7 ms·

Starship's Eighth Flight Test

65 points by LorenDB 2y ago

zeristor 2y ago
Pending regulatory FDA approval… Surely they mean pending regulatory capture
- Dig1t 2y ago
  Under the previous admin it took longer to get regulatory approval than it took to build it (the most advanced rocket in the world) and it involved insane things like strapping a pair of headphones onto a seal and playing rocket sounds to it. We can only hope that the new administration will streamline the process and reduce the time needed to get regulatory approval.
  - sonofhans 2y ago
    Yeah, I agree, fuck seals. The more we damage marine mammal life with loud sounds the better. If they didn’t want to get killed off in awful ways by our tech toys they should have evolved ear muffs.
    - throwawaymaths 2y ago
      > strapping a pair of headphones onto a seal and playing rocket sounds to it. That sounds more traumatizing to the seals than the actual launch. Anyways: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4939-3456-0_5#:~:text=The%20marine%20mammals%20of%20the,part%20of%20the%20twentieth%20century. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4939-3456-0_...
      - ceejayoz 2y ago
        > That sounds more traumatizing to the seals than the actual launch. To a substantially smaller number of seals.
        throwawaymaths 2y ago
        that don't even exist. (see link)
        ceejayoz 2y ago
        Your link is about the Gulf of Mexico. Vandenberg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_Space_Force_Base https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_Space_Force_Base) is on the Pacific Ocean, where there are most certainly seals and sea lions. https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Features/Display/Article/1069703/elephant-seals-join-team-v/ https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Features/Display/... You have the wrong body of water.
        throwawaymaths 2y ago
        Delta IV heavies also launched from Vandenburg since long before f9 existed, and is considerably louder than falcon 9. was there a need for that study?
        ceejayoz 2y ago
        The study was apparently for the Delta IV. https://x.com/mcrs987/status/1848070131781455911 https://x.com/mcrs987/status/1848070131781455911
        throwawaymaths 2y ago
        same thread, tory bruno says it was not for delta IV https://x.com/torybruno/status/1848797537215410627 https://x.com/torybruno/status/1848797537215410627
        ceejayoz 2y ago
        I'm pretty sure he's talking about Starship, not Falcon 9. Starship doesn't launch from Vandenberg; neither Starship launch site has seals present. Propellant mass 441,800 lbs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_IV_Heavy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_IV_Heavy) to 906,000 lbs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_Heavy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_Heavy) in the respective first stages.
    - LorenDB 2y ago
      IIRC this study was not about the lethality of Starship, it was about whether the seals were agitated or disturbed by the launch.
  - unsnap_biceps 2y ago
    > Under the previous admin it took longer to get regulatory approval than it took to build it (the most advanced rocket in the world) Generally it does take awhile for a third party to understand the design decisions and their impacts then the designing person. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone working on software. > it involved insane things like strapping a pair of headphones onto a seal and playing rocket sounds to it. Do you have a citation for this?
    - cooper_ganglia 2y ago
      >it involved insane things like strapping a pair of headphones onto a seal and playing rocket sounds to it There are actual images of a seal with headphones strapped to its head online!
      - ceejayoz 2y ago
        That doesn't mean said image matches the story told. https://x.com/mcrs987/status/1848070131781455911 https://x.com/mcrs987/status/1848070131781455911 asserts it was actually a study for the Delta IV booster, not something SpaceX had to do.
        cooper_ganglia 2y ago
        Yes, I'm aware of that. My point was that SpaceX has said they've had to do this, and if it sounds so wacky that that's unbelievable, there are actually photos of the same thing happening with seals, so I feel very little need to doubt that SpaceX was held to the same standard if that's what they claim. Not a "citation" as much as anecdotal evidence that dispels doubt.
        ceejayoz 2y ago
        > My point was that SpaceX has said they've had to do this... Musk also famously tweeted "funding secured" for Tesla. "He's lying" is 100% within the realm of possibility.
    - 2y ago
  - saalweachter 2y ago
    I don't know if Elon Musk or SpaceX has ever kidnapped a seal and played headphones to it, but the photos that were going around the internet for the last few years (they made the rounds in 2017 in connection to SpaceX, before Musk began referencing it in 2023/2024) were from an unrelated study in 2006: https://x.com/mcrs987/status/1848070131781455911 https://x.com/mcrs987/status/1848070131781455911 I'm still looking or the original study to find out what the "larger study" was about [was it an impact study related to Vandenberg? Was it part of seal monitoring, and while they had the seals they did a bunch of other stuff?], so if someone else digs it up I'd be interested in a link.
    - saalweachter 2y ago
      I eventually stumbled upon the Federal Register, which has some documents that talk about this, both re: SpaceX and Boeing at Vandenberg. Boeing, probably related to the pictures on the internet: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2006/06/26/E6-10044/small-takes-of-marine-mammals-incidental-to-specified-activities-harbor-activities-related-to-the https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2006/06/26/E6-1004... SpaceX, related to the landings: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/11/15/2018-24977/takes-of-marine-mammals-incidental-to-specified-activities-taking-marine-mammals-incidental-to https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/11/15/2018-24... I don't know exactly how often who puts headphones on seals yet, but it sounds like as part of operating at Vandenberg, it's routine to "haul out" (by which I assume they mean, capture and remove, releasing some time/distance away) harbor seals, so they aren't in the way; it sounds like they also (sometimes? always?) perform some amount of monitoring activities on the seals, since you've already got them captured. Also, all of this activity is apparently termed "Level B harassment".
  - bryanlarsen 2y ago
    They take a lot longer than 6 weeks to build a Starship. They can build a Starship a month, but that's because there is significant parallelism. My guess is that there are parts on a Starship that started assembly over 1 year before the Starship is complete.
  - m4rtink 2y ago
    Checking if seal is broken was for the Falcon Heavy booster landing pad on Vandenberg, it was not really related to the Starship program.
- Ajedi32 2y ago
  I'm assuming you meant FAA. Last I checked, Starship isn't edible. ;)
  - mkaic 2y ago
    Not with that attitude it's not :P
- fabian2k 2y ago
  With this kind of massive conflicts of interests and the way the current administration behaves you have to assume that any kind of regulation on Musk's companies is effectively removed. Even if he does not intervene directly, every employee that acts against him must assume they'll lose their job over those actions. That's a fundamentally untenable situation, there can be no actual oversight and regulation under these circumstances.
Frederation 2y ago
Go get'em, Shotwell!
dvh 2y ago
When all the early prototype bugs are ironed out, will the second generation be called V2?
- AtlasBarfed 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - NoMoreNicksLeft 2y ago
    >I want SpaceX de-Musked Why? I don't much care for Kardashians, but I just ignored that they had a tv show. >which is going to be REALLY hard given the private ownership majority he presumably owns, Maybe you'll rise high in the ranks once the proletariat starts the revolution.
    - unsnap_biceps 2y ago
      I would love spaceX de-musked because I want to support them! I want to be a share holder! I want them to be successful, but I don't want to support Musk, so I have conflicting wants. I don't have a conflicting set of wants with the Kardashians, so I do just ignore them and it's all good.
    - EA-3167 2y ago
      The Kardashians didn't own and run an economically and strategically critical company. There's a big difference between wanting Musk far away from SpaceX, and wanting a communist revolution, just like there's a difference between owning a make-up brand and the world's leading launch company.
      - NoMoreNicksLeft 2y ago
        >The Kardashians didn't own and run an economically and strategically critical company. Fair. Do you have a problem with Musk's progress in the problems that company is trying to solve? Is there any reason to believe that if someone else were in charge, that progress would improve? >There's a big difference between wanting Musk far away from SpaceX, and wanting a communist revolution, Possibly, for some people. But the people who complain about Musk aren't the sort that are concerned with the economic or strategic importance of SpaceX. He's just someone they dislike, and they want him punished. Why does fate not intervene, they ask, and give him nut cancer? It gets old.
vessenes 2y ago
Super exciting. I hadn’t read the debrief from 7s explosion, sounds like the early speculation had it right - leaks into a not well ventilated area and a (proper) autonomous self destruct. I’m excited to see if they can keep data all the way through reentry - that is such a game changer long term, and seeing live plasma effects is just insanely cool.
- Ajedi32 2y ago
  Looks like it was posted just today, so you didn't miss anything: https://www.spacex.com/updates/#flight-7-report https://www.spacex.com/updates/#flight-7-report
- Molitor5901 2y ago
  and the little fin that did!
Ajedi32 2y ago
Looks like the OP's link got truncated. It should be https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-8 https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-...
whitehexagon 2y ago
I think that will be ~midnight here (central Europe). Is this going to do a complete orbit before landing attempt? It's not clear from the launch page. Hoping to see the deployments. I remember seeing gen1 deploy here before I knew what they were, and panicking that the long string of dots were ICBMs! Strangely 2 weeks ago I think it was one of the gen1's that gave a nice reentry burn up early one morning here, also a bit scary when unexpected. Anyway exciting that they were able to turn this test around so fast after the last one, hopefully a longer show this time. Best of luck to the team.
Molitor5901 2y ago
I can't help but shed a tear every time I see Starship take off. I'm not space nut or even aviation, but it's just remarkable to see what we have been able to accomplish. Here's to a very successful launch.
- jp42 2y ago
  if you can, visit Starbase. I can't believe its so easy and you can see those huge rockets from so close. No permission of anything needed you just drive to there.
  - Dig1t 2y ago
    Absolutely agree. Also the public location where you watch launches from is also the location where SpaceX employees watch from (South Padre Island). So you get as good of a view as the actual SpaceX employees do and it’s free to walk or bike in. It’s an amazing experience.
  - Molitor5901 2y ago
    That.. is amazing and surprising!! WOW! It took me years to get an invitation to go see a NASA launch up close but that was a long time ago when the shuttle was still flying. Maybe I can convince my wife to take a spontaneous trip with me to see them up close. We could stop at a Buc-ee's!
    - jp42 2y ago
      Do it! I am waiting for my 7 month old to become big enough to be ready for 6 hour drive. I plan to make it annual ritual to visit Starbase with kids.
TheRealNGenius 2y ago
[dead]
russdill 2y ago
As interesting change to their updates page: "SpaceX reached out immediately to the government of Turks and Caicos and the United Kingdom to coordinate recovery and cleanup efforts." to "SpaceX reached out immediately to the government of Turks and Caicos and worked with them and the United Kingdom to coordinate recovery and cleanup efforts"
- IAmGraydon 2y ago
  Why is that interesting?
  - ckcheng 2y ago
    A comma would've sufficed? cf: "SpaceX reached out immediately to the government[s] of Turks and Caicos[,] and the United Kingdom to..."
  - russdill 2y ago
    Just that it appears that they did not reach out to the UK government when this happened as they may have been unaware that Turks and Caicos are a British Overseas Territory.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
kemotep 2y ago
Do we know when they plan to test orbital refueling? Launching a 2nd Starship to exchange fuel between them in orbit? It looks like this is a repeat of flight 7’s mission of testing payload launch capabilities, specifically the type of starlinks starship is partly designed to handle.
tyronehed 2y ago
I used to follow SpaceX so closely but now, given the behavior of Elon Musk, I cannot take any interest in any company connected to him.
jhp123 2y ago
If our government is so strapped for cash that it has to cancel food shipments for starving children[0], then surely we are in a deep enough fiscal crisis to stop spending money on space exploration? [0] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/usaid-trump-funding-pause-500-million-food-spoilage-risk/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/usaid-trump-funding-pause-500-m...

65 points by LorenDB 2y ago

zeristor 2y ago

Pending regulatory FDA approval… Surely they mean pending regulatory capture

Dig1t 2y ago
Under the previous admin it took longer to get regulatory approval than it took to build it (the most advanced rocket in the world) and it involved insane things like strapping a pair of headphones onto a seal and playing rocket sounds to it. We can only hope that the new administration will streamline the process and reduce the time needed to get regulatory approval.
- sonofhans 2y ago
  Yeah, I agree, fuck seals. The more we damage marine mammal life with loud sounds the better. If they didn’t want to get killed off in awful ways by our tech toys they should have evolved ear muffs.
  - throwawaymaths 2y ago
    > strapping a pair of headphones onto a seal and playing rocket sounds to it. That sounds more traumatizing to the seals than the actual launch. Anyways: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4939-3456-0_5#:~:text=The%20marine%20mammals%20of%20the,part%20of%20the%20twentieth%20century. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4939-3456-0_...
    - ceejayoz 2y ago
      > That sounds more traumatizing to the seals than the actual launch. To a substantially smaller number of seals.
      - throwawaymaths 2y ago
        that don't even exist. (see link)
        ceejayoz 2y ago
        Your link is about the Gulf of Mexico. Vandenberg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_Space_Force_Base https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_Space_Force_Base) is on the Pacific Ocean, where there are most certainly seals and sea lions. https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Features/Display/Article/1069703/elephant-seals-join-team-v/ https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Features/Display/... You have the wrong body of water.
        throwawaymaths 2y ago
        Delta IV heavies also launched from Vandenburg since long before f9 existed, and is considerably louder than falcon 9. was there a need for that study?
        ceejayoz 2y ago
        The study was apparently for the Delta IV. https://x.com/mcrs987/status/1848070131781455911 https://x.com/mcrs987/status/1848070131781455911
        throwawaymaths 2y ago
        same thread, tory bruno says it was not for delta IV https://x.com/torybruno/status/1848797537215410627 https://x.com/torybruno/status/1848797537215410627
        ceejayoz 2y ago
        I'm pretty sure he's talking about Starship, not Falcon 9. Starship doesn't launch from Vandenberg; neither Starship launch site has seals present. Propellant mass 441,800 lbs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_IV_Heavy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_IV_Heavy) to 906,000 lbs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_Heavy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_Heavy) in the respective first stages.
  - LorenDB 2y ago
    IIRC this study was not about the lethality of Starship, it was about whether the seals were agitated or disturbed by the launch.
- unsnap_biceps 2y ago
  > Under the previous admin it took longer to get regulatory approval than it took to build it (the most advanced rocket in the world) Generally it does take awhile for a third party to understand the design decisions and their impacts then the designing person. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone working on software. > it involved insane things like strapping a pair of headphones onto a seal and playing rocket sounds to it. Do you have a citation for this?
  - cooper_ganglia 2y ago
    >it involved insane things like strapping a pair of headphones onto a seal and playing rocket sounds to it There are actual images of a seal with headphones strapped to its head online!
    - ceejayoz 2y ago
      That doesn't mean said image matches the story told. https://x.com/mcrs987/status/1848070131781455911 https://x.com/mcrs987/status/1848070131781455911 asserts it was actually a study for the Delta IV booster, not something SpaceX had to do.
      - cooper_ganglia 2y ago
        Yes, I'm aware of that. My point was that SpaceX has said they've had to do this, and if it sounds so wacky that that's unbelievable, there are actually photos of the same thing happening with seals, so I feel very little need to doubt that SpaceX was held to the same standard if that's what they claim. Not a "citation" as much as anecdotal evidence that dispels doubt.
        ceejayoz 2y ago
        > My point was that SpaceX has said they've had to do this... Musk also famously tweeted "funding secured" for Tesla. "He's lying" is 100% within the realm of possibility.
  - 2y ago
- saalweachter 2y ago
  I don't know if Elon Musk or SpaceX has ever kidnapped a seal and played headphones to it, but the photos that were going around the internet for the last few years (they made the rounds in 2017 in connection to SpaceX, before Musk began referencing it in 2023/2024) were from an unrelated study in 2006: https://x.com/mcrs987/status/1848070131781455911 https://x.com/mcrs987/status/1848070131781455911 I'm still looking or the original study to find out what the "larger study" was about [was it an impact study related to Vandenberg? Was it part of seal monitoring, and while they had the seals they did a bunch of other stuff?], so if someone else digs it up I'd be interested in a link.
  - saalweachter 2y ago
    I eventually stumbled upon the Federal Register, which has some documents that talk about this, both re: SpaceX and Boeing at Vandenberg. Boeing, probably related to the pictures on the internet: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2006/06/26/E6-10044/small-takes-of-marine-mammals-incidental-to-specified-activities-harbor-activities-related-to-the https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2006/06/26/E6-1004... SpaceX, related to the landings: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/11/15/2018-24977/takes-of-marine-mammals-incidental-to-specified-activities-taking-marine-mammals-incidental-to https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/11/15/2018-24... I don't know exactly how often who puts headphones on seals yet, but it sounds like as part of operating at Vandenberg, it's routine to "haul out" (by which I assume they mean, capture and remove, releasing some time/distance away) harbor seals, so they aren't in the way; it sounds like they also (sometimes? always?) perform some amount of monitoring activities on the seals, since you've already got them captured. Also, all of this activity is apparently termed "Level B harassment".
- bryanlarsen 2y ago
  They take a lot longer than 6 weeks to build a Starship. They can build a Starship a month, but that's because there is significant parallelism. My guess is that there are parts on a Starship that started assembly over 1 year before the Starship is complete.
- m4rtink 2y ago
  Checking if seal is broken was for the Falcon Heavy booster landing pad on Vandenberg, it was not really related to the Starship program.
Ajedi32 2y ago
I'm assuming you meant FAA. Last I checked, Starship isn't edible. ;)
- mkaic 2y ago
  Not with that attitude it's not :P
fabian2k 2y ago
With this kind of massive conflicts of interests and the way the current administration behaves you have to assume that any kind of regulation on Musk's companies is effectively removed. Even if he does not intervene directly, every employee that acts against him must assume they'll lose their job over those actions. That's a fundamentally untenable situation, there can be no actual oversight and regulation under these circumstances.

Frederation 2y ago

Go get'em, Shotwell!

dvh 2y ago

When all the early prototype bugs are ironed out, will the second generation be called V2?

AtlasBarfed 2y ago
[flagged]
- NoMoreNicksLeft 2y ago
  >I want SpaceX de-Musked Why? I don't much care for Kardashians, but I just ignored that they had a tv show. >which is going to be REALLY hard given the private ownership majority he presumably owns, Maybe you'll rise high in the ranks once the proletariat starts the revolution.
  - unsnap_biceps 2y ago
    I would love spaceX de-musked because I want to support them! I want to be a share holder! I want them to be successful, but I don't want to support Musk, so I have conflicting wants. I don't have a conflicting set of wants with the Kardashians, so I do just ignore them and it's all good.
  - EA-3167 2y ago
    The Kardashians didn't own and run an economically and strategically critical company. There's a big difference between wanting Musk far away from SpaceX, and wanting a communist revolution, just like there's a difference between owning a make-up brand and the world's leading launch company.
    - NoMoreNicksLeft 2y ago
      >The Kardashians didn't own and run an economically and strategically critical company. Fair. Do you have a problem with Musk's progress in the problems that company is trying to solve? Is there any reason to believe that if someone else were in charge, that progress would improve? >There's a big difference between wanting Musk far away from SpaceX, and wanting a communist revolution, Possibly, for some people. But the people who complain about Musk aren't the sort that are concerned with the economic or strategic importance of SpaceX. He's just someone they dislike, and they want him punished. Why does fate not intervene, they ask, and give him nut cancer? It gets old.

vessenes 2y ago

Super exciting. I hadn’t read the debrief from 7s explosion, sounds like the early speculation had it right - leaks into a not well ventilated area and a (proper) autonomous self destruct. I’m excited to see if they can keep data all the way through reentry - that is such a game changer long term, and seeing live plasma effects is just insanely cool.

Ajedi32 2y ago
Looks like it was posted just today, so you didn't miss anything: https://www.spacex.com/updates/#flight-7-report https://www.spacex.com/updates/#flight-7-report
Molitor5901 2y ago
and the little fin that did!

Ajedi32 2y ago

Looks like the OP's link got truncated. It should be https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-8 https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-...

whitehexagon 2y ago

I think that will be ~midnight here (central Europe). Is this going to do a complete orbit before landing attempt? It's not clear from the launch page. Hoping to see the deployments. I remember seeing gen1 deploy here before I knew what they were, and panicking that the long string of dots were ICBMs! Strangely 2 weeks ago I think it was one of the gen1's that gave a nice reentry burn up early one morning here, also a bit scary when unexpected. Anyway exciting that they were able to turn this test around so fast after the last one, hopefully a longer show this time. Best of luck to the team.

Molitor5901 2y ago

I can't help but shed a tear every time I see Starship take off. I'm not space nut or even aviation, but it's just remarkable to see what we have been able to accomplish. Here's to a very successful launch.

jp42 2y ago
if you can, visit Starbase. I can't believe its so easy and you can see those huge rockets from so close. No permission of anything needed you just drive to there.
- Dig1t 2y ago
  Absolutely agree. Also the public location where you watch launches from is also the location where SpaceX employees watch from (South Padre Island). So you get as good of a view as the actual SpaceX employees do and it’s free to walk or bike in. It’s an amazing experience.
- Molitor5901 2y ago
  That.. is amazing and surprising!! WOW! It took me years to get an invitation to go see a NASA launch up close but that was a long time ago when the shuttle was still flying. Maybe I can convince my wife to take a spontaneous trip with me to see them up close. We could stop at a Buc-ee's!
  - jp42 2y ago
    Do it! I am waiting for my 7 month old to become big enough to be ready for 6 hour drive. I plan to make it annual ritual to visit Starbase with kids.

TheRealNGenius 2y ago

[dead]

russdill 2y ago

As interesting change to their updates page: "SpaceX reached out immediately to the government of Turks and Caicos and the United Kingdom to coordinate recovery and cleanup efforts." to "SpaceX reached out immediately to the government of Turks and Caicos and worked with them and the United Kingdom to coordinate recovery and cleanup efforts"

IAmGraydon 2y ago
Why is that interesting?
- ckcheng 2y ago
  A comma would've sufficed? cf: "SpaceX reached out immediately to the government[s] of Turks and Caicos[,] and the United Kingdom to..."
- russdill 2y ago
  Just that it appears that they did not reach out to the UK government when this happened as they may have been unaware that Turks and Caicos are a British Overseas Territory.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

kemotep 2y ago

Do we know when they plan to test orbital refueling? Launching a 2nd Starship to exchange fuel between them in orbit? It looks like this is a repeat of flight 7’s mission of testing payload launch capabilities, specifically the type of starlinks starship is partly designed to handle.

tyronehed 2y ago

I used to follow SpaceX so closely but now, given the behavior of Elon Musk, I cannot take any interest in any company connected to him.

jhp123 2y ago

If our government is so strapped for cash that it has to cancel food shipments for starving children[0], then surely we are in a deep enough fiscal crisis to stop spending money on space exploration? [0] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/usaid-trump-funding-pause-500-million-food-spoilage-risk/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/usaid-trump-funding-pause-500-m...