered here within the International Space Station. Just look at that amazing shot here of
all 11 of the crew. The crew here on board even needed to create some temporary sleep stations.
It is super busy up there on the station. Saying that this is not the record for the most
people at the station at any one time. The record for that i believe is with 13 crew with a few of
the shuttle missions. Saying that this is still quite amazing and I'm sure it is very cramped up
there right now. The Crew 1 mission was initially scheduled to return back to earth on Wednesday,
however, NASA and SpaceX agreed to move the return due to weather forecasts not looking ideal in
splashdown zone. As it currently stands that event should be occurring quite soon after this video
goes live so check out the replay if you've missed it already. Of course, before the departure from
the international space station Crew 1 astronaut and station commander Shannon Walker needed
to hand over the command of the station to Aki Hoshide from JAXA from the Crew 2 team. After
some fond farewells the Crew Dragon Resilience was undocked autonomously, and it departed from
the space station. We should be seeing the safe return of Victor, Soichi, Shannon and Michael
in one of the seven landing zones here shortly. We just can't wait to see the following interviews
for the team on this epic journey. Crew 1of course was the very first of six crewed missions for
NASA that are scheduled to fly with the Commercial Crew Program. Demo 2 with Bob benkin and Doug
Hurley was technically an extended demo mission, so wasn't one of those six missions. I will say
though that Demo 2 mission still holds a special place in my mind as that epic milestone for SpaceX
sending the very first mission with crew on board. Now this week I, and I'm sure everyone
else that follows the industry, are just super heartbroken with the news midweek
about the passing of astronaut Michael Collins. The incredible command module pilot from Apollo
11, and also the pilot on the Gemini 10 mission. He made it to 90 years old before passing
this week from his battle with cancer. Now just imagine floating in the apollo command
module here all by yourself, complete isolation, below you every earth-born human
and creature in existence on this blue marble. The only two other people with you
having just launched from the surface of the moon after setting foot on it for the very first
time in history. We see in this photo taken by Michael those two crewmates Neil Armstrong and
Buzz Aldrin returning to dock with the command module from what could have been their very
final hours. There were no guarantees at all with this mission. Thank you so much to
you Michael Collins for inspiring the world your courage here is phenomenal. The will to
explore! You have left an amazing legacy behind. Heading away from earth for just a moment we can
talk a bit about our robotic friends on Mars. In last week's video we of course talked about
the two initial groundbreaking flights that Ingenuity did. These were very small hops just to
ensure that the systems would work as expected. Shortly after however Ingenuity took to the
skies for a third time. In this test flight Ingenuity had a much more complex flight than
before. It ascended 16 feet or 5 meters in height like its prior flights however this time it
speeded horizontally by approximately 164 feet or 50 meters at a speed of around 2 meters
per second. It then slowed down reversed that direction and returned back to its take-off
site landing almost exactly at the same spot. More recently they did have a hiccup with getting
the fourth flight off the ground, but on Friday April the 30th off it flew again breaking its own
records. Ingenuity rose around 5 meters above the surface before flying South around 133 meters and
back. It was in the air this time for 117 seconds. Just over a week ago we were not even sure if
this was possible to fly on another planet, and now here we are doing it on a regular
basis. Also thanks to Perseverance for recording the footage here allowing us
to see all of these amazing flights. This shot here that was shared by JPL shows a shot
looking back here towards the rover. The amount of dedication and planning it takes to get these test
flights to have all happened at such a rapid pace is just unbelievable. Huge congratulations to NASA
and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory again for these amazing achievements. This has captivated
a new set of young budding scientists and engineers. Now this week we also got to witness
the very first flight of 2021 for United Launch Alliance with the NROL-82 mission for the national
reconnaissance office using a Delta IV Heavy. On Monday this launch for the united states military
went off without a hitch. In contrast the NROL-44 mission was delayed for around three months
before it took flight back in December of 2020. if you recall there were numerous ground
support equipment issues that had caused all sorts of problems, and since then there has been
a lot of work going on upgrading the launch pad in preparation for this mission. That all paid
off with this successful launch. As with other national reconnaissance missions the payload for
this launch was hidden under a shroud of secrecy. All we can really know for sure is that it must
have been quite a sizable payload, otherwise they would have used a smaller rocket configuration
such as an Atlas V. Based on the launch trajectory it was assumed to be heading out into a sun
synchronous orbit but of course there may be more to that story. It was a beautiful day out there
at Vandenberg air force base and there we see that very common ignition of the Delta IV Heavy with
the flames igniting there and running right up the rocket body. Something always feels just a little
abnormal when people see that for the first time, but this is actually quite expected. When the
valves open in the early ignition sequence Hydrogen flows out of the engine. Because
Hydrogen is so light in comparison to the air, it rapidly rises up the rocket body. Once the
ignition occurs we see the Hydrogen ignite there into what looks like a massive fireball. It's
even strong enough to toast the orange exterior of the tank as well. We see here this nice touch
on the side of the rocket for this launch as well, thanking all of those incredible frontline workers
putting themselves in harm's way to keep us all healthy during this very tough year. I think it's
also worth noting that with this flight complete, only three Delta IV Heavy flights remain. This
is of course because Vulcan is now replacing that vessel. It is going to be sad to see the Delta
IV Heavy go. It's certainly one of my favorite rockets. Hopefully, they'll install one at the
rocket garden at Kennedy Space Center alongside its predecessor the Delta II. This week NASA
delivered the SLS core stage to launch complex 39 after all of those green run tests. This massive
stage completed its journey on the pegasus barge coming in on Wednesday April 27th after traveling
around 1450 kilometers. Greg Scott was out there capturing some incredible photos of the delivery
there as well. These shots of the barge there beside the vehicle assembly building are just
awesome. Now that the core stage has arrived, all of the parts for the rocket are now at
NASAs Kennedy Space Center for the first Artemis mission. SpaceX launched another set
of styling satellites on Wednesday April 28th as well. The Falcon 9's first stage completed
its seventh flight and landing successfully, and this one had some very nice looking descent
footage of the booster before it cut to the choppier drone ship perspective there on Just Read
the Instructions. The second upper stage deployed the 60 Starlink satellites into low earth orbit
64 minutes into the mission, and there we see that beautiful clean footage of them drifting away.
Also there is a new white coating on some of these as mentioned in the stream which we assume to be
a test sample, however Jessie the host did also mention that these surfaces face away from the
earth so shouldn't cause any extra reflectivity. This now makes just over 1,430 satellites in orbit
currently. Obviously excluding those in the past that have been decommissioned. Finally the initial
core module of China's space station was launched on April 28th as well on their Heavy Lift Long
March 5B rocket. This 16 and a half meter module is the first component and it's actually going to
be joined in low earth orbit in the near future by two slightly smaller segments to create a T-shaped
station that is scheduled to be completed by 2022. Over the next month or two Chinese cargo
spacecraft are expected to visit the module with the aim to have astronauts come on board mid
this year assuming all plans go smoothly. There is going to be a lot to cover with this during
the year so keep your eye out for more news. Space activity is going to only ramp up even
further. So that wraps up another crazy week of space news. Remember as well that we are
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