SpaceX About To Catch Starship Super Heavy Thrills NASA Scientist Minds...

we are this much closer to catching catching what well of course catching a booster with the megazilla arm and that's just not a matter of schedule but also because the catching super heavy step was truly added to the flight 5 process many challenges of course are ahead but SpaceX has also made careful preparations along with possible scenarios so how will the catching process take place and what has SpaceX prepared itself for in this upcoming flight let's find out on today's episode of great SpaceX after a long period of Silence in order to prepare SpaceX has made the launch site in late September and early October bustling again integration tests and Chopstick tests were conducted continuously showing positive results based on the ESS of these tests especially the integration test on October 7th and the Water dagee System test on October 8th SpaceX confidently announced the launch schedule on October 13th but hold on now the FAA had said that they would not Grant flight 5 a launch license until the end of November or they would only allow SpaceX to launch if the company kept the same process as previous flights the obvious question is did SpaceX give up on trying to catch super heavy fortunately the latest answer is no they will still catch it as planned that's because in the update on the homepage SpaceX officially updated the flight 5 launch process with the new additional steps that we've been waiting for specifically at 6 minutes and 56 seconds after liftoff SpaceX added a step called super heavy Landing burn shutdown and catch attempt this step is much earlier than my previous prediction because in previous flights where super heavy landed into the ocean at about 7 to 8 minutes I had predicted that the catch would happen in about 10 minutes for navigation and deceleration operations but according to the timeline the entire time after the two stages separate would only last 4 minutes and 15 seconds why is returning to the launch sight faster than Landing into the sea I'd like to hear your thoughts about this in the comment section down below regarding the catching step after approaching the Launchpad super heavy will move to the middle of the chop ick and the engines will shut down then super heavy will be held by the Chopstick after everything is stable Chopstick will rotate and place super heavy onto the olm where it had just left a few minutes ago indeed this is something we would call a breakthrough in rocket technology if successful SpaceX will have jumpstarted starship's Journey on the path to achieving the same level of launch Cadence as the Falcon 9 with its first step becoming partially reusable but if Falcon 9 stops there SpaceX also wants to push Starship to be fully reusable by catching the ship on subsequent flights in order to achieve that the success of flight 5 will be an important foundation not only is it added to the timeline the determination for the catch was also clearly stated by SpaceX in the update the company said the fifth flight test of Starship will aim to take another step towards full and Rapid reusability the primary objectives will be attempting the first ever return to launch sight and catch of the super heavy booster and another Starship re-entry and Landing burn aiming for an ontarget splash down of Starship in the Indian Ocean they also emphasized extensive upgrades ahead of this flight test have been made to hardware and software across super heavy Starship and the launch and catch Tower infrastructure at Starbase SpaceX Engineers have spent years preparing and months testing for the booster catch attempt with technicians pouring tens of thousands of hours into building the infrastructure to maximize our chances for Success we accept no compromises when it comes to ensuring the safety of the public and our team and the return will only be attempted if conditions are right in addition Elon Musk also confirmed that SpaceX will catch the booster if all systems are working well but this step is not compulsory in the timeline before the catch step SpaceX still left open the possibility of Splash Down super heavy if no catch attempt in the update the company also clearly stated thousands of distinct vehicle and Pad criteria must be met prior to a return and catch attempt of the super heavy booster which will require healthy systems on the booster and Tower and a manual command from the missions flight director if this command is not sent prior to the completion of the Boost back burn or if automated health checks show unacceptable condition positions with super heavy or the tower the booster will default to a trajectory that takes it to a landing burn and soft splash down in the Gulf of Mexico that means SpaceX will not try to catch it if this is a risky option more than anything the safety of humans and the launch system is the top priority But ultimately whether spacex's updates come true or not is still up to the FAA in the latest update the FAA said in mid August SpaceX submitted new information for its osed Starship SLS Super heavylight 5 Mission the FAA is continuing to review this information the FAA will make a licensing determination once SpaceX has met all licensing requirements quite vague but this is a positive sign hopefully everything will go smoothly both for the approval process and preparations so we can witness the launch attempt this October please respond catch now in the comment section to support spacex's efforts then like share and subscribe to our channel in order to continue following spacex's development Journey wrapping up let's go back and summarize the rest of the flight process first up at 1 hour and 15 minutes before flight the SpaceX flight director will conduct the poll and verify go for the propellant load liquid methane and liquid oxygen will then be loaded onto the ship and super heavy the entire fuel loading process will take about 47 minutes with the ship completing at tus 3 minutes and 20 seconds and the booster at tus 2 minutes 50 seconds during fueling the engine chill step will be performed on both booster and ship to avoid temperature differences between the fuel and the engine after completing these steps about 30 seconds before launch the SpaceX flight director will verify go for launch 10 seconds before the flight the flame deflector or water Deluge system will be activated to reduce the heat and pressure generated by the engine afterward 3 seconds before launch the Raptor engines will be activated in sequence starting with the inner and middle ring engines then the remaining engines in the outer ring and then will be one of the moments we have been waiting for Starship flight 5 will officially lift off aside from the super heavy catch or splash down step we mentioned earlier the remaining steps are quite identical to previous flight tests in this flight 1 minute after liftoff meaning around t+ 1 minute and 2 seconds the the rocket will reach Max Q at t plus 2 minutes 33 seconds the super heavy main engine cut off will be performed then at t plus 2 minutes 41 seconds the engines in the ship will activate and the two stages will be separated by the hot staging system after a successful separation of about 7 Seconds the super heavy boost back burn will begin to navigate the rocket this process will last about a minute until tus 3 minutes and 41 seconds where the super heavy boost spec burn will shut down contrary to many previous predictions this flight will still have a hot staging jettison step taking place at t plus 3 minutes and 43 seconds SpaceX explained that this step was to reduce the mass of the booster and help Landing easier but with the goal of full reusability I think SpaceX will optimize this system to allow it to land with the booster in the following flights in any case after the jettison hot staging ring super heavy will switch to the super Sonic State at t + 6 minutes and 8 seconds and activate the landing burn at t + 6 minutes 33 seconds compared to flight four these two steps take place earlier perhaps because the landing step with the mechazilla arm or the splash down will take place earlier as we mentioned previously and after the Super heavy Journey we must discuss what's going to happen to the ship after nearly 6 minutes at around t plus 8 minutes and 27 seconds the engine of of the ship will cut off at this time the ship will probably reach orbit and begin its Journey for over 40 minutes on this flight SpaceX still has not added the step of igniting the engine in space which they have skipped in previous flights and I really hope that they do in this mission after a long journey in orbit SpaceX will conduct a re-entry at t plus 48 minutes and 3 seconds about 15 minutes later the ship will transition to transonic and subsonic States at t plus 1 hour and 2 minutes 34 seconds as well as 1 Hour 3 minutes and 43 seconds respectively at t+ 1 hour 5 minutes and 15 seconds The Landing flip will be performed followed by The Landing burn 5 seconds later the mission will end after an hour and 5 minutes 34 seconds when the ship touches the sea that'll be the entire process of flight 5 if everything is supposed to be going smoothly the actual timeline may be variable but but not by too much and also there are many challenges ahead of SpaceX but I'm sure that they can be confident based on the preparations they have made in the past with super heavy its upgrades are quite secretive behind the mega bay doors but in the update SpaceX confirmed that there have been upgrades to the hardware and software of super heavy and the tower as was said before all preparations have taken years and many months for testing and tens of thousands of hours of work from technicians as for ship besides the upgrade similar to super heavy SpaceX also said that the technicians spent more than 12,000 hours replacing the entire old thermal protection system with newer generation tiles a backup a blade of layer and additional protection between the flap structure these upgrades are expected to help Starship achieve a perfect Landing which was almost achieved in Flight 4 the estimated launch date is approaching and procedures and preparations are rushing for the flight that will open a new chapter in history for the Aerospace industry while it may not be a direct impact it means that NASA has had some indirect influence on the FAA during this process this makes sense because besides SpaceX NASA is likely the agency most eager for flight 5 to proceed at a meeting of the national Academy's Aeronautics and Space Engineering board on October 9th Lori glaze acting Deputy associate administrator in NASA's exploration directorate stated that NASA was really looking forward to the starship flight and expected it to occur as early as next week clearly NASA understands the importance of Starship to their Artemis project flight 5 will be crucial in unlocking that potential glaze emphasized there's no doubt that the human Landing system is the critical path for Artemis 3 ultimately SpaceX needs to master the processes of achieving orbit and Landing the stages to progress further based on designs that successfully that successfully reach orbit and land SpaceX can confidently develop a Starship HL s or human Landing system prototype ready for testing and flight by late 2026 alongside this they will construct a refueling system to fuel the main ship for its targets with the lunar Mission being the primary focus for the Starship hls building such a system is challenging but NASA is optimistic due to spacex's significant strides SpaceX has built a second tower at Starbase and another in Florida to support these efforts additionally glaze highlighted spacex's aimed to launch a super heavy on flight 5 something they originally planned for flight 6 this will expedite progress on the road to Artemis in conclusion glaze stated we've all been watching SpaceX they work a little differently from traditional industry we're all keeping an eye on their progress as they continue to develop it's encouraging that on the road to flight 5 which has faced delays due to regulatory hurdles NASA has sided with SpaceX this could be a crucial factor in facilitating this flight and making some subsequent flights more frequent in response to NASA's expectations SpaceX is also making significant preparations after integration tests SpaceX recently destacked two stages to install the flight termination system otherwise known as the FTS this step typically occurs shortly before each official flight indicating that the launch capability is indeed High the focus of the upcoming flight will be on spacex's new process of catching the super heavy with the mechazilla arm although there are many challenges SpaceX has prepared by upgrading and testing both the rocket systems and the catching mechanism in a meeting of the national Academy's committee on biological and physical sciences in space Bill Geren Meer spacex's vice president for build and flight reliability expressed optimism about the upcoming capture effort he stated we landed with a half a centimeter accuracy in the ocean so we think we have reasonable chance to go back to to all preparations for the hardware and approval process are progressing rapidly while the FAA will ultimately be the deciding agency SpaceX is no longer alone they now have NASA's support given this situation it's likely that the faa's approval will be announced soon the flight is imminent and everything seems ready how about you reply I'm ready in the comment section to let me know that you are excited to witness the next Feats from SpaceX and Starship then like share and subscribe to our channel to continue following spacex's development Journey next we turn to spacex's significant contribution in support of those affected by Hurricane Milton specifically SpaceX has received emergency temporary approval to provide space-based connectivity to T-Mobile customers in Florida who may lose Cellar service due to the hurricane this approval was granted by the FCC for 15 days under the special temporary Authority or STA and applies to the affected areas in Florida SpaceX has enabled basic texting services on T-Mobile mobile phones in regions impacted by Hurricane Milton and hurricane Helen following similar regulatory approval granted after Helen caused Cellar outages in North Carolina weeks earlier to facilitate this SpaceX activated 100 direct to smartphone satellites to deliver emergency alerts to all phones and carriers used by those affected by the Hurricanes this initiative has shown promising results with SpaceX reporting that basic texting capabilities can now be accessed by most subscribers using the T-Mobile network and North Carolina an FCC spokesperson stated we remain committed to helping with hurricane recovery efforts We Stand ready to do all that is necessary to return connectivity to hard hit areas and save lives additionally SpaceX is offering a free month of starlink low earth orbit broadband service for areas affected by Hurricane Helen excluding the cost of ordering and shipping the user terminal as of October 8th the company reported that it had delivered over 10,000 Starling kits in response to Hurricane Helen and is now ready to support those impacted by Hurricane Milton it is clear that spacex's contributions are commendable even if they cannot completely resolve all issues thanks to the superior capabilities of starlink the critical problem of communication during natural disasters will be significantly alleviated this technology will serve as a powerful tool for evacuation efforts before the storm and will help maintain connections and facilitate rescue operations during and after the storm thereby reducing potential human losses although starlink is is not yet fully complete it is proving its value in real life situations finally I hope that everyone in the hurricane affected areas can navigate this difficult time and come back stronger we look forward to continuing our journey alongside you as we follow spacex's development now let's move on to an update on NASA's Mars sample return Mission and Rocket lab's involvement on October 7th rocket lab announced that it had received a contract to study what it describes as a simplified endtoend Mission concept for the Mars sample return Mission this approach aims to deliver samples collected by the perseverance Rover to Earth At a fraction of the currently projected costs which could be as high as 11 billion US and several years earlier than the anticipated 2040 timeline NASA's goal is to enhance the mission's cost Effectiveness and schedule after previous assessments indicated it would be very expensive and slow one of the tasks includes exploring alternative architectures for MS r or key elements such as the Mars Ascent vehicle or MAV rocket which will launch the collected samples into orbit around Mars seven companies were selected for this initiative and Rocket lab was among them the company revealed that its proposal was not part of the initial research concept created by NASA in June but was later reviewed and selected Peter Beck CEO of Rocket lab stated we've developed an Innovative Mission concept to make it happen affordably and on an accelerated schedule rocket lab has been methodically implementing a strategy for cost effective planetary science in recent years making us uniquely suited to deliver a slow cost rapid Mars sample return in its proposal rocket lab stated it would utilize its future rocket Neutron for the mission the company emphasized rocket lab will reduce cost and schedule for MSR through a simplified Mission targeting a total ten NASA of less than2 billion rocket lab will challenge the program to hit a 2028 launch window to reduce costs while minimizing risks associated with perseverance is Lifetime resulting in the result of samples no later than September of 2033 with the potential for an earlier return in September of 2031 for the mission rocket lab plans to launch two Neutron Rockets approximately 2 weeks apart one rocket will carry an earth return Orbiter or EO spacecraft while the other will deliver a Lander equipped with the MAV the perseverance Rover will rendevu with the Lander and a robotic arm will transfer samples from the Rover into the MAV for launch into Mars orbit where the ER will collect them for their Journey back to Earth despite the challenges rocket lab's proposal is demonstrating positive Signs by reducing costs and accelerating the mission timeline compared to NASA's previous plans showcasing the advantages of the commercial private sector the company is also currently scaling up its electron rocket program in recent years rocket lab has been one of the most active companies in in the field possibly only surpassed by SpaceX we'll have to see if rocket lab's involvement leads to significant advancements in the Mars sample return program well folks that's about it for today's episode thank you so much for tuning in and as always this has been Kevin from great SpaceX until next time keep looking up