Starbase Sunday #10
This article was written by Magnum, logan_sx27, Onemarsyboy, and Phantime.
15th December 2024 - 21st December 2024
Welcome to our 10th article of Starbase Sunday! This was an interesting week, as we’ve seen engine testing for Ship 33, Booster 15 moving to Massey’s, Tower 2 developments, and much more!
Sunday 15th
Starbase
Even if today was Sunday, there was a lot of activity at Starbase! Especially at Massey’s…
• 08:00am - Inspections started at the launch site after a relatively quiet night.
• 10:45am - Groundwork starts at Pad B, probably related to the flame trench or to the tank farm commodities.
• 11:25am - LN2 tanks start venting at Massey’s, suggesting a test is scheduled.
• 12:42pm - LOX tanks start venting at Massey’s (maybe subcoolers).
• 13:20pm - Propellant load begins on Ship 33’s LOX tank.
• 13:42pm - CH4 tanks start venting at Massey’s.
• 13:55pm - Propellant load begins on Ship 33’s CH4 tank.
• 14:02pm - Propellant load ends on Ship 33’s CH4 tank after raising a couple of rings.
• 14:09pm - Propellant load ends on Ship 33’s LOX tank, with a full load.
• 14:14:00pm - Ship 33 static fire! Ship 33 ignited all its 6 Raptor engines during a 7-second burn that looked nominal. SpaceX later posted a video, and looking closely you can see 2 flashes: the first represents the ignition of the 3 RVac engines, and the other (about 1 second later) represents the ignition of the 3 Sea Level engines.
• 14:30pm - Detanking of the CH4 tank has been completed.
• 15:25pm - Detanking of the LOX tank has been completed.
• 19:13pm - Welding work is conducted on the right chopstick.
McGregor Raptor tests
There were no Raptor tests conducted today.
Monday 16th
Starbase
Massey’s has rumbled again today, as Ship 33 ignited its engine for an in-space burn test.
• 03:20am - A lift goes down after inspecting Ship 33 for several hours.
• 07:41am - The new LR11k crane moves slightly.
• 11:39am - The LR11k crane returns to its original position.
• 13:00pm - 2 pieces of hardware are inserted between the main sections of OLM2 at Sanchez. These might be “gap fillers” to complete the OLM’s structure.
• 15:31pm - There’s some work on OLM2.
• 16:05pm - Venting at Massey’s, although it has already started. At this point it’s well into LOX tank venting.
• 16:27pm - CH4 tanks start venting at Massey’s.
• 16:55:38pm - Ship 33 static fire! Ship 33 ignited one of its Sea Level Raptor engines and performed a 6-second burn, also gimbaling the engine. SpaceX has released footage (including a slow-motion video) and has confirmed this was to test in-space relight capabilities.
• 19:43pm - 2 SPMTs start rolling down Highway 4 towards Massey’s, likely to retrieve Ship 33 after its successful engine test campaign.
McGregor Raptor tests
• 12:37:59pm - Raptor Horizontal Stand - PB (Pre Burner)
• 15:00:41pm - Raptor Vertical Stand - 95s / 1m35s
• 18:22:34pm - Raptor Horizontal Stand - 89s / 1m29s
Tuesday 17th
Starbase
Busy day at Starbase today! Ship 33 rolled back to the Production Site, and we had to say goodbye to an iconic monument at the launch site (don’t worry, it’s not Starhopper). Additionally, a new Starship made its appearance! It was inflatable, though… does that count?
• 02:00am - Road delay is in place until 6 am.
• 02:21am - Ship 33 starts rolling from Massey’s to the Production Site after a successful engine test campaign.
• 05:15am - Ship 33 reaches the Production Site and is parked in front of Megabay 2.
• 07:40am - Ship 33 rolls inside Megabay 2.
• 09:24am - The 4 point lifter is attached to Ship 33’s lift points.
• 10:00am - A crane is attached to the “S” letter of the SpaceX sign at the launch site.
• 10:42am - The “S” letter of the SpaceX sign is removed.
• 10:49am - Ship 33 is lifted and translated to a work stand.
• 11:12am - The “P” letter of the SpaceX sign is removed.
• 11:20am - Ground work at Pad B starts.
• 11:25am - The Ship’s static fire stand is rolled to the Ring Yard.
• 11:26am - The “C” letter is removed.
• 11:47am - The “E” letter is removed.
• 16:06pm - The first part of the water deluge plate of OLM2 is lowered in place.
• 20:00am onwards: a Christmas parade starts: vehicles covered in Christmas lights, carrying inflatable Starship and inflatable SpaceX astronaut, roll down Highway 4 towards the Production Site.
• 23:05pm - Welding work on the right chopstick starts at the end of the landing rail, in the same spot as the day before.
Note: the FAA has granted the launch license for Flight 7, stating they issued it “well in advance” of the launch and confirming that it will be a suborbital flight featuring an attempted Booster catch and a Ship reentry and landing in the Indian Ocean. In-space operations (such as payload bay door tests and engine relight) might still happen since they’re not under FAA regulations, so we’ll have to wait for SpaceX to say something more.
McGregor Raptor tests
• 16:43:23pm - Raptor Horizontal Stand - 85s / 1m25s
• 17:21:48pm - Raptor Vertical Stand - 65s / 1m5s
Wednesday 18th
Starbase
Pretty quiet day at Starbase; the SpaceX sign has now been completely removed.
• 02:09am - Welding work is conducted on OLM2 at Sanchez, probably related to yesterday’s installation of the water cooled deck. The work continued for several hours.
• 02:38am - Groundwork starts at Pad B.
• 09:50am - The “X” letter of the SpaceX sign is removed.
• 10:28am - The “A” letter is removed. The SpaceX sign, installed almost a year ago, has now been completely removed. The purpose is still unknown, but it may be for a future expansion.
McGregor Raptor tests
• 09:32:04am - Raptor Vertical Stand - 84s / 1m24s
• 09:39:27am - Raptor Horizontal Stand - 85s / 1m25s
• 12:32:16pm - Raptor Vertical Stand - 126s / 2m6s
Thursday 19th
Starbase
New parts arrived today, hinting that Tower 2 progress is near.
• 02:18am - Welding work is conducted on the Booster Quick Disconnect (BQD).
• 09:28am - The support structure of the SpaceX sign is removed.
• 09:35am - Parts of the chopsticks install jig arrive at the launch site for future installation on Tower 2.
• 10:06am - A ship lifting pin cover is lifted to the chopsticks on Tower 1 ahead of future ship lifting pin installation.
• 12pm onwards: a lot of work is conducted on the chopsticks, including the carriage.
• 16:50pm - Another part of the water cooled deck is added on OLM2.
McGregor Raptor tests
• 09:10:44am - Raptor Vertical Stand - 166s / 2m46s
• 09:43:22am - Raptor Vertical Stand - 9s
• 14:58:40pm - Raptor Horizontal Stand - 7s
• 15:12:03pm - Raptor Vertical Stand - 43s
• 15:29:21pm - Raptor Vertical Stand - 9s
• 18:16:28pm - Raptor Horizontal Stand - 1s
• 18:37:58pm - Raptor Horizontal Stand - PB (Pre-Burner)
• 19:05:30pm - Raptor Horizontal Stand - PB (Pre-Burner)
• 19:29:37pm - Raptor Horizontal Stand - 1s
• 20:48:52pm - Raptor Vertical Stand - 95s / 1m35s
Friday 20th
Starbase
Booster 15 rolled out, ready to start its cryo campaign!
• 10:05am - Construction of the temporary support structure starts at Pad B. This will be needed to mount the chopsticks on the carriage.
• 12:58pm - A lift goes up to Booster 15, suggesting that it’s going to roll out soon.
• 15:35pm - Booster 15 is lifted from its work stand in Megabay 1.
• 21:50pm - Booster 15 rolls out of Megabay 1 and is parked in front of it.
• 23:45pm - Booster 15 moves to the edge of Highway 4, waiting for the road delay to be in place.
McGregor Raptor tests
• 08:57:57am - Raptor Vertical Stand - 8s
• 08:58:27am - Raptor Horizontal Stand - 30s
• 09:22:38am - Raptor Vertical Stand - 9s
• 14:31:09pm - Raptor Horizontal Stand - 10s
• 14:52:18pm - Raptor Horizontal Stand - 10s
• 14:52:28pm - Raptor Vertical Stand - 183s / 3m3s
• 16:25:57pm - Raptor Vertical Stand - 24s
Saturday 21st
Starbase
Today, Booster 15 arrived at Massey’s to start its cryo test campaign, and work continued at both Pads.
• 12:05am - Booster 15 starts rolling down Highway 4 towards Massey’s.
• 03:10am - Booster 15 arrives at Massey’s ahead of its cryo test campaign.
• 03:40am - Welding work is conducted on the chopsticks.
• 08am onwards: inspections of the launch site and ground work at Pad B continue.
McGregor Raptor tests
There were no Raptor tests conducted today.
References
Starbase Live: 24/7 Starship & Super Heavy Development From SpaceX's Boca Chica Facility
