ETA3: Scrubbed for today. They'll try again on Wednesday, maybe.
SpaceX's first full-up Starship test, set for 0920 EDT
A fully-reusable launching system is way overdue. But as SpaceX has a track record of saying "eh, good enough, let's test it" and then blowing ship up, repeatedly, before they finally get it right, I'd expect that today.
ETA: Their feed seems to be down. Here's a different one:
ETA2: Supposedly the Starship is coated with 18,000 or so heat shield tiles. That would seem to be something that would give a thoughtful person a few qualms. How many can fall of, and from where, before it would burn up on atmospheric entry?
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What happens if those heat-shields don't fully burn up falling over populated area ... ?
I'll bet they don't route it over populated areas, especially after the Columbia disaster.
Some launches have no good options for that. “Siri, how many heat shield tiles can Starship One survive losing?”…basic result was fuck if I know.
I have a skepticism for anything Musk these days, but I was impressed with the whole "catch the giant booster with a giant crane" bit that they pulled off recently. Scott Manley said that most of this Starship test vehicle was bound for the ocean floor when and if it flew.
-Doug in Sugar Pine
I’ve been watching the launches since the first Hopper, and it took a few before they survived the landing. It’s pretty impressive, really. I’ve seen quite a few in person from the county park across the bay from Starbase. HOWEVER, they’ve never lit up something with this many engines. All the previous rockets had 3, this one has 33. I think the amount of damage in surrounding areas will be greater than expected, even from a successful launch (sound waves, etc).
IIRC, the Falcon 9 Heavy has nine engines. But 33? The Soviet Union's N-1's first stage had 30 engines and it didn't work. But the control software and hardware wasn't all that great back then, especially Soviet systems.
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