Another week is behind us, and for your Sunday lunch, as usual, an overview of the most interesting cosmonautic events of the past week is prepared. In the main topic, Kosmotydeník this time focused on the conclusion of the investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration regarding the first flight of the Super Heavy Starship. What shortcomings will SpaceX have to correct and when will we see the next flight? In other topics, you can look forward to the jump of the Indian lander Vikram, new renderings of the Chinese manned lunar lander or the next suborbital flight of Virgin Galactic. I wish you good reading and a nice Sunday.
The FAA has closed its investigation into the crash of Starship’s first flight
A shot from the first flight of the Super Heavy Starship assembly
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In recent days, there has been a lively discussion on social networks and among cosmonautics fans regarding the next flight of the Super Heavy Starship assembly, which is being developed by SpaceX and tested in Boca Chica. There are usually two polarized sides to this debate, with SpaceX on one side wanting to test and fly, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the other side just putting the brakes on everything. However, in reality it works differently. First of all, the FAA is evaluating the changes that SpaceX will supply to it, which arose from its own internal investigation into the accident of the first flight of the assembly. The FAA will review these proposed changes and, if there is no material disagreement, adopt them. If she considers the suggested changes to be insufficient, she can add some others herself. Another goal of the office is then to control the implementation of all the changes that came out of the investigation, and if they are implemented, the process of allowing the next flight can begin.
SpaceX completed its investigation a few weeks ago. The FAA has now reviewed the results and proposed 63 changes that emerged from the investigation. Some changes are already in the process, some may still take place. Neither the FAA nor SpaceX published the exact list of changes, but Elon Musk finally shared this list on the X social network (see below in the article). It follows that SpaceX has already completed 57 recommended items. However, it cannot be determined how far away the second planned flight is. “SpaceX must take all corrective actions that impact public safety and apply for and receive an FAA license amendment that addresses all safety, environmental, and other applicable regulatory requirements prior to Starship’s next launch,” the FAA said in a press release.
Congrats to SpaceX for completing & documented the 57 items required by the FAA for Flight 2 of Starship!
Worth noting that 6 of the 63 items refer to later flights. pic.twitter.com/YlPg3ywCZE
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 10, 2023
Let us remind you that the license that allowed the first assembly of the Super Heavy Starship to take off was only for this one launch and does not allow for further launches. SpaceX is now required to apply for a new license, which it will be able to do once it has made the required changes. “Remedial actions include redesigning the carrier hardware to prevent fuel leaks and subsequent fires in the engine compartment, redesigning the launch pad to increase its robustness, incorporating additional reviews into the design process, additional analysis and testing of safety-critical systems and components, including autonomous system of safe interruption of flight, and the application of additional change management procedures,” the office said in a statement.
The aforementioned Autonomous Safe Flight Abort System (AFSS) presented a somewhat unexpected complication. Although SpaceX does not say exactly when it sent the order to destroy the assembly, which lost its ability to control itself during the ascent and deviated from the trajectory, it took several tens of seconds before the system was able to destroy the assembly. Where possible, this system should react by itself and immediately. Its improvement is therefore one of the corrective measures. Other changes are also mentioned, the implementation of which is already generally known. “SpaceX has built and is testing so-called hotstaging, in which the Starship’s engines are ignited while it is still attached to the Super Heavy, in order to subsequently separate the ship from the Super Heavy. In addition, SpaceX has engineered a new electronic Thrust Vector Control (TVC) system for the Raptor engines on the Super Heavy,” stated this time by SpaceX itself. “Using fully electric motor vectoring, the new system has fewer critical points and is significantly more energy efficient than traditional hydraulic systems.”
Current image of the Super Heavy Starship assembly ready for the second test flight
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Another visible change that SpaceX has already made is to better protect the engines on the Super Heavy and Starship against fuel leaks and subsequent fires. During the first flight, there was a gradual loss of the ability to tilt the engines due to a fire in the engine section, and subsequently also a loss of communication with the control computer. This put the assembly into an unmanned flight that lasted quite a long time – due to the delayed activation of the AFSS.
The ramp was also changed, which was modified so that it was more robust and did not cause as much destruction as during the first flight. The FAA report also mentions that. The Super Heavy took off without an exhaust deflector, and the thrust of the Raptor engines not only damaged the ramp, but sent a large amount of debris and dust into the very distant vicinity, which eventually ended up in populated areas. SpaceX therefore installed a new steel plate, which is heavily flooded with water when the engines are running. This system has already been tested several times and experienced Super Heavy static ignitions. At first glance, there is a significant reduction in ejected dust, and so far this system seems to be able to withstand the tremendous forces that prevail under the Super Heavy. However, he has not yet experienced the start itself. One of the other changes, previously announced by Elon Musk, is the acceleration of the takeoff itself so that the assembly stays above the ramp for a shorter time.
If SpaceX wants to apply for a license for another flight, it will have to demonstrate the implementation of all the changes. However, we don’t know how far along this process he is. In addition, the results of the lawsuits of some environmental organizations that are suing the FAA regarding the authorization of the Starship flight with regard to its impact on the surrounding environment of Boca Chica may be included in the whole process. The investigation report into the crash of the first flight has no bearing on these proceedings, and subsequent court proceedings may or may not yet intervene in the matter.
Cosmic overview of the week:
In the last four months, the fourth flight of Virgin Galactic’s small space shuttle VSS Unity, which transports tourists and interested parties to a height of slightly more than 80 kilometers above the ground. The last flight took place on Friday and the crew reached a height of 88.5 kilometers. This was the third standard commercial flight designated as Galactic 03. On board were Ken Baxter from the US, Timothy Nash from South Africa and the third customer was Adrian Reynard from the UK. The crew also consisted of pilots Nicola Pecile and Michael Masucci; Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses was also on board.
The Chinese agency CNSA presented visualizations of the lunar lander that should transport Chinese astronauts to the moon in the early 1930s. The lander should carry two people and a rover weighing 200 kilograms. It should be able to cover a distance of 10 kilometers with astronauts.
A new visualization of China’s planned manned lunar lander
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Overview from Kosmonautix:
This week too, you will find in this column an overview of all the cosmonautic topics that we have already covered in the articles. We publish at least two articles about cosmonautics a day, let’s remember them. We started the week with the first Live and Czech-commented transmission of the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket, which was carrying the next batch of satellites of the Starlink constellation. Right after that, we were greeted by a comprehensive article about research using the Hubble Space Telescope, which focused on the mystery of light in galaxy clusters. At the end of the phenomenal mission of the Indian lander Vikram, i.e. the entire Chandrayaan-3 mission, we got a surprise – the lander jumped. Space missions beyond Earth’s orbit are becoming more frequent, and the Deep Space Network is experiencing some exciting moments at times. And it will get worse. We have invited you to this year’s ESTEC Open day, which offers a glimpse into the kitchen of the European Space Agency. Another interesting experiment is coming up on the ISS, which is to be expected! This time it will be about the future of communication, and the laser one at that. This week we also saw the expected Japanese launch of the H-IIA rocket, which carried a pair of valuable payloads. First, it was the Japanese-American X-ray telescope, and then also the Japanese lunar lander SLIM. The next part of the X-Planes series dealt with the fate of the X-23 PRIME hovercraft. The mission of the highly successful Solar Orbiter probe continues and has even received a new mode that squeezes even more data out of the research. On the other hand, one of the instruments of the Persevernation rover ended its mission on Mars. MOXIE, which experimentally produced oxygen directly from the Martian atmosphere, was shut down. There were to be two more Live and Czech-commented starts within a few hours. However, Atlas V is finally scheduled to take off only on Sunday, while Falcon 9 with other Starlinks finally took off. On Saturday we looked at an interesting observation by the James Webb telescope and discussed that the universe really isn’t twice as old as currently being explored. At the end, we were waiting for the current part of the Space Technology series – this time about the complex formation of the primary mirror for the HST.
Picture of the week:
Japan has successfully launched two very interesting missions. With the help of the H-IIA rocket, the Japanese-American X-ray telescope XRISM and the lunar lander SLIM, which will test a precise landing on the uneven terrain of the Moon and also carry two rather strange “vehicles”, went into orbit. The photo shows the launch of the H-IIA rocket with this interesting payload.
Launch of the H-IIA rocket with the Japanese-American X-ray telescope and the SLIM lander
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Video of the week:
India’s lunar lander Vikram performed well at the end of its mission on the surface of the moon. The control team sent him commands that activated his engines and carried him up to a height of 40 centimeters and moved him to the side a similar distance as well. Before that, he still had to reload his extended instruments and lower the ramp that brought the Pragyan rover down to the surface. At the new location, he then flipped the device again. This jump tested the design of the lander and also promises a small hope of better scientific results if the lander should happen to survive the lunar night. 14 days of extreme cold is demanding for electronics and especially batteries. Therefore, the primary mission does not count on the survival of the lander. However, ISRO has indicated that it will listen on the threshold of a new lunar day to see if the lander and possibly the rover have not managed it. If it goes well, scientific instruments will be able to work in a slightly different place, which is beneficial for science.
Sources of information:
https://twitter.com/
Image Sources:
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2023-09-10 10:02:43
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