SpaceX Starship Tanker NOT returning! NASA Perseverance - Two Year Review

SpaceX and Elon Musk are branching out the Starship development plans! A second variant is already at the pad with major differences! NASA's Artemis plans demand parallel development. NASA's perseverance Rover celebrates two years on Mars! What did it find & how will the journey continue?

#SpaceX #starship #elonmusk #falcon9 #starbase #axiom #PolarisDawn

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]

What do you think? Is ship 26 a fuel depot or something completely different?

[llahneb]

Hey love your deeper dive on the mars rovers, seeing the progress thus far and seeing the broader context was really helpful. Lots of YouTube channels go over the launches and recent developments, but I think your use of time on the still ongoing and scientifically productive, relevant, and interesting subjects is a solid differentiator to the other channels. It adds some depth and robustness to the content you present. Keep up the good work!

[unquestionabletv]

The wingless starship is to be use for holding fuel in orbit for other starships to dock to

[patloob]

Likely due to design change it became obsolete, instead of wasting time cleaning off the unneeded parts that maybe irrelevant for a test article in orbit they were left there.
Launch it, test it, gather data and then build a purpose built tanker with the info gathered.
All of this is part of the 100 launch proof shot well suggested.

[raymondberry]

By the looks of it, it's a minimalist test vehicle to study cryo fluid dynamics in LEO. This has never been tried before, so developing the tanker from a 'base' stage tank at full scale reduces development complexity in the harsh environment of space. No doubt this design will be stuffed with cameras and sensors, as well as (we hope) more than one idea to put fuel in at zero g. I certainly hope they don't test ideas to destruction in space (for obvious reasons), but it's better in terms of development to start with what you know. It would make sense to launch it early in the booster test series. It won't be totally void of propellant, as it should have RCS control for stability on orbit, enhanced telemetry capability, and certainly deorbit fuel. A orbital lab for developing interplanetary infrastructure. Not yet in finished form, but a base from which to build from.

[philipkudrna]

I always believed they need a stripped (expendable) starship (maybe not fully fueled) to test the launch (as they cannot launch the booster on its own). With this, they can focus on booster recovery. And they would risks fully fletched starship only on the second launch. If they achieve orbit with the first thing and can use it for docking or even fuel transfer tests in orbit - all the better!

[AnimalWhisper]

Felix You Rock !!! I say it every video but this Time and here after will type it for the Algorithm to hear it aswell

[sixstringsimpleton]

Really glad you're streaming on a weekly basis again!

[DigbyGrayston]

it has to be a fuel tank in space ...felix i love yr work man

[hashmagandy]

NEW WEEKLY EPISODES! What About It Felix? 🤔

[Hamachingo]

Makes sense to have an expendable tanker. Have the booster bring it most of the way into orbit and just have a dumb fuel tank with just enough engine (maybe an SRB) to make the orbit round and just the bare minimum to keep it in orbit and then deorbit.

Landing an empty tank with all the weight in the engine seems tricky anyway.

Maybe a little space tug that rendezvous with the engine-less tank and maneuvers it around and just picks up the next tank?

[paulwoolner]

I was staying in cocoa beach a few days ago and you drove right by me, I was visiting the space centre, now on my way to Texas, after the Mardi Gra, to see a starship, I was amazed to see your Model 3 with all the WAI graphics.

[dinoschachten]

Yesss! I'm really excited for the orbital flight, and also love how you keep your videos fresh with the openings, bloopers and good mood. :)

[cameroncharles]

Hi Felix, dude you were posting more regularly from Germany, warum? Great show though

[Wallyponds]

Can it not simply be a change in manufacturing/testing procedures for S26? Perhaps they are now testing it cryogenically before completing the assembly process. If something turns out wrong, it’ll be an easier fix, and if it were a fatal flaw it would be cheaper to scrap the ship. Fail early paradigm. All the fixtures are there to complete assembly of the flaps and heat shield if the test is successful. Just a theory…

[alanbell]

I think you’re right. I also think that SN.26 could be a tanker variant. The lack of flaps and heat-shields hint at this. It could be kept on station indefinitely, and provide much needed fuel and propellant for other starships and other deep space manned missions. Looking forward to what develops and unfolds.

[edmundcharles]

Your views are always valid and your information on point.

[conlethbyrne]

Static fire testing, possibly. Refuelling seems too advanced but with Spacex anything is possible. Cool show, Phelix

[themwuzthedaze]

I suspect that Ship 26 is a test article for either a proto-tanker or for a proto-Moon lander, since neither of those ship types are intended to return to Earth. I suggest that the proto-tanker is the somewhat more likely of the two, due to the lack of an observable cargo door or at least the potential space for one. A port for fuel transfer could be small, so we might overlook it, while an intended egress/elevator hatch would be fairly large. Even if the potential internal mechanism weren't finished, it seems to me the hatchway framework for a Moon lander should be a readily observable part of its test article. Still, even without observable legs, exhaust ports higher on the body, or potential exit hatch framework, it could still be a worthwhile test article for aerodynamic worthiness despite the lack of fins. Heck I don't know, I'm not an engineer; so I would say that "potential Moon lander" is still on the table, even though I lean toward "potential tanker."

[connecticutaggie]

One of the things I think people keep missing about the SpaceX Fuel Transfer Demonstration is that the contract says "transfer 10 metric tons of cryogenic propellant, specifically liquid oxygen, between tanks on a Starship". It says "between tanks on a Starship" NOT between Starships. Maybe this ship is for demonstrating that.