2019-03-17

@rix Yes, full duration

@alexwestergaard White-hot parts reached orbital entry temp of around 1650 Kelvin

@SidewalkSciGuy @SpacexFan9876 @Erdayastronaut @Sloppy93 @annerajb @flcnhvy @austinbarnard45 Falcon rocket booster is aluminum-lithium & carbon fiber, which have low max temperature allowables. Super Heavy booster is stainless steel. Since it only goes to around Mach 8 or 9, moreover at high altitude, it needs no heat shield, not even paint.

@Some1gg Transpiration cooling will be added wherever we see erosion of the shield. Starship needs to be ready to fly again immediately after landing. Zero refurbishment.

@Kristennetten No straight path for hot gas to accelerate through the gaps

Testing Starship heatshield hex tiles https://t.co/PycE9VthxQ

@Mathias_Wehler @Sloppy93 @Erdayastronaut @annerajb @flcnhvy @austinbarnard45 Hexagonal tiles on most of windward side, no shield needed on leeward side, transpiration cooling on hotspots

@Sloppy93 @Erdayastronaut @annerajb @flcnhvy @austinbarnard45 Only some of the hottest sections

@annerajb @Erdayastronaut @flcnhvy @austinbarnard45 Full size

@annerajb @Erdayastronaut @flcnhvy @austinbarnard45 We decided to skip building a new nosecone for Hopper. Don’t need it. What you see being built is the orbital Starship vehicle.

@Erdayastronaut @flcnhvy @austinbarnard45 You can deep throttle on single shaft system by choking flow of fuel or oxygen between pump & combustion chamber. Problem is more with the tiny rocket engine that powers the pump, called a gas generator. That has to throttle *way* deeper than the main chamber.

@nextspaceflight @Erdayastronaut @flcnhvy @austinbarnard45 Working on regulatory approval for both Boca Chica, Texas, and Cape Kennedy, Florida. Will also be building Starship & Super Heavy simultaneously in both locations.

@THE_REAL_KEAGAN @Tesla @LikeTeslaKim @BenSullins @teslainventory Agreed

@Erdayastronaut @flcnhvy @austinbarnard45 Raptor is *very* complex, even for a staged combustion engine. We’re simplifying as much as possible with each iteration. Throttling down to ~50% is hard, but manageable. Going to 25% would be extremely tough, but hopefully not needed.

@omarqazi @flcnhvy @austinbarnard45 Started rolling it out a few days ago. Always starts slow, find rare corner case issues, fix them, continue rollout …

@flcnhvy @austinbarnard45 Hopefully. Always many issues integrating engine & stage. First hops will lift off, but only barely.

@austinbarnard45 First (really short) hops with one engine. Suborbital flights with three.

@ElectrekCo @FredericLambert Goes against interests of all Texans

@ElectrekCo @FredericLambert Wow, this is crazy