Starbase Sunday #2
This article was written by logan_sx27, Magnum and OneMarsyboi
20 October 2024 - 26 October 2024
Welcome back to a new week of Starbase Sunday. We had a very interesting and exciting week this week, from new ships to static fires, we have it all!
Sunday 20th
Starbase
8:30am - HOS Ridgewind returns to port after a scouting mission for Booster 12’s hot stage ring.
9:03am - Tower 2s cable chains for the chopsticks was installed on the tower
11:10am - A few workers were working on touching up the entrance to the Starfactory
Not much else happened through the day apart from crews preparing the pad for the arrival of Booster 13.
21:05pm - Booster transport stand moved and staged outside the Mega Bays in preparation of Booster 13’s roll out to the pad.
McGregor Raptor Tests
Due to limited availability of our team on Sunday, we missed the tests for this day. We apologise and we have plans to make sure we don’t miss anything again.
Monday 21st
Starbase
The week started with a not particularly busy day: there was a lot of work on Pad A and Pad B, and a Booster was prepared for rollout!
We had a road closure scheduled for Tuesday, 12:00 - 15:00. This was for Booster 13’s roll out to OLM-A.
We also had a test closure published for:
Wednesday 23rd, 18:00 - 00:00.
Thursday 24th, 08:00 - 20:00 OR Friday 25th, 08:00 - 20:00.
01:21am - Welding work starts on the OLM legs, stops for a little bit, and then resumes at 01:45.
02:50am - The rebar starts drilling holes at Pad B; it will continue to do so until 05:05am.
03:36am - Welding work stops on the OLM legs while inspections of the OLM and chopsticks continued.
06:33am - Ship 34’s common dome section rolled from the Starfactory to inside of Mega Bay 2.
07:53am - Ground work starts at Pad B.
09:44am - The chopsticks’ carriage is inspected.
09:45am -The Booster Quick Disconnect door is closed after having been open for over a week.
10:36am - The Booster transport stand is slightly moved but since the SPMT is backwards, work had to be done to place it correctly.
12:52-13:00pm - After the issue is resolved, the transport stand rolls inside Mega Bay 1.
16:39-17:09pm - Scaffolding was removed from the OLM.
17:09pm - Booster 13 is lifted inside MB1.
17:34pm - Booster 13 is translated over the transport stand.
18:04-08pm - Booster 13 is lowered on the Booster’s transport stand.
19:23-20:08pm - Welding work on the chopsticks resumes.
23:20pm - Additional welding is conducted on the chopsticks.
McGregor Raptor Tests
13:57pm - Raptor Tripod Stand - 28s
14:57pm - Raptor Horizontal Stand - 144s / 2m24s
17:30pm - Raptor Tripod Stand - 30s
Tuesday 22nd
Starbase
Tuesday has been an exciting day since Booster 13 rolled to the Launch Site and was lifted onto the OLM, just 9 days after IFT-5! It was clear that the ground systems didn’t receive much damage, but this fast turnaround time was for sure unexpected!
01:00am onwards: Many lifts continuously go up and down the OLM, chopsticks, and carriage to prepare them for the upcoming Booster 13’s arrival.
01:21-02:24am - A lift inspected Booster 13’s forward section.
08:35am - Booster 13 rolls out of Mega Bay 1.
08:52-09:03am - Booster 13 aligns its grid fins: these need to be inclined to allow entering and egressing the Mega Bays, and they’re brought to a horizontal position when they’re out or in the Mega Bays.
11:05-11:25am - Chopsticks rise and open wide.
11:46am - HOS Ridgewind retrieves the HSR (Hot Staging Ring) of Booster 12 from the ocean; this is a piece of equipment used to protect the Booster during hot staging and is ejected after the boost-back burn.
12:07pm - Booster 13 begins rolling.
13:40pm - Booster 13 arrives at the Launch Site and inserts himself in between the chopsticks at 14:12pm.
15:05-15:13pm - Booster 13 moves further inside the chopsticks.
15:43pm - Chopsticks begin rising and closing around Booster 13, and the load pins make contact with the landing rails in preparation for lift.
17:10-17:15pm - SQD (Ship Quick Disconnect) swings out of the way, suggesting the lift is immiment.
19:00pm - Booster 13 is lifted and translated over OLM.
20:00pm - Booster 13 is placed on the OLM.
21:40pm - Lifts on OLM inspect the Booster.
Booster 13 is lifted onto the OLM
Credit: NasaSpaceFlight Starbase Live
McGregor Raptor Tests
11:50am - Raptor Tripod - 110s / 1m50s
16:57pm - Raptor Horizontal - 90s / 1m30s
Wednesday 23rd
Starbase
Today is the first OLM test for Booster 13!
00:38am - Chopsticks slightly descend along Booster 13; they open completely at 00:45am and begin to rise… after reaching maximum height at 00:50am, they translate and descend to their resting place at the bottom of the tower at 01:16am.
01:19am - Lifts go up to the OLM.
01:54am - Inspections of the chopsticks carriage and OLM legs.
07:26am - Rebar was seen drilling holes at Pad B.
For the rest of the day nothing much happened until the evening: workers continued to inspect the OLM table, legs, BQD, chopsticks, carriage, and Booster 13.
17:18pm-18pm - Scaffolding removed from OLM.
18pm - A soft road closure takes place at the usual road block; it will last 6 hours.
20:08pm - The dance floor is lowered from under the OLM ahead of testing.
22:26pm - Ambient pressure testing of Booster 13.
23:23pm - Detonation Suppression System (DSS) tested, followed by a TVC test where the 13 inner engines gimbaled.
McGregor Raptor Tests
Today at McGregor we saw something absolutely crazy, 34 back to back relights of a Raptor engine, each burn lasting 8 seconds. Here is the screenshot of the tests from NasaSpaceFlights McGregor Live:
Raptor tests at McGregor - 23 Oct
Credit: NasaSpaceFlight
Thursday 24th
Starbase
This was for sure a full and exciting day because Booster 13 conducted a static fire, just 11 days after IFT-5! Also, it conducted it at dusk, giving us beautiful lighting conditions!
3am: Workers return to Pad A and start inspection.
6am: The dance floor raised back under the engines.
9am: OLM2 starts coming together at the Sanchez Lot.
14:26pm - The dance floor is lowered again.
15:03-15:30pm - Chopsticks are raised from 15:03 to 15:16, then they open wide at 15:30pm above Booster 13.
15:30pm - Pad is clear ahead of testing as the road closure is extended to 23:00pm.
16:30pm - A load test begins not involving LOX or CH4; it lasted about 1 hour.
18:10pm - Tank farm is active ahead of propellant load.
18:29pm - Booster 13 prop loading begins.
18:49pm - Booster 13 begins engine chill, meaning it’s about 20 minutes from a static fire.
19:05:44pm - Propellant load is complete and shortly after a T-40s hold occurs.
19:10:20pm - Hold is resumed, 40s from static fire.
19:10:41pm - DSS is activated: this is used to prevent fires and explosions under the engines.
19:10:56pm - Water Deluge System is activated.
19:11:01pm - Booster 13 ignites its 33 Raptor engines conducting a beautiful static fire, lasting 10 seconds.
Booster 13 static fire
Credit: Sean Doherty, What About It (WAI)
19:12:05pm - Depress vent starts.
21:08pm - The road is re-opened.
22:30-23 pm - The chopsticks lowered and closed around Booster 13’s load points for a lift.
McGregor Raptor Tests
Just like Wednesday, we saw some interesting tests at McGregor.
Raptor tests at McGregor - 24 Oct
Credit: NasaSpaceFlight
Friday 25th
Starbase
Another exciting day at Starbase! Booster 13 rolled back, and in the meantime the first V2 Ship revealed itself completely stacked!
01:11am -The Starlink loader is moved to the Sanchez Lot.
01:16am - The dance floor is placed under the OLM.
01:36am - The booster transport stand arrives at the OLM to take Booster 13 back to the production site.
02:08am - Inspections of the launch site begin.
05:16am - The dance floor is raised under Booster 13 for inspections ahead of its lift off the OLM.
07:40am - The Ship’s thrust simulator stand is parked outside Mega Bay 2.
07:54am - Ship 34’s LOX tank barrel section rolls inside Mega Bay 2 ahead of stacking.
8:30am onwards: Work at Pad B.
Little to no work has been seen on the OLM from this point onwards.
16:18pm - Booster 13 is lifted ahead of being placed on the transport stand. But… before being placed on the transport stand, Booster 13 was raised to catch height.
16:35pm - Booster 13 reaches catch height.
17:00-18:00pm - Booster 13 is lowered and put on the transport stand.
19:33-19:51pm - Chopsticks lower while still around Booster 13.
20:58pm - Mega Bay 2 door is completely opened, revealing Ship 33, the first V2 Ship, in all its beauty.
21:36pm - Booster 13 begins rolling towards the production Site.
23:03pm - Booster 13 reaches the production site and is parked outside Mega Bay 1.
McGregor Raptor Tests
9:11am - Raptor Vertical Stand - SP (Spin Prime)
9:24am - Raptor Vertical Stand - SP (Spin Prime)
14:41pm - Raptor Horizontal Stand - 53s
14:58pm - Raptor Vertical Stand - PB (Pre Burner)
15:28pm - Raptor Vertical Stand - 51s
17:55pm Raptor Tripod Stand - 148s / 2m28s
Saturday 26th
Starbase
Today was the day we saw the first V2 starship roll out for testing!
12:16am - Ship 33 begins rolling towards Massey’s ahead of its first cryogenic proof test.
02:06am - Booster 13 rolls inside Mega Bay 1.
02:45-03:31am - A lift seems to be inspecting Booster 13.
03:31am - Ship 33 reached Massey’s test site, ahead of its first round of cryogenic proof testing
05:45am - Booster Quick Disconnect is inspected.
06:53am - Booster 13 is lifted inside Mega Bay 1.
Ship 33, the first V2 Starship
Credit: Starship Gazer on X
After this, not much happened besides some work on the CC8800 crane. Most of the day consisted of the usual army of workers preparing the OLM for Flight 6.
21:30pm - Welding work went on around the Booster Quick Disconnect.
22:13pm onwards: Additional welding work in several locations of the launch site: around Booster Quick Disconnect, under the OLM and on the Chopsticks.
McGregor Raptor Tests
Sadly, no tests occurred today at McGregor.
Thank you for reading this weeks article. Come back the same time next week for your weekly Starbase catch up!
Huge credit and thanks to the teams at NasaSpaceFlight and LabPadre for giving us these 24/7 views!