SpaceX Boca Chica: Test Tank SN7.2 Tested to Failure - SN5 Cut to Pieces

SpaceX tests SN7.2, a new 3mm stainless steel test tank, until it fails under pressure. Also spotted was Super Heavy BN2's Forward Dome, Starship SN18's Forward Dome, and SN5 is cut to pieces to make room for more Starships.

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L2 Boca Chica (more clips and photos) from BC's very early days to today.

0:00 Starship Sunrise
0:22 Starship SN10
0:53 Starship SN11’s Nosecone
1:42 SN5 Dismantling Continues
2:07 Worker Cut Off a Ring from SN5
4:22 Super Heavy BN2’s Forward Dome
5:00 Starship SN18 Forward Dome
5:45 New Stands Delivered at the Production Site
6:48 SN7.2 Test Tank - Test to Failure
8:32 Vents Closed and Opened
9:45 Vents Closed for Final Test to Failure
10:15 SN7.2 Fails

[NASASpaceflight]

Time Stamps!

0:00​ Starship Sunrise
0:22​ Starship SN10
0:53​ Starship SN11’s Nosecone
1:42​ SN5 Dismantling Continues
2:07​ Worker Cut Off a Ring from SN5
4:22​ Super Heavy BN2’s Forward Dome
5:00​ Starship SN18 Forward Dome
5:45​ New Stands Delivered at the Production Site
6:48​ SN7.2 Test Tank - Test to Failure
8:32​ Vents Closed and Opened
9:45​ Vents Closed for Final Test to Failure
10:15​ SN7.2 Fails

[paulryan]

SN10: lots of stuff blowing up around me. Something I should know?

[Philociraptor]

Thank you for all you guys do. Compiling all events into one video, creating captions, and even sectioning the video for ease of navigation. It's really great. I'd feel in the dark if it wasn't for this channel.

[lbco]

Its weird now, only seeing 1 starship for a sunrise.

[evandallmann]

I follow the progress every day by watching this channel. I can’t thank you enough Mary/Boca Chica Gal. You do an amazing job. I hope you’re getting paid well. You DESERVE it.

[fireisfire]

I sometimes think that folks are getting too sentimental towards test vehicles, they're just numbered vehicles designed to be expendable. If it were any other company we wouldn't even have been able to see the low altitude hop tests, most likely. The first starship to make orbit and land in one piece is a vehicle that should be preserved imo

[steveburley]

I can hardly wait for the next launch! MAN!! Bring it ON! Ok ok I am better now. But

[michaelgian]

The failure didn't look like much from this footage. Apparently a shell long-seam weld failure. Expected place, high hoop stress, maybe more there than elsewhere?
Going from 9 gauge to 12 gauge sheet brings weld procedures more into doubt than just verifying that the thinner sheet, itself, is adequate.

[NorthCountryOutdoorGuys]

The coverage you folks pull off is insane. I watched your coverage and Spacex’s and your audio commentary is way more informative.

[kufyit]

I'm wondering what welder lost the pool bet on whose weld will break.

[DracoWhitefire]

To whomever is editing this: please leave the descriptions on screen for a bit longer. It's annoying to have to pause and rewind every single time to read them. Just half a second longer should do the trick.

[wafflehidraulico]

How to handle the sn5 situation:
Step one: lie down
Step two: try not to cry
Step three: cry a lot

[timmyohik]

Awesome video. Thanks Mary and NASASpaceflight

[michaelgian]

Thought I'd let you know that I appreciate your coverage. It has been a while since I have, so to remind that I don't take for granted.

[MarsMeditation]

Thanks for this update! Super happy SpaceX is making more real estate for the next couple of prototypes! I really thought SN5 was going to be the HLS mockup but you can never be too sure.

[peterbarratt]

Thanks, BCGal, & team. Now, that's what I call a 'safe' failure!

[clintonearlwalker]

I'm not sure what pressure test tank 7.2 failed, but they have been testing these tanks for probably a year or more. They are testing different alloys that are ductile at cryogenic temperatures, they want them to leak slowly and not explode quickly. From an article about a previous test last year:

"Deemed 304L, the type of steel is still readily available off the shelf and only 10-20% more expensive than the 301 alloy SpaceX has used to build all Starship prototypes up to SN7. The biggest change it brings to the table is improved ductility (malleability), particularly at the cryogenic temperatures Starship’s tanks will often be held at. By reducing brittleness, Starships built out of 304L steel should be able to fail far more gracefully by developing stable leaks instead of violently decompressing. In fact, the very same test tank destroyed on June 23rd demonstrated that capability perfectly when it sprung a leak during its first pressure test on June 15th.

During its first cryogenic pressure test with liquid nitrogen, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed that the SN7 test tank managed to reach 7.6 bar (~110 psi) before it began to leak – technically satisfactory for orbital Starship launches with an industry-standard 25% safety factor. Thanks to the general flexibility of steel, including the new 304L alloy SN7 was built with, SpaceX was able to simply repair the leak it identified, readying the test tank for a second cryogenic pressure test barely a week later."

[davidnoble]

"New Stands" Hmmm... they're marked Fagioli, which is the Manvel Texas based heavy lift, heavy transport company, the crawler that moves Bluto around for example. I wonder if they're subcontracted for other parts of the project given their expertise in giant loads?

[richardingle]

Good bye SN5, you an SN6 brought the thrill.of things to come, but by the gods you flew well ...Thank you, you will not be forgotten 😢😢

[ryanyoung]

When your local scrap yard calls you and asks if you have any scrap stainless to recycle.