SpaceX Starship SN15 gears up for launch, Crew 2 success & Ingenuity flies (twice)

This video is sponsored by brilliant.   Hey hey marcus house with you here this week  of space news has been yet another significant   one with the Mars helicopter ingenuity taking  on that low altitude flight test successfully.   A lot to talk about with the crew 2 mission which  is incredibly exciting and of course all that   is going on at Boca Chica with starship  and the launch and production facility. So as we know by now last week's news  broke about SpaceX being awarded almost   3 billion by NASA to land humans back on the  moon for the very first time in almost 50 years.   To say that we were both surprised and thrilled  was an understatement SpaceX was of course in the   running alongside Blue Origin and Dynamics but  they massively undercut both of those suppliers   offering to essentially pay for a good percentage  of the development costs themselves. Due to that   and NASA's budget being very constrained there was  no opportunity for the competition at all. This is   massive news and the main takeaway is this spacex  are not only a part of the space industry that in   the past many have scoffed at. They are now  clear leaders of the industry also pushing   the boundaries well past what any other agency is  aiming for. That is of course the starship program   and if you are new to the development of the super  heavy and starship vehicle you have been missing   out. We cover this stuff every week so if you want  to follow this progress along with almost 300,000   others you know what to do. Really close to  that goal now. Thanks for all the subscribers!   So we start with the updates for last week at the  launch complex. Here we are yet again awaiting   the test flight of the next starship prototype  starship number 15. As shown here with photos   by the amazing BocaChicaGal with NASASpaceFlight  and also RGV aerial photography we have the heat   shield tiles there being filled in that is very  nice to see and my obsessive compulsive disorder   thanks you there SpaceX. I thought you may have  been leaving it like this which was just hurting   my brain. Now as we explained in our video  two weeks ago there are many changes to this   prototype over the previous starship number 11. 15  is classed as the next evolution of the starship   prototypes and has a plethora of upgrades aiming  to go one step further than its predecessors.   One of the more critical upgrades to this next  prototype getting ready to fly is the Raptor   engine configuration and fuel lines. Although  starship 8 through to 11 have all successfully   launched flipped and skydived successfully only  starship 10 managed to land upright on the pad   before then exploding due to the hard touchdown  caused by the Raptor engine not producing enough   thrust. Then came 11 which exploded at around  650 meters in altitude during the Raptor relight   procedure that initiates the flip maneuver. This  resulted in the vehicle falling to the ground in   many pieces under thick fog now a little over  a week ago the three Raptor engines numbers 54,   61 and 66 were all rolled to the launch site.  Installation tasks then began soon after with   the goal of readiness for the opening static fire  test window on Monday, April the 19th. Raptor SN61   was the first to be lifted into the engine bay of  the starship prototype followed the same night by   raptor 66. Each of these raptors took just over  an hour to install which is a major advantage with   these next generations of powerful engines. Part  of their upgrades includes the plumbing updates   to make the install process much simpler and  quicker. Interestingly however the plans for   the Monday static fire soon slipped as Raptor  number 54 was rolled out of the launch facility   and back to the production facility in the early  hours of the morning. The cause of this is still   unknown however it is believed that they found  an issue with the Raptor and had to take it back   for repairs at around 10 pm on Sunday this same  raptor was then taken back and installed early   the next morning. So although this hiccup caused  a few days of delays all seemed to then be AOK.   Remember that these prototypes are changing quite  dramatically between versions so having teething   issues especially with the Starship prototype is  expected. Starship 15 is once again repeating the   high altitude 10-kilometer flight which will  utilize the redundancy of re-lighting three   raptors during the landing flip before deselecting  that engine with the least lever arm should all   three fire up correctly. It'll then attempt  to land softly on just two engines to cover   a potential loss of thrust as seen on starship 10.  A lot of work has continued at the orbital launch   pad this week as well early on Monday the second  ground support equipment or GSE2 tank was rolled   out of the mid-bay and made its way to the orbital  pad. This tank was then lifted atop the concrete   stand that very evening. Also the first of four  columns was lifted onto the new integration tower.   This tower once complete will be used to stack a  starship atop a super heavy and will also feature   arms that will catch the booster as well. We'll be  watching that construction very closely two news   over at the production facility all eyes are now  on starship SN20 which is the very first orbital   class prototype aiming to fly to orbit by July. If  that doesn't happen by then it would be caused by   factors that they can't control. This means that  the orbital flight date will not be delayed if   SN15, 16 and 17 do not complete all milestones.  SpaceX is now aware that it's going to require   numerous flights to fine-tune its landing process.  As such they will be testing the orbital flight   and landing process in parallel. The work  has continued on the mystery nose cone this   week as well. As we see progress develop we  have more of an idea now as to what this is   this is essentially a test cage that is to  be used to test all of the pressures involved   with max q that is the moment in the launch when  the rocket is undergoing maximum dynamic pressure   at that specific point during the launch the  rocket is feeling a lot of physical pressure   from punching its way through the atmosphere at  very high speed this is a significant factor in   the design of launch vehicles like starship and  we see spacex call out max q in falcon 9 flights   as well so this cage structure here allows spacex  to test the starship nose cone with strain gauges   here in a number of locations obl here on twitter  has been creating many renders of how all of this   has been evolving as well the nosecone has just  recently rolled down to the launch facility to   we assume begin that testing phase how  this will play out remains to be seen   sn 16's tank section has now been fully stacked  in the mid bay and is now awaiting for its turn   in the high bay for nose cone mate operations  sn17 has most sections ready now for stacking   which should commence once sn16 is rolled  out what is also very interesting is that   sn20s common dome is sleeved already and this has  occurred before any of sn 18's domes being slaved   we're actually speculating at this point that  spacex may well be skipping straight from sn17   to sn20 to add further support to that argument  sn19 hasn't seen any progress in a long time now   either the current plan seems to be for sn 15 16  and 17 to fly over the next couple of months to   refine that landing maneuver then it is believed  that sn20 and booster number three will be rolled   to the pad in june to begin testing and completing  an orbital flight soon thereafter this may sound   crazy but spacex is definitely speeding up their  production and testing times down at boca chica we   have a booster number 2 or b and 2 which has had  significant changes over bn1 with its tank now in   the reverse order this is now the same as starship  with liquid oxygen on the bottom and liquid   methane on the top for whatever reason they were  reversed in bn1 that explains why bn1 didn't roll   to the launch site at all given the significance  of that change to the design bn1 did still provide   useful production pathfinder objectives though so  it wasn't a total loss we should see bn2 stacking   soon much quicker by taking advantage of the  recently installed bridge crane that is now in   the high bay the very near future of these super  heavy boosters is going to really start bringing   home the full capability that starship will  provide based on its design it's always good to   imagine our planet is this tiny speck within the  unimaginable size of the universe this point right   here containing everything we've ever learned  since we first became mature enough as a species   to have what we would call a conscious thought  now here we are the first time that we know of   that life evolved on this four and a half billion  year old rock which has the intelligence necessary   now to explore and hopefully colonise another  world each week you see the common threads here   flooded with individuals that don't get it they  think it is a waste of resources but this is not   so there are very few endeavors that i can think  of that are this incredible the technology alone   that would be gained by striving for this future  would blow your mind so much of what is researched   and developed for survival in space has changed  our world for the better huge investment into this   will provide astounding new benefits to all here  on earth just as a byproduct alone the animation   created by matt ryan here is an astounding example  of the enthusiasm felt by the entire community   if you are not following on twitter do yourself  a favor and change that right now because there   is a lot more of this coming just imagine a world  where it is common to see vehicles like starships   sending huge mass into orbit at a tiny fraction  of the current cost this changes everything around   space exploration the colossal super heavy booster  in development at around 70 metres in height along   with the starship on top at around 50 meters tall  means the full stack towers 120 meters from the   ground this will be the most powerful machine ever  built period just let that sink in for a second   we've become quite used to seeing the falcon 9  land over the last few years just imagine seeing   this super heavy beast almost two and a half  times wider than the falcon 9 come screaming   into touchdown on the pad and to that the ability  for it to potentially be caught right out of the   air and this will be an astounding spectacle  from there rapid reuse is the key load up the   next starship and away we go again to refill the  ship destined for the moon for mars and beyond as   elon musk has said many times you want to wake  up in the morning and think the future is going   to be great and that is what being a space faring  civilization is all about it's about believing in   the future and thinking that the future is going  to be better than the past colonising mars and   exploring is the first tiny step in this journey  but it is actually the most important step without   this step we go nowhere we remain confined perhaps  forever to a single planet species for those of   you that just don't get it do yourself a favor one  day go and watch one of these colossal launches as   they start occurring if you can walk away not  being amazed by the awesomeness of this i'd   be very surprised this is astounding stuff and we  are quite literally watching the future being made   right here right now thanks again to matt ryan for  creating this go and check out the full video with   the full resolution and audio it will blow you  away the link is in the description now we had   another great milestone this week with crew 2  setting off for their epic journey launching   from nasa's kennedy space center florida in the  early hours of april 23rd this next crew rotation   for nasa's commercial crew program was of course  destined for the international space station the   next day we have jax's akiko hoshide nasa's shane  kumbra and megan mcafee and issa's thomas pesquet   who needed to spend almost 24 hours in the capsule  chasing down their home for the next six months   before finally docking with the ford port on the  international space station it certainly will be   a busy time for the crew with over 230 science  experiments to conduct within that time frame   although this is the second commercial crew flight  commander kimbrough did say that until they have   had several years of missions under their belts  these missions here should still be considered   test flights so there will be 11 people on the  international space station as the new crew   joins the collective along with the assortment of  docked crew and cargo vehicles in just a matter of   days though this number is going to be reduced to  seven with the departure of crew one who have been   in orbit since november 2020 booster 1061 the  same booster that sent them on their way last   year returned for this mission as well this is  the very first time that a booster has been reused   for a crew flight so yes best of luck to crew 2  and the incredible mission that they have ahead   now let's move on to arguably the biggest  achievement in space flight this week i'm of   course talking about the absolutely incredible  flight performed by the ingenuity helicopter   this one was kind of a surprise after the initial  flight was delayed it was assumed that ingenuity   wouldn't fly until the end of the month however  the amazing team over at the jet propulsion   laboratory put their heads together and found a  solution to ingenuity's rotors not spinning up   correctly the updated software was sent to the  helicopter and successfully tested on friday   after this nasa announced quickly that the flight  was imminent and on monday the highly anticipated   flight finally took place with ingenuity spinning  up its blades to over 3000 rpm it then ascended to   three metres where it hovered for a moment before  slowly descending and landing all without a hitch   now that is just crazy to think about given the  super thin atmosphere on mars with nasa live   streaming the data being received on youtube  we were all anxiously awaiting confirmation   when the successful flight was announced the  atmosphere in that control room was awesome to   watch not long after we also got the first image  showing ingenuity shadow on the martian surface   we were then shown a series of colour images from  perseverance showing ingenuity hovering at three   meters followed by safely landing back down to  the ground shutting down its rotors after its 39.1   second flight on thursday ingenuity took to the  martian skies yet again this second flight was   much more ambitious than the first with it flying  for 50 seconds to a height of 16 feet or 5 meters   it also pulled off a 5 degree tilt to change its  direction of flight along with it having a longer   hover period huge congratulations to the ingenuity  team over at nasa you kicked this out of the park   i can't wait to see more images and videos from  the flight and of course more future ambitious   fights that are coming very soon staying on  the subject of our robotic friends on mars   perseverance had a pretty exciting achievement  this week as well i'm of course talking about   the successful mars oxygen in situ resource  utilization experiment or moxie this first   experiment involved converting the carbon dioxide  that makes up most of the martian atmosphere   into oxygen and carbon this is obviously a very  important experiment because humans need oxygen   to survive and there's not a lot of it in its  raw form on mars so utilizing moxie humans will   be able to breathe on mars or at least make  a breathable environment inside a mass base   now unless you have been living under a rock  the past year or two i'm sure that you've all   heard of starlink this is elon musk's new internet  satellite constellation that hopes to bring fast   and reliable internet access to areas where it has  previously not been achievable that said you may   not have heard of a similar project from amazon  called kuiper that's right in the not too distant   future amazon hopes to have its own internet  satellite constellation we'll talk more about   that in a moment but first a big thank you to our  sponsor brilliant if you are anything like me you   would enjoy learning about space and science  perhaps even performing experiments of your own   learning by doing is the most satisfying approach  and that is where our sponsor for today's video   brilliant comes in this is a problem-solving  website an app where you can learn to think   like a scientist by performing your own thought  experiments their active hands-on learning style   provides a deep understanding of the various  terms and concepts involved in so many areas   brilliance has loads of topics to cover  whether you want to start with the basics   of science or computer science mathematics or  even newer topics such as quantum computing   just take this scientific thinking course there  are so many beautifully illustrated and animated   concepts here you will be amazed at what you can  learn when solving puzzles with science and it is   such a great way for learners wanting to get that  deeper understanding of the material using their   own intuition if you are naturally curious and you  want to build up those problem-solving skills then   consider checking out brilliant at the same time  you could join me and a community of 8 million   learners and educators by heading to brilliant.org  marcus house that will give the first 200 people   20 off the first year of brilliant premium you'll  find that link in the description below so yes   in the not too distant future amazon hopes to  have its own internet satellite constellation   this week it was announced on twitter that these  satellites will initially be launched on top of   nine atlas v rockets operated by united launch  alliance the final plan is to have a constellation   that will be made up of 3236 advanced  satellites placed in low earth orbit to provide   fast and reliable broadband where it doesn't  currently exist the project itself is estimated to   cost around 10 billion dollars and more than 500  people at amazon are hard at work on the project   including a few ex-starlink employees too so  i'm curious to see if the two will be similar   because of this although the atlas 5 is currently  scheduled to be transporting the satellites i   imagine amazon will partner with blue origin when  its new glen is operational this would help reduce   those costs thanks to new glenn's reusable first  stage and amazon's ties with blue origin's owner   jeff bezos failing that maybe they will switch to  vulcan centaur when it becomes more mature what   do you think is project kuiper going to be able to  compete with starlink let me know in the comments   so that wraps up another week of space updates  now we are huge supporters of the transition   to electric vehicles here on the channel and our  partner ev offers the ability to hire an electric   vehicle in australia perhaps you have wanted to  take an extended test drive you could be touring   the country and want to drive around in a tesla if  that sounds appealing to you you can use the link   in the description for a discount thanks to our  amazing patrons and youtube members as well your   support contributes significantly to the frequency  and quality of these uploads the support that   you all here provide allows us to increase the  time that we can collectively spend in research   editing and quality control and that is all thanks  to that growing list of supporters that we can see   right there thank you to each and every one of  you if you like what we're doing and you'd like   to help support what we do you can join as  a youtube member by the join button below or   you can become a patron at patreon.com marcus  house either of those options gives you access   to interact with me more directly by the link  roles on our discord server you can also have   your names listed right here like all these  other amazing people and you also get earlier   and ad free access to these videos to watch before  anyone else massive thank you especially to the   production crew assisting greatly with the video  production along with the quality control squad   for helping me research and proof the material for  these videos if you are interested in these topics   and you would like to keep up to date remember  to subscribe here below and follow me on twitter   at marcus house in the tile in the bottom left  today 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Channel: Marcus House

Views: 350,537

Rating: 4.9442616 out of 5

Keywords: spacex starship update, spacex starship sn15 news, spacex starship progress, Spacex super heavy, marcus house, spacex nasa moon lander, spacex crew dragon, spacex starship sn15, spacex starship crash, spacex starship landing, spacex boca chica, spacex starship sn15 launch, Spacex starship, nasa ingenuity helicopter, spacex super heavy booster, spacex starship live, spacex crew 2, spacex wins nasa contract, spacex starlink launch, spacex explosion, spacex launch

Id: UGe_eK12OVw

Length: 20min 12sec (1212 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 24 2021