Can a BROKEN SpaceX Starship actually fly to Space? + CRS-27 Launch Report!

Today we’ll try to answer the question if SpaceX’s first Starship to fly to space can actually make it. Does it even make sense to launch it? And wouldn’t it completely destroy the launch pad? We’ll also take a fascinating look at CRS-27, SpaceX’s latest visitor to the ISS! Stay tuned, and let’s dive right in!

#SpaceX #starship #elonmusk #falcon9 #starbase

Editing: Stefanie Schlang
Photography: Kevin Randolph, aka Chief, John Winkopp & Stefanie Schlang

RGV Aerial Photography - Become a Flight-Supporter!

Credit:

⭐SpaceX
⭐NASA
⭐VirtaulSpace_3D on Twitter: @Lolomatico3d
⭐The Ring Watchers on Twitter: @RingWatchers

📄Links for this Episode:

[Whataboutit]

Will there be a flame diverter after all? What do you think?

And a quick correction! 5:15 - That was actually the second landing. The first landing was on December 21, 2015, 4 months earlier, for the Orbcomm 2 mission. It was a night launch and the first-ever RTLS landing at LZ-1. "LZ-1, the Falcon has landed!" Thank you, @fosstera_synth!

[carlosfbarajas]

I participated in the CRS-27 launch. My team works on a module that the mission sent to the ISS, the mission is called MISSE 17. It's a module to test materials in space. My team works on a mechanism that is mounted in the MISSE module. It's a compliant mechanism that with thermal expansion it moves. I have a cool launch photo if you want it.

[fosstera]

Hey Felix, just a quick comment about the First Landing at 5:15 - That was actually the second landing. The first landing was on December 21, 2015, 4 months earlier, for the Orbcomm 2 mission. It was a night launch, as well as the first ever RTLS landing at LZ-1. "LZ-1, the Falcon has landed!"
Love your videos, keep it up!

[RippanCSGO]

as long as Starship clears the tower, SpaceX will count that as a success. My best guess is everything will go pretty well until reentry. SpaceX will gather what they can & analyze the data making future iterations better.

[dvo]

11:54 actually, there has been a CRS failure. Way back CRS-7 failed shortly before stage sep.

[SteveB]

Hi Felix, you mentioned that in the history of CRS launches there had never been a single failure. CRS 7 broke up after about 2 minutes into the flight. I think it was caused by one of the helium tanks breaking away inside the vehicle. I remember Elon saying that the Dragon capsule survived the destruction of the vehicle, but the capsule was not programmed to deploy parachutes in the event of such a break up, thus the capsule was destroyed after hitting the ocean. I believe that a docking ring adaptor was part of the payload for that flight.

[billg]

I hope SpaceX is indeed intending to incorporate both flame diversion and water deluge into future versions of the OLM. My gut feeling is that utilizing both will be essential to full and rapid reusability of Stage 0.

[wikingera.d]

This is going to be quite the show, I can not wait for this launch!

[mased-vj]

Once they start getting real flight data, I expect the pace to rapidly increase. Look at how quickly the Falcon 9 (or most rockets really) advanced after it actually started flying.

[JohnnyWednesday]

It can definitely reach space with missing and broken tiles - it just won't finish the re-entry process in the same shape

[Kim]

Thanks for the update, I really appreciate it. Good work, you rock.

[goldslinger]

The first flight is ‘proof of concept’ and data collection and is fully expected the fail at some point. I think Space X is gonna hurl the best they got, though. The main thing is to get it high enough so the pad isn’t destroyed.

[mrzainozz]

that starship prototype in the background looks sick hahah

[glennchartrand]

What a lot of people fail to take into account is that Starbase's long term goal is to be a production facility.

Ships are rolled onto the launch pad for a sub-orbital hop to Kennedy Space Center.

So you aren't going to see a lot of effort put into making the launch tower capable of surviving multiple full power launches because that will end once they start recovering boosters and NASA allows them to start landing at KSC.


What will most likely happen is a booster with only 6 gimballed engines will be given a temporary nose cone, rolled out out to the launch tower and given just enough fuel for a sub orbital hop to Kennedy.

When it lands, the nose cone is removed, the rest of the engines installed and the booster gets put into service.

The upper stage, Starship, will be sent the same way, probably without it's vacuum engines installed.

Once they demonstrate that they can actually land a booster, NASA will allow them to start transferring boosters and Starships to their facility there.

[Van_Liberty]

Where can I get that awesome Starship and launch tower model?

[robertf]

Hi Felix. I am thinking that if Starship can make it through "Max Q" after launch we can count this launch as a success, getting past that point is the most difficult part of Superheavy's "proof of concept" mission. Without the booster everything else is irrelevant. With it any other issues are just problems to be figured out and fixed. B-7 performing flawlessly and S-24 attaining orbit (or sub-orbit in this case) would be amazing and would have Musk and his team literally walking on air (along with the rest of us "space nerds.")

[daveone]

Great video thanks. Given the work still to do on the water plumbing, deluge piping and flame diverter (who'd have thought!) I doubt that its the FAA who are the delaying factor here! Also, given that the starship parts are litterally being welded together in a tent tghere will be noteworth variance in shape. This will be a serious pain with the tiles - just look at the issues that the Shuttle had with tiles. Its interesting to see that SpaceX appear to be looking at Starship being expended for some time.

[toddbrewer]

Very well done again, and as a bonus, that was probably the first commercial I have watched in a while...thanks.

[orangejoos]

Hey Felix, at 11:55 you said that there has never been a failed launch in the CRS program, but CRS-7 had a failure resulting in a RUD mid-flight.

[randytaylor]

Been watching you grow your channel from the beginning Felix and I'm really happy for you! Keep up the amazing work... you rock!!