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CEO Elon Musk said a new thin-skinned Starship “ test tank ” had just passed its first test, taking advantage of delays in the planned launch of the Starship SN9 high-altitude launch.
Delayed by a lack of FAA approval for unknown reasons, the 12.5 kilometer (7.8 mi) Starship SN9 launch (virtually identical to the 12.5 kilometer launch of SN8 last month) is in the pipeline. limbo pending an “FAA review” according to Musk. SpaceX was thus left with at least 24 hours of guaranteed inactivity for the Starship SN9, when the company quickly chose to fill up with crane transport and, more importantly, the first “ tank d ” stress test. ‘testing’ of the Starship for months.
Known as the Starship SN7.2, SpaceX’s latest “ test tank ” is the third to carry the SN7 moniker and appears to have been built primarily to test improvements to the rocket’s structural design. Following the SN7.0 and SN7.1 test tanks, both used to qualify the use of a new steel alloy on an otherwise unchanged design, SN7.2 – likely built from the same alloy – instead focuses on determining if SpaceX can start cutting. the margins of an increasingly mature technology.
Oddly enough, SN7.2 is sort of a fusion of its predecessors: combining the rugged stature of SN7.0 with SN7.1’s use of a rear push dome, but without the Starship-style skirt of SN7.1 ( the three rings at the bottom). Soldered directly to its black test bench, it’s unclear why SpaceX chose to equip SN7.2 with a thrust dome, given that the thrust of Raptor engines can only be simulated with hydraulic rams if the tank is installed on one of the two Starship launch media.
Whether SpaceX actually tests this aspect of SN7.2, the tank’s most important task is to determine if future spacecraft (and perhaps super heavy boosters) can be built from thinner and larger steel rings. light. Its domes appear to be identical to those of previous ships, but the writing on the exterior of the tank strongly implied that its three rings were constructed of 3mm steel rather than the 4mm sheets that made up every ship built over the 12 last months.
SpaceX began charging the thin-skinned tank with liquid nitrogen (used to simulate the cryogenic propellant without the risk of an explosion) around 9 a.m. CST and spent about three hours performing an “initial pressure test.” It is not known what this test involved, but it most likely involved raising the internal pressure of the tank to levels reached by SN7.0 and SN7.1 Musk previously said 6 bar was the bare minimum needed for the flight. orbital, resulting in 7.5-8.5 bar to achieve a standard safety margin of 25-40%.
The SN7.2 survived this initial pressure test bodes well for the significant mass reductions SpaceX will need to optimize spacecraft for efficient orbital flight, potentially reducing the dry mass of future ships by 5 to 10 metric tons. . For orbital rocket stages, every kilogram of mass reduction translates to an additional kilogram of cargo capacity, while supercharging stages (i.e. Super Heavy) deliver much more lenient ratios of order of 10: 1, which means that adding 5 to 10 kilograms of rocket material reduces the maximum payload capacity by about 1 kg.
Depending on when SpaceX is cleared to launch Starship SN9, the company’s next test could involve pressurizing the SN7.2 until it bursts, determining if the thinner skin of the tank has a substantial impact on it. its performance as a pressure vessel.
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