Pad B begins to rise as Booster 12’s static fire approaches

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SpaceX’s preparations for Starship Flight 5 continue to focus on replacing Ship 30’s heat shield as teams prepare for Booster 12 to launch its static fire this coming week. Meanwhile, long-term planning is focused on the construction of Pad B at the launch site.

Orbital Launch Pad B

SpaceX is building Orbital Launch Pad (OLP) B as teams launch Tower Module 1 to the launch site.

However, this is not yet necessary as the teams are working on preparing the corner adapters. With the area currently under threat from Hurricane Beryl, the teams also laid down CC8800-1 to protect it from the storm.

SpaceX is also taking a different approach with this tower in terms of how the base is designed and stacked compared to the original tower next door. SpaceX built an all-concrete and reinforced base with the first tower before adding steel cladding after Flight 2. Pad B will be a hollow steel structure filled with concrete to give it the necessary strength and protection from exhaust fumes during launches.

Another change is that the teams added commodity lines and cryogenic propellant lines inside the modules at Sanchez before the modules were rolled up and assembled at the launch site.

Currently, SpaceX is only missing two towers at Sanchez. These are now at the port of Brownsville awaiting transfer to Sanchez, along with the canes and carriage from Florida.

During Tim Dodd’s Starbase Tour, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk mentioned that this tower will be taller than the one currently on Pad A. However, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) filings, SpaceX wants to build the tower on top of itself by mid-August. So far, no other tower pillars have been shown, so this seems unlikely.

Ship 31 Cryo Tested (again)

After being inside High Bay for about seven weeks after a small explosion and electrical fire in her orbit, Ship 31 was taken back to Masseys to complete her cryo-testing. During the launch, SpaceX appears to have replaced the orbiter in its entirety and repaired any additional damage caused by the anomaly.

Once ship 31 is at Masseys, they will complete two cryotests, including testing the new liquid oxygen valve that is on these later ships. With Hurricane Beryl on the way, SpaceX will most likely return ship 31 back to High Bay before possible landing to protect the ship.

Based on the ship’s previous readiness, Ship 31 could be ready for static fire trials within two to three months. After that, SpaceX can still replace its entire heat shield, as is being done with Ship 30. If that’s the case, Ship 31 might not be ready to fly until October or November of this year at the earliest.

Possible introduction of Booster 12 and Static Fire

Booster 12, which has been in Mega Bay 1 since January 23rd, may be set to launch at the Orbital Launch Mount (OLM) as early as July 8th or 9th. However, depending on Hurricane Beryl, this could be pushed back a bit. days if Highway 4 is flooded.

Along with intermittent shutdowns, SpaceX has requested trial shutdowns for July 9, 10 and 11. All three are from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m

This deployment would involve Booster 12 conducting a static fire with 33 engines and likely turning back while waiting for its other half to be ready for full magazine testing. SpaceX will most likely not place the Hot Stage Ring on Booster 12 to start the static fire and will instead use a new white booster cap to help keep the front dome clean and covered.

Ship 30 Heat shield work

Over the past few weeks, SpaceX has been replacing Ship 30’s heat shield, adding new ablative material and stronger tiles. So far it looks like the tank sections of the ship will now have four layers of material. The flaps also adopt Pyron material.

The first is what appears to be Pyron, a carbon fiber material that will act as an ablation layer over the primary structure in the event that the primary heat shield, the tile, fails. The next two layers are the felt blankets and mesh that have been part of the heat shield up until this point. These provide insulation and stabilizing material for easier laying of tiles on studs. Finally, the primary heat shield is tiles.

So far, the newer tiles don’t seem to have any noticeable visual changes and work just like the older ones. With this upgrade, SpaceX can lose chips on the ship but have a backup layer to make sure the ship makes it through the reentry.

Along with the addition of Pyron, the teams added new types of tile gap filler on the nose cone and flaps. What appears to be stainless steel tape and blue silicone RTV glue have been added to fill in some of the gaps. RTV is a room temperature vulcanizing silicone. It cures at room temperature and depending on the mixture withstand temperatures up to 650 degrees Fahrenheit.

SpaceX still has options to complete Ship 30’s heat shield, and once complete, it must be transported to Masseys on a new static fire stand to test the new Raptor vacuum engine that has been installed.

Orbital launch pad A

At the launch site, SpaceX removed all the old vertical tanks from the Orbital Tank Farm (OTF). SpaceX has already fully transitioned to horizontal tanks for Flight 4.

SpaceX has two new liquid methane tanks currently in storage at Sanchez. These can be moved into open space to increase capacity as SpaceX plans to connect this tank farm to OLP B once the turrets and gun carriages are completed.

SpaceX is also constantly repairing OLP A and upgrading the wands in preparation for the capture on Flight 5. Teams also worked on the ship’s quick disconnect (QD) arm as one of the main propellant lines was replaced.

The teams still have work to do to prepare for Flight 5 regarding the OLP and both vehicles, but it looks like Flight 5 won’t happen until mid-August or possibly September.

Main image: Tower Module 1 Waiting to Be Stacked (Credit: Sean Doherty for NSF/L2)