Ship 20 completes milestone RVac Static Fire – Musk cites ambitious path to launch

by Chris Bergin

Ship 20 completed another milestone with Static Fire testing on Thursday evening. Following a preburner test earlier in the week, the RVac engine fired up for the first time on a Starship. Then, it fired up again, this time accompanied by a sea-level Raptor ignition, later in the evening.

Meanwhile, another milestone was achieved at the Orbital Launch Site (OLS), with the raise and installation of the Mechazilla stack and catch system – as SpaceX presses down on the accelerator again for what Elon Musk is claiming as vehicle readiness for the orbital velocity attempt in November.

Ship 20 and Booster 4:

Ship 20 has been the main focus of attention, following the expected ground testing path of ensuring the Ship was ready for its big day ahead of the Super Heavy booster.

With relatively minor Thermal Protection System (TPS) liberations suffered during testing thus far – with proof testing, a cryo cycle with the Raptor Vaccum (RVac) engine preburner test, and Thursday’s double Static Fire event – the data gathered will provide modeling for what can be expected from the conditions and vibrations pre-launch.

However, the TPS’s performance during flight and re-entry will be a key aspect of the test flight objectives.

The most significant milestone of the week’s testing on Ship 20 was the first ignition of  RVac at Starbase. Before Thursday night’s firing, RVacs had only ever ignited on the test stands at SpaceX’s test facility in McGregor.

With one RVac and one sea-level Raptor installed into the aft of Ship 20, the RVac fired up after a notably smooth countdown, followed by an aborted attempt shortly afterward, which was then followed by both the RVac and the sea-level Raptor firing up to conclude the evening’s events.

It is currently unknown what additional testing will be conducted on Ship 20, with the option to add engines ahead of static fire tests.

Ship 20’s complete engine configuration calls for three sea-level Raptors and three RVacs.  The set – subject to swap-outs – involves RC69, RC73, and RC78, with RC standing for Raptor Center. In addition, RV4, RV5, and RV6 are the RVacs assigned to Ship 20.

Booster 4 will also require its own ground testing campaign, with activity currently involving the aforementioned swap-outs of its Raptor engines.

The Super Heavy will require proof testing ahead of an unspecified number of Static Fire tests, likely surpassing the current record of three Raptors firing simultaneously, and by some margin.

With 29 engines lighting at launch – eventually evolving to 33 – SpaceX will have options to fire up subsets of engines during initial testing but will eventually fire all 29 at the same time either before or on launch day itself.

If Starbase works to Elon Musk’s latest schedule, these tests will come in short order, following his claim of vehicle readiness for the test flight. “If all goes well, Starship will be ready for its first orbital launch attempt next month, pending regulatory approval,” Musk noted on Twitter on Friday.

The FAA approval process could have been the target audience for such a statement, with the agency recently taking public comments as part of its review. Musk has previously provided highly ambitious timelines for launch readiness, with the FAA approval process being the primary constraint.

OLS:

The Orbital Launch Site (OLS) is making great strides ahead of both Booster 4 testing and future goals.

With additional rollouts down Highway 4, the OLS now has two sizeable liquid methane tanks stored next to the Tank Farm, which itself has seen the final cryo shell installed over the large vertical tanks.

The OLS Tank Farm has often been seen venting as engineers begin to conduct readiness for the immense task of providing propellants to quench the thirst of the world’s largest launch vehicle.

However, Mechazilla’s assembly and installation on the Launch Tower caught the attention of most regular Starship followers, as another of Elon Musk’s fascinating ideas officially became part of the OLS Ground Support Equipment (GSE).

This week saw the two chopstick arms pinned onto the carriage ahead of the entire device being raised to the “skate” installation points on the Tower.

Mechazilla – as named by Musk – will provide several services to the Starship Program, starting with the ability to raise and stack the booster onto the Launch Mount, before then stacking Starship atop the booster. Along with the Quick Disconnect (QD) arm, it will also provide stability to the stack when on the mount.

Eventually, and by far its star role, Mechazilla will catch the Booster and Ship when they return to the launch site post-mission. This first attempt will not occur during the upcoming test flight, with both vehicles set to splashdown at the conclusion of their mission.

However, Elon Musk did cite such a catch attempt could occur during Booster 5’s return.

Booster 5/Ship 21:

In the tradition of Starbase production cadence, both of these follow-on vehicles are now undergoing stacking operations.

Booster 5’s Grid Fins have since been installed in the High Bay, with the completion of stacking operations set to be concluded in the coming days.

Ship 21, with its sections covered in TPS tiles, is currently being stacked inside the Mid Bay. Currently, its Mid-LOX section and Common Dome have been mated. It will eventually head to the High Bay for its nosecone installation.

With parts and sections for future Ships and Boosters in various locations around Starbase’s Production Facility, the cadence will eventually cause a bottleneck for stacking operations. However, this was foreseen by SpaceX, resulting in the approval to build a new High Bay.

Slightly higher and much wider than the current High Bay, the new facility has had its foundations laid, along with the fabrication of significant elements.  The new bay started to rise out of the ground Friday.

Photos and videos provided by Nic Ansuini (@nicansuini) and Mary (@bocachicagal). Additional information and article assistance provided by the NSF (L2 Level) Discord.

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