 |
| Elon Musk |
SpaceX's Starship is not just a spacecraft, it's a
technological marvel that's redefining our understanding of space travel. Let's
dive into the fascinating details and learn about its incredible capabilities.Starship is a super heavy-lift
launch vehicle being developed by SpaceX. It stands at 119 meters (390 feet)
tall, making it the tallest and most powerful launch vehicle ever built.
Starship is the first launch vehicle intended to be fully reusable, and it
consists of the first-stage Super Heavy booster and the Starship second stage.
Both stages are powered by Raptor engines, which burn liquid oxygen and liquid
methane in a highly efficient full-flow staged combustion power cycle. The
Starship spacecraft can carry crew or cargo once in orbit and is designed to be
refuelable in orbit before traveling to destinations such as the Moon and Mars.
Starship is planned to have a payload capacity of 150 tons (330,000 pounds) to
low Earth orbit in its fully reusable configuration and 250 tons (550,000
pounds) to low Earth orbit if fully expended. The spacecraft can be flown
multiple times to spread out the cost of the spacecraft. SpaceX has been
developing the concept since 2005, and the first orbital flight test is planned
for April 19, 2023, with both stages discarded after flight.
 |
Starship launch vehicle stacked at Starbase, comprising
prototype Super Heavy booster B4 and Starship spacecraft S20 |
Background
In 2005, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk
introduced the concept of a heavy-lift rocket called BFR that could launch up
to 100 t (220,000 lb) to low Earth orbit using the proposed Merlin 2 rocket
engine. In 2010, after the final launch of Falcon 1, SpaceX announced plans to
develop heavy-lift launch vehicles based on the Falcon rockets, including a
super-heavy lift vehicle with performance comparable to the Saturn V for the
ultimate goal of reaching Mars. Around 2015, Musk teased a Mars Colonial
Transporter powered by the methane-oxygen Raptor engines in development. In
2016, the Raptor engine was fired for the first time, and Musk proposed the
Interplanetary Transport System launch vehicle using the Raptor engines. The
spacecraft would come in three variants: crew, cargo, and propellant tanker. In
2017, Musk revised the concept and introduced the Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) with
a low Earth orbit capacity of 150 t (330,000 lb) and the ability to send
satellites to orbit, resupply the International Space Station, land on the
Moon, and send humans to Mars. The BFR's spacecraft received new flaps in 2018
to control its descent, and the rocket booster and spacecraft were renamed
Super Heavy and Starship, respectively. The DearMoon project, funded by
billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, secured crucial funding for the rocket's
development.
 |
| SpaceX facility in Boca Chica, Texas |
Low Altitude Flight
Following the successful test
flights of SN5 and SN6, SpaceX continued to build and test its Starship
prototypes. In October 2020, the company revealed a new spacecraft design with
a larger diameter and six flaps at the aft end. The new design was named the
Starship "v2" or "Mark 3". However, the company soon
shifted its focus back to the original Starship design, now referred to as the
"Starship v1.0", as it was deemed more practical and easier to
manufacture.
In December 2020, the first
high-altitude flight test of a Starship prototype took place, with the SN8
rocket reaching an altitude of approximately 12.5 km (41,000 ft) before
performing a "belly flop" manoeuvre and attempting to land vertically.
The landing attempt was unsuccessful, resulting in an explosion upon
impact.SpaceX continued to test its Starship prototypes with SN9, which
suffered a similar fate to SN8 in February 2021, and SN10, which successfully
landed after its high-altitude test flight but then exploded several minutes
later due to a methane leak.
In May 2021, SpaceX conducted a
successful landing and recovery of the SN15 prototype, marking a significant
milestone in the company's Starship development program. Subsequent test
flights of the SN16 and SN17 prototypes were focused on testing various aspects
of the spacecraft's design, including its heat shield and landing legs. In
August 2021, SpaceX conducted a successful orbital flight test of a Starship prototype,
with the SN20 rocket launching to an altitude of approximately 100 km (62 mi)
before returning to Earth and landing vertically.
As of September 2021, SpaceX has
continued to build and test new Starship prototypes at its facilities in Boca Chica,
Texas. The company has also announced plans to use the Starship spacecraft for
various missions, including commercial space tourism, lunar and Mars
exploration, and point-to-point travel on Earth.
High Altitude Flights
After the successful test of SN15,
SpaceX continued to work on improving and testing the Starship prototypes. In
June 2021, the company successfully launched and landed the Starship prototype
SN16, which was used for testing structural improvements. The SN17
prototype was also built and used for testing thermal protection systems.
In July 2021, SpaceX performed a
static fire test of the Super Heavy booster prototype, which will be used to
launch the Starship into orbit. The booster has 28 Raptor engines and will be
able to lift up to 100 metric tons into orbit. SpaceX plans to use the
Super Heavy booster with the Starship upper stage for orbital flights, as well
as for missions to the Moon and Mars.
On 26 August 2021, Starship
prototype SN5 was retired and placed on display at the Kennedy Space Center in
Florida.In September 2021, SpaceX announced that it had signed a contract
with a private customer to launch the first all-civilian crew into space on a
five-day mission aboard a Starship spacecraft in late 2021.[54]
In October 2021, SpaceX performed a
successful static fire test of the Super Heavy booster with all 28 Raptor
engines firing simultaneously for the first time.[55] The company also
conducted several successful Starship prototype tests, including a 9-minute
test flight of SN20 on 30 October 2021, which reached an altitude of
approximately 100 km (62 mi) before returning to Earth for a successful
landing.
As of April 2023, SpaceX continues
to test and refine its Starship prototypes and Super Heavy booster, with plans
to launch the first crewed mission to orbit in the near future. The company
also has plans for lunar and Martian missions using the Starship spacecraft and
Super Heavy booster.
 |
| A crane lifting Starship SN5, August 2020 |
SpaceX's First Orbital Test Flight
On 16 April 2023, SpaceX had
scheduled a launch window for the first orbital flight test of the Super Heavy
booster and Starship spacecraft on April 17 at 13:00 UTC (8:00 am CST).
However, the launch was scrubbed after a pressure valve became frozen, and the
company announced that the vehicles would not be recovered for this test
flight. The planned test flight trajectory had been described in a report to
the Federal Communications Commission in May 2021, with the rocket launching
from Starbase, and the booster (booster 7) separating and softly landing in the
sea about 30 km (20 mi) off Texas. The spacecraft would have continued flying
with its ground track passing through the Straits of Florida, and then softly
landed in the Pacific Ocean around 100 km (60 mi) northwest of Kauai in the
Hawaiian Islands. The spaceflight was speculated to last ninety minutes and
make nearly one revolution around the Earth.
Design
The Starship rocket is about 5,000
tons in mass and 120 meters high. It is designed to be fully reusable and made
of stainless steel. It consists of a Super Heavy booster and a Starship
spacecraft, both powered by Raptor and Raptor Vacuum engines. The manufacturing
process involves welding cylinders of steel together to form the outer layer of
the rocket, while the methane and oxygen tanks are separated by robot-made
domes. Starship's reusability and construction have influenced other rockets
such as the Terran R and Project Jarvis.
 |
CFD simulation of
Starship spacecraft's atmospheric reentry |
Raptor engine
Raptor is a type of rocket engine
developed by SpaceX specifically for Starship and Super Heavy. It uses methane
as fuel, which is more efficient and produces less soot than other propellants.
The engine is made mostly of aluminium, copper, and steel, with certain
components 3D printed. The main combustion chamber can handle high pressure, up
to 300 bar (4,400 psi), the highest of any rocket engine. The engine's gimbal
range is 15°. SpaceX aims to produce each engine at a unit cost of $250,000
during mass production.
The standard Raptor engine produces
2.3 MN (520,000 lbf) at a specific impulse of 327 seconds at sea level,
increasing to 350 seconds in vacuum. Raptor Vacuum, used on the Starship upper
stage, has a regeneratively cooled nozzle extension made of brazed steel tubes,
increasing its expansion ratio and specific impulse to 380 seconds in vacuum.
Another variant, Raptor Boost, is exclusive to the Super Heavy booster and
lacks thrust vectoring and throttle capability in exchange for increased
thrust.
 |
| 33 Raptor Engines arranged in a circular pattern |
Super Heavy booster
The first stage booster of SpaceX's
Starship system is called Super Heavy. It is a very large cylinder made of
steel and is 70 meters (230 feet) tall and 9 meters (30 feet) wide. The booster
has 33 engines arranged in circles, with 20 engines in the outermost circle.
These engines are called "Raptor Boost" engines because they have
been modified to provide greater thrust at the cost of reduced throttle
performance. When all the engines work together, they produce a huge amount of
thrust - 75.9 million newtons (17.1 million pounds).
The booster's tanks can hold up to
3,600 metric tons (7.9 million pounds) of fuel made up of 2,800 metric tons
(6.2 million pounds) of liquid oxygen and 800 metric tons (1.8 million pounds)
of liquid methane. The booster also needs 280 liters (74 US gallons) of
hydraulic fluid.
Super Heavy has four grid fins,
which are like wings that help it steer during flight. The fins are powered by
electricity and weigh 3 metric tons (6,600 pounds) each. Two pairs of grid fins
are spaced 60 degrees apart to help the booster pitch (tilt up or down). Unlike
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, the grid fins do not retract during flight. The
booster is also equipped with cold gas thrusters that help it steer during an unpowered flights in space.
The booster is very heavy, with a
weight of between 160 and 200 metric tons (350,000 to 440,000 pounds) when it
is empty. The tanks weigh 80 metric tons (180,000 pounds), and the interstage
(the part between the booster and the Starship spacecraft) weighs 20 metric
tons (44,000 pounds). The booster can be lifted using special hard points located between the grid fins.
 |
The underside of the Super Heavy booster prior to engine
installation |
Starship Spacecraft
The Starship spacecraft is made of
stainless steel and stands 50 meters tall with a diameter of 9 meters. It has 3
Raptor engines and 3 Raptor Vacuum engines for increased thrust in outer space.
The spacecraft's payload bay is 17 meters tall and 8 meters in diameter, making
it the largest of all planned launch vehicles with an internal volume of 1,000
cubic meters.
The Starship spacecraft has a total
propellant capacity of 1,200 tons and uses about 130 liters of hydraulic fluid
for its operations. It also has reaction control thrusters on the exterior to
control its attitude in space. The spacecraft has four body flaps, two forward
and two aft, to control its orientation and help dissipate energy during
atmospheric entry.
 |
| Diagram of Starship's internal structure. Not shown in this diagram are the flaps: the aft flaps are placed at the bottom and the forward flaps are placed at the top portion of the spaceship. |
The spacecraft's heat shield is
composed of thousands of hexagonal black tiles that can withstand high temperatures
of up to 1,400 °C. The tiles are made of silica and are attached with pins,
making them reusable without maintenance between flights. The hexagonal shape
of the tiles facilitates mass production and prevents hot plasma from causing
severe damage.
 |
| Leeward angle of Starship SN16 spacecraft |
Applications
- Mars Colonization: One of the primary goals of the Starship program is to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars. Starship's reusable design and large cargo capacity would make it possible to transport the equipment and supplies needed to build and sustain a Martian colony.
- Lunar Missions: Starship could also be used to transport crew and cargo to the Moon for scientific research, resource exploration, and eventually, the establishment of a lunar base
- Satellite Deployment: Starship's ability to carry a large payload to orbit could also be utilized for launching satellites and other spacecraft into space.
- Earth-to-Earth Transport: In addition to space exploration, SpaceX has also proposed using Starship for Earth-to-Earth transportation. The company envisions a point-to-point transport system that would allow people to travel between any two points on Earth in under an hour.
- Space Tourism: With its spacious interior and large windows, Starship could also be used for space tourism, offering people the chance to experience spaceflight and see Earth from a unique perspective.
For more amazing content Keep visiting my blog!
Amazing content vro.
ReplyDeleteYou're doing something different. I appreciate you.
ReplyDelete