SpaceX revealed a naked Starship prototype to test site, unlike any other...

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SpaceX Starship SN
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SpaceX revealed a naked Starship prototype to test site, unlike any other...
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SpaceX rolls naked Starship prototype to test site

Two days after completing a record-breaking engine test, SpaceX has rolled a strange, naked Starship prototype from its Starbase, Texas factory to a nearby test site, joining Starship 25 at Pad B.
This is the first time we've had dual Starships at the suborbital launch site since SN9 and SN10 in 2021.
What does SpaceX intend to do with this bullet-like prototype?
What did Elon Musk just reveal about Starship's first orbital flight?
Meanwhile, NASA picks Blue Origin's New Glenn to fly a science mission to Mars.
All this and more in today’s episode of Great SpaceX!
Firstly, SpaceX is doing something very strange with Ship 26:
Beginning with its cone-tipped nose section, SpaceX started stacking Starship S26 in October 2022. By early January 2023, the prototype had been stacked to its full 50-meter (~165 ft) height and welded together. After about six more weeks of outfitting, Ship 26 left Starbase’s High Bay assembly facility and was transported to one of two stands formerly used for suborbital Starship test flights.
SpaceX revealed a naked Starship prototype to test site, unlike any other...
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To be resolved, thank you.

[jscottupton]

One thing is for certain. If Space X were run by the government with government employees they would still be in the planning stage and trying to upgrade the Saturn V.

[peteclegg]

Amusing to see BO's squeaky clean & sterile lab setting compared with SX's down & dirty high volume production shipyards. It isn't difficult figuring out who's going places ...

[tedvitale]

My guess: I feel like ship 26 is more likely an expendable test vehicle designed to allow both the initial launch and catch without fear of losing both the super heavy and a starship in the process if something catastrophic happens. They stack ship 26, launch and ditch it in the ocean, return to the launch pad, catch super heavy, and re-stack to show they can.

[RepublicD]

#26 might just be a dummy payload. A mass simulator for the first launch.

[jessepollard]

SpaceX should send a starship to Mars - with a fuel generator capability and land it on Mars before BO can get newglenn even launched much less sending anything to Mars.

[walterlyzohub]

I fancy calling this ship “Bob Seger” for “Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band “.

Well, I enjoy his music.

[joncsoriano]

they never stop.. they keep persevering... building more... innovating... tinkering. LETSGOOO SPACEX!!!

[sgtjameslindsey]

I would think that if you had a ship thar had no flaps, no heat shields, that it would be intended to go to space and stay there, in effect to be a space station or satellite, or even a fuel station. I'm wondering if they could design the starships to lock together for interplanetary travel, taking massive loads of water and other supplies for sustained and extended missions.

[lauralevenson]

Thank Youse for keeping US safe!❤🎉🏆 there is only ONE of You!

[peteclegg]

How about 26 is simply a test bed for various potential internal tweaks. Not everything has to be OMG spectacular.

[markhuebner]

Very exciting, possible orbital refueling as #2 test program, go SpaceX!

[rolflandale]

The "naked" version Starship-cargo vessel can be used for non solar orbit travel, because it could merely land like any falcon heavy vessels back from orbit re-entery. Using it long range abundance fuel. Including orbit refueling & test moon/mars return failures.

[Wrangler-fpei]

Personally, if S26 launches it will likely test how a Starship behaves when it's a disposable vehicle. I wager there other things it will do. They'd have modify side of the ship for docking tests at least or have refuel means test transfers.

[robertclark]

Quite key is it was moved to the suborbital launch pad. This means it can launch without using the SuperHeavy booster. Moreover, with 6 engines it can launch using a full propellant load, unlike the other Starship test launches just meant for short flights to test landing techniques. Then the key question is what is the dry mass of this expendable version without flaps, heat shield, legs, or ballast tanks? Elon once estimated an expendable Starship with only 3 engines might mass 40 tons. Then with 6 engines it might mass ~45 tons, though perhaps it might need additional strengthening of the tanks, so added weight, to handle the higher thrust. But by any reasonable estimate of the dry mass of this expendable Starship, it can carry significant payload as an expendable SSTO.

[BurningZa]

S26 can also be a test refueling ship? They're going to need one to test the docking and refueling too - at some point at least.

[mkllove]

Might be a mass simulator with capability for testing re-entry of a ship without tiles and fins ie single use craft or for re fueling. That would allow proving the fin-less, tile-less version can be controlled for reentry and possible recovery of engines if landing in water works. Rocket Lab recovered a booster from water and successfully tested some of those engines for long durations... don't know if composite booster tank was tested again for re-use or disposed. Imagine a doused Starship could still float for recovery if soft landed in water, sort of reverse case of submerged water launch ?

[damianfirecaster]

what about the moon lander ??? it will have no heat shield or flaps

[jessepollard]

I also think SpaceX should diversify - into building life support systems separately from its current projects which are strictly internal; now the products of a life support company might all be used by SpaceX, but it would promote some standardization in the products. anything from small capsules to entire passenger starship versions. So the products would include power supplies, waste recycling, space suits, and habitat sized things as inter-operable units (maybe even with plugin replaceability).

[RagnarVoIarus]

Woah woah WOAHHH…. This is the first time I have heard of hydraulic rams simulating the thrust. I need to know more. Fascinating.

[jonmarquez]

6:29 An old computer when enjecting floppy disks! 💾