Starbase Sunday #12
This article was written by Magnum, logan_sx27, and Onemarsyboy.
29th December 2024 - 4th January 2025
Welcome to our 12th article of Starbase Sunday and the first of the year! 2025 will hopefully be an amazing year for spaceflight, and Starship will play a big part in that! This week was fulfilled by vehicle moves and, most importantly, Flight 7 updates!
Sunday 29th
Starbase
Even if today was Sunday, that didn’t stop SpaceX! A lot of inspections of Pad A were conducted, and Booster 15 was rolled back to the Production Site.
• 01:32am - Inspections of the Orbital Launch Mount and tower begin.
• 08:32am - Inspections of the chopsticks’ landing rails and carriage begin.
• 08:46am - Booster 15 starts rolling from Massey’s to the Production Site, where it will receive its engines after a successful cryogenic test campaign.
• 10:42am - After being still for more than an hour, Booster 15 starts rolling down Highway 4.
• 12:33pm - Booster 15 is parked in front of the Megabays.
• 16:35pm - Booster 15 rolls inside Megabay 1.
• 18:00pm - The protective white cap on top of Booster 15, used to protect the hardware on top during transport, is lifted and removed.
• 22:20pm - Booster 15 is lifted and translated in Megabay 1.
• 23:53pm - Booster 15 is lowered onto the workstation.
McGregor Raptor tests
There were no Raptor tests conducted today.
Monday 30th
Starbase
The chopsticks conducted catch tests, and Booster 14 was rolled to the launch pad for launch.
• 09:29am - Cement pouring continues at Pad B, while inspections of the launch site continue at Pad A.
• 11:21am - Cement pouring work stops at Pad B.
• 11:35am - Work resumes on OLM2 at Sanchez.
• 11:57am - The chopsticks’ landing rails are lowered as a test in 5 minutes.
• 12:06pm - The chopsticks’ landing rails are heightened again, in less than 2 minutes.
• 12:36pm - The chopsticks are raised while they are opened, starting a series of “fitness checks” ahead of today’s lift.
• 12:53pm - The chopsticks have reached the top of the tower.
• 13:13pm - Booster 14 appears from Megabay 1.
• 13:16pm - Both chopsticks close slightly, first the left one and then the right one, and then they reopen.
• 14:13pm - Both chopsticks close slightly again at the same time, and then they reopen.
• 14:20pm - Both chopsticks close in a catch-like mode.
• 14:20pm - Booster 14 is lowered on the Booster Transport Stand.
• 14:22pm - The chopsticks start going down.
• 14:39pm - The chopsticks reach their resting position at the base of the tower.
• 16:12pm - Booster 14 is rolled out of Megabay 1 and parked in front of it.
• 16:36pm - Booster 14’s grid fins, which are inclined to allow it to exit Megabay 1, are put horizontal again.
• 17:20pm - Booster 14 starts rolling towards the launch site, ahead of Flight 7.
• 18:13pm - As the Booster nears the launch site, the chopsticks go up and open, reaching their position at about ⅓ of the tower at 18:23.
• 18:15pm - Welding work is conducted on one of the OLM’s legs.
• 19:05pm - Booster 14 is now put inside of the chopsticks and adjusted later.
• 20:16pm - The chopsticks raise and close around the Booster’s lift points, ready for a lift.
McGregor Raptor tests
Sorry, we didn’t cover today’s tests.
Tuesday 31st
Starbase
Booster 14 is placed on the OLM as preparations for Flight 7 continue.
• 12:16am - Booster 14 is lifted.
• 12:50am - Booster 14 is secured on the Orbital Launch Mount; unlike Booster 12 and 13, it wasn’t lifted to catch height. SpaceX is probably satisfied already with their sensor data.
• 10:50am - Scaffolding starts to be removed from the Orbital Launch Mount.
McGregor Raptor tests
• 13:22:34pm - Raptor Vertical Stand - 110s / 1m50s
• 13:38:27pm - Raptor Horizontal Stand - 1s
Wednesday 1st - New Year’s!
Starbase
No activity was conducted today at Starbase.
McGregor Raptor tests
There were no Raptor tests conducted today at McGregor.
Thursday 2nd
Starbase
The Flight Termination System has been installed on Booster 15!
• 04am onwards: inspections of the launch site continue.
• 13:30pm - Ground work picks up at Pad B.
• 19:56pm - The dancefloor is heightened on the OLM.
• 22:10pm - SpaceX teams start FTS (Flight Termination System) installation on Booster 14. This is composed of explosives that are installed inside boxes on the raceway, and it’s used to terminate the flight in case something goes wrong.
McGregor Raptor tests
• 09:35:45am - Raptor Vertical Stand - 110s / 1m50s
• 09:37:12am - Raptor Horizontal Stand - 84s / 1m24s
• 18:00:14pm - Raptor Vertical Stand - 163s / 2m43s
• 20:42:17pm - Raptor Vertical Stand - 185s / 3m5s
Friday 3rd
Starbase
Additional work towards Flight 7 was conducted.
• 04:52am - Flight Termination System installation work is complete.
• 08am onwards: groundwork continues at Pad B, including the reinforcements of the base of Tower B.
• 15:10pm - The Booster alignment pins are removed from the Orbital Launch Mount: their removal indicates that SpaceX isn't planning on removing the Booster, meaning a launch is nearing.
• 22:40pm - Booster 17’s common dome section rolls out of Starfactory and into Megabay 1, ahead of its stacking, just 1 week after Booster 16 completed its stacking.
McGregor Raptor tests
• 09:12:52am - Raptor Horizontal Stand - 10s
• 12:27:13pm - Raptor Horizontal Stand - 91s / 1m31s
• 16:19:27pm - Raptor Vertical Stand - 164s / 2m44s
• 18:38:38pm - Raptor Horizontal Stand - 176s / 2m56s
Saturday 4th
Starbase
Booster 17 stacking started!
• 02am onwards: groundwork continues at Pad B.
• 07:22am - Booster 17’s A2 section is rolled from the Starfactory to Megabay 1 for stacking atop the common dome section.
• 09:38am - Reinforcements keep being installed at the base of Tower 2.
• 10:39am - The horizontal support of the chopsticks’ installation jig is removed ahead of Flight 7.
McGregor Raptor tests
There were no Raptor tests conducted today.
Flight 7 note
We finally know a lot more about Starship Flight 7, thanks to a news release by SpaceX, which you can find here! While they haven’t released an official date, the FAA advisory of a couple of weeks ago suggested January 10th, and a NOTAM released by the FAA indicated a launch between 22 and 23:37 UTC on any day between January 10th and 16th. But while we wait on an official date, we know the upgrades on Flight 7: they include the reuse of a Raptor engine on Booster 14 and its attempted catch, the first payload deployment test for Ship 33, with an in-space relight, and a bunch of heatshield experiments! And we can’t forget, of course, the debut of the first Block 2 Ship; however, there’s more to come in our dedicated article, releasing in a few days!
