SpaceX Starship Flight 4: Has the FAA REALLY Just Cleared the Way!?
Summary
TLDRThis week's SpaceX Starship Development update covers the progress towards Flight Test 4, with a focus on the unexpected electrical fault during Ship 31's cryogenic proofing test. The mishap led to a temporary halt in operations, but Ship 29 was successfully stacked on Booster 11 for upcoming tests. Meanwhile, the FAA's statement suggests SpaceX could return to flight soon after meeting license requirements. The video also touches on the Starliner Crewed Flight Test delay due to a helium leak and the Pentagon's concerns over ULA's Vulcan Centaur rocket development. Additionally, it highlights recent Starlink launches, the impact of solar storms on satellites, and a sneak peek at Block 2 Starship hardware.
Takeaways
- 🚀 SpaceX's Starship Development is in its final stages with Flight Test 4 approaching, but a mishap with Ship 31 caused delays.
- 🔧 A serious electrical fault during Ship 31's cryogenic proofing test led to a safety shutdown and investigation, highlighting the need for caution in testing.
- 🛠️ Ship 29 was prepared for testing with its thermal protection system tiles mostly in place, ready to be stacked on Booster 11 after a temporary halt.
- 🔄 Following the anomaly with Ship 31, Ship 29's lift was aborted to ensure the same issue wouldn't affect it, emphasizing SpaceX's commitment to safety.
- 📈 Construction and removal work at the launch complex continues, with the removal of vertical storage tanks and transformation of the suborbital pad B.
- 🌟 The delivery of a forward flap for Block 2 of Starship suggests that the next version of Starship is in development, with more hardware expected soon.
- 🔧 Booster 14 was confirmed to be fully stacked, with Boosters 12 and 13 also in progress, indicating a steady build-up of Starship components.
- 🏗️ The Starfactory is expanding rapidly, with new sections and facilities being added, including a completed flame trench and tank farm at the Masseys test site.
- 📊 The FAA's statement suggests that SpaceX could return to flight soon after meeting license requirements, despite the ongoing mishap investigation.
- 🛑 The Starliner Crewed Flight Test mission faced a setback with a helium leak in its thruster system, leading to further delays for the critical crewed mission.
- 🚀 ULA faces concerns from the Pentagon over the slow progress of the Vulcan Centaur rocket, which is crucial for national security missions and competing with China's space capabilities.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the SpaceX Starship Development adventure discussed in the video?
-The main focus is on the final preparations for flight test 4 of the Starship, including the activities at Starbase, the issues encountered with Ship 31, and the subsequent actions taken by SpaceX.
What mishap occurred during Ship 31's cryogenic proofing test?
-A serious electrical fault happened during Ship 31's cryogenic proofing test, which resulted in damage to the raceway and required a complete shutdown of the Masseys site for over 24 hours.
Why was Ship 29's lift onto Booster 11 initially aborted?
-The lift was aborted to investigate the root cause of the anomaly with Ship 31 and to ensure that the same issue wouldn't happen with Ship 29 during the wet dress rehearsal.
What changes were made to the tank farm at the launch complex?
-The tank farm underwent construction and removal work, with the removal of another vertical storage tank and the demolition of the berm separating the pad from the tank farm.
What is the significance of the delivery of a forward flap for Block 2 of Starship?
-The delivery of the forward flap for Block 2 of Starship signifies the first labeled hardware related to the new version of Starship, indicating that more developments for this version are expected.
What was the outcome of the detonation suppression test and the subsequent venting from Booster 11?
-The detonation suppression test was conducted successfully, followed by the venting of carbon dioxide from the tanks under the chines closest to the Booster Quick Disconnect, indicating that the test was proceeding as expected.
What is the current status of the Starfactory construction?
-The Starfactory is progressing well, with the diagonal office structure taking shape and the front glass exterior almost fully complete. It is also receiving air conditioning units via a skycrane due to inaccessibility by the crane.
What is the current situation with the ULA's Vulcan Centaur rocket and the concerns raised by the Pentagon?
-The Pentagon is concerned about the slow progress of the Vulcan Centaur rocket, which needs at least two successful launches to be certified for national security missions. The first launch was successful, but the second launch, carrying the Dream Chaser, is planned for September and has also experienced delays.
What was the issue detected with Starliner's thruster system?
-A small helium leak was detected in Starliner's thruster system. While helium is not toxic or flammable, the leak is a critical issue for a crewed mission, leading to a delay in the launch.
What is the significance of the recent Starlink launches and the record set by Booster 1062?
-The recent Starlink launches are significant as they continue to expand SpaceX's satellite network. Booster 1062 made history by landing for the 21st time, showcasing the reusability and reliability of SpaceX's rocket technology.
What impact did the recent solar storms have on Starlink satellites and other space infrastructure?
-The solar storms, classified as X-class flares causing G5 level solar storms, put a lot of pressure on Starlink satellites, leading to some users experiencing reduced internet speeds. However, no loss of satellites has been reported.
Outlines
🚀 Starship Development and Booster 11's Wet Dress Rehearsal
The script discusses the ongoing developments at SpaceX, focusing on the Starship program's progress towards flight test 4. It details the activities at Starbase, including the preparation of Booster 11 for a wet dress rehearsal and the transportation of Ship 29 to the launch site. An unexpected halt in Ship 29's lift due to an anomaly with Ship 31 during cryogenic proofing tests is mentioned. The script also touches on the frustration from the Pentagon regarding Starliner's delivery delays for future security missions.
🔧 Post-Anomaly Investigation and Ship 29's Stacking
After an electrical fault and potential pneumatic system issue with Ship 31, SpaceX conducted a thorough investigation. The script describes how Ship 29's lift onto Booster 11 was initially aborted to avoid a similar incident. It then explains how, after ensuring the anomaly wouldn't recur, Ship 29 was successfully stacked onto Booster 11, highlighting the improved stacking process compared to previous events.
🛠️ Construction and Testing Updates at Starbase
The script provides updates on construction and testing activities at Starbase. It mentions the removal of vertical storage tanks and the transformation of the suborbital side of the launch site. The arrival of a forward flap for Block 2 of Starship is noted, suggesting upcoming developments. Additionally, the script covers the progress at the build site, including the construction of the Starfactory and the Masseys test site's readiness for Ship static firing tests.
🛰️ Starliner's Delays and ULA's Vulcan Centaur Concerns
The script discusses the cancellation of the Starliner Crewed Flight Test mission due to a helium leak in the thruster system and the subsequent repair of the Atlas V rocket. It also addresses concerns raised by the US Military over the development of ULA's new Vulcan Centaur rocket, which is crucial for building up their arsenal in orbit to compete with China. The script mentions the need for two successful launches of the Vulcan Centaur for certification to launch national security missions.
🌌 Starlink Launches and the Impact of Solar Storms
The script describes recent Starlink satellite launches, including the successful flights of boosters 1073 and 1063, which carried Starlink satellites to orbit. It also discusses the record-breaking 21st landing of booster 1062. Additionally, the script highlights the effects of powerful solar storms causing auroras and potential satellite and power system interferences. It mentions the resilience of Starlink satellites during the storms and the challenges of capturing aurora images from the International Space Station.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡SpaceX
💡Starship
💡Cryogenic proofing test
💡Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR)
💡Quick Disconnect Arm
💡Raptor engines
💡Starliner
💡Vulcan Centaur
💡Dream Chaser
💡Starlink
💡Aurora
Highlights
SpaceX's Starship Development is in its final stages before flight test 4.
A mishap occurred causing delays with Starliner, leading to Pentagon frustration over future security missions.
Booster 11 was prepared for a wet dress rehearsal at the Starbase.
Ship 29's thermal protection system tiles are mostly completed with only a few missing patches.
An electrical fault during Ship 31's cryogenic proofing test resulted in significant damage.
Ship 29's lift onto Booster 11 was aborted to investigate the root cause of Ship 31's anomaly.
SpaceX conducted a partial load test on Ship 29 and Booster 11 to ensure everything was functioning correctly.
Construction and removal work at the launch complex included the removal of a vertical storage tank.
Suborbital pad B at the launch site is being transformed with sections being demolished.
A delivery of a forward flap for Block 2 of Starship was received at the build site.
Booster 14 was fully stacked, and Boosters 12 and 13 are also in progress.
The FAA may allow SpaceX to return to flight after meeting typical license requirements, despite the mishap investigation remaining open.
Starliner's Crewed Flight Test was scrubbed due to a faulty pressure valve and a helium leak in the thruster system.
The US Military expressed concerns over the slow progress of ULA's new Vulcan Centaur rocket affecting national security launches.
SpaceX achieved its 50th launch of 2024 with the deployment of 23 Starlink version 2 mini satellites.
Solar storms causing auroras were some of the biggest in over 20 years, impacting satellite operations including Starlink.
Transcripts
Welcome back my friends to another frantic week of SpaceX’s Starship Development adventure as we
watch the final rundown toward flight test 4. All around a quite bizarre mishap that threw a spanner
in the works. Along with that, some more trouble causing further delays with Starliner, frustration
showing from the Pentagon for the delivery of their future security missions, and a whole
bunch more. Another packed one so let's jump right into it! This video is sponsored by Surfshark VPN!
Hey, Hey Marcus House with you here, and we are truly in the final steps for the next epic event
for SpaceX and the Starship program. Starbase has been a hive of activity once again this
week! Starting off with Booster 11, once it had rolled out to the launch site last week it was
lifted onto the mount to get ready for what is most likely the wet dress rehearsal that
SpaceX had planned. Its transport stand was moved away from the tower arms. On the day of the lift,
it had been 34 days since Booster 11 was last on the launch mount, so it's been a while since we’ve
been treated to these great views! Where was the Starship to be stacked on top of this beast for
flight 4? Well, it seems like the tile work for Ship 29 was wrapped up enough for this upcoming
testing. After a quick move from the Highbay to Megabay 2 to make room for Ship 30 and Ship 31
to move, here was the Ship 29 poking its head out and turning onto Highway 4. Yes, it was finally
off to the launch site. It was a little hard to see under the cover of darkness, but apart from
the few missing patches at the aft skirt area the majority of the thermal protection system tiles
are looking nicely filled back in now. These remaining ones can be added on pretty easily
at this point. Another routine vehicle transport, and once it had arrived at the launch complex it
rolled between the tower arms. They attached, the ships flaps were deployed, and we were all good
for a lift… right!? Ummm… well… maybe not. The quick disconnect arm was retracted,
but weirdly enough it was swung back in soon after. It seemed that all activity towards a Ship
lift seemed to ground right to a halt. To figure out what happened here we need to move over to the
other sites first. The week prior just before our last video went live Ship 31 had made an
appearance and rolled down Highway 4 moving toward Masseys. This ship was constructed but hadn’t yet
completed any testing. First up, is the usual cryogenic proofing test and as predicted we were
soon witnessing it loading up. Unfortunately the result was FAR from usual. From what we could see
the loading process was smooth, but take a look at what happened during the test. This looks like
a pretty serious electrical fault happened there bursting out of the raceway. Immediately there was
a long depress as SpaceX attempted to safe the vehicle. It did successfully detank, but with
an anomaly such as this where there is a chance they lost control of some areas of the vehicle,
Masseys was completely shut off from all personnel for over 24 hours. Only drones were allowed into
the site. Once the road was open, we were able to get some pretty clear views of the damage.
Yeah… that’s not how a healthy raceway should look. Given that this is the main connection
between the forward and aft sections of the ship, they need to be super careful.Within that raceway
there is not only electrical wiring, but we think pneumatic systems for the vehicle. Perhaps there
was a pipe that burst within there. If so, that may have damaged the electrical wiring causing
Ship 31 to temporarily identify as an Arc Welder. Actually I’d love to hear your theories on what
happened there. It looked pretty wild didn’t it? Thankfully the Ship was eventually fully
detanked and SpaceX were allowed back on-site. As soon as they could, Ship 31 was loaded up
and rolled back to the Buildsite where they could continue a full investigation into what happened.
Right, with that done, let's head back to the Launchsite! I would say that the most likely
reason why Ship 29’s lift onto Booster 11 was aborted was because they wanted to find the
root cause to ensure the same thing wasn’t going to happen with that ship. Remember,
cryogenic proofing tests over at Masseys are carried out using only with liquid oxygen and
nitrogen so there is no chance of an explosion. Imagine instead if such a thing happened during
a fully integrated Wet Dress Rehearsal while using the much more “explody” methane. That could be a
disaster. With that holdup, SpaceX decided to temporarily move Ship 29 away from the orbital
launch pad on Tuesday. It looked like some testing with just Booster 11 was on the cards now. During
that nothing much could be seen outside of some venting coming from the top of the Methane tank
periodically. After just over an hour and a half from the road being closed it was open again. At
this point perhaps they had made a judgment call on Ship 31’s anomaly because back Ship 29 moved
to be finally fully stacked. Up it went in the always amazing spectacle. It’s always nice to
see a lift during the day, and always bizarre seeing a 100 ton object simply hanging on these
two comparatively tiny lifting points, balanced by two more. The lift was smooth and as it was
translated over Booster 11 and guided carefully onto the hot staging ring. It looked to come
together really easily this time. No more super finicky adjustments that they had to do with
Booster 10 and Ship 28’s stacking events. Either they have fixed those issues in the meantime,
or this fourth clamp-like guide that was installed on Booster 11’s hot staging ring has done absolute
wonders! The Ship Quick Disconnect hooked up, and we were GO for testing! Thursday kicked
off with a detonation suppression test under the launch mount, and once the road had closed
the chines on Booster 11 started to vent which we believe means that carbon dioxide was being
loaded into the tanks under the two chines closest to the Booster Quick Disconnect. As a reminder,
the other two chines contain COPV tanks that store startup gasses to reignite the raptor engines
for the boostback and landing burns. First the frost appeared on both of Ship 29’s main tanks,
followed quickly on Booster 11’s tanks. After about 15 minutes the climb stopped with the
tower and launch mounts venting liquid oxygen into the surroundings. After a brief pause, detanking
started. We got the signature engine bay purge test just above the orbital launch mount and that
was it! The road was opened back up. Now initially many of us thought they may go for a full Wet
Dress Rehearsal, but since they hadn’t evacuated the village nearby, that was obviously not the
intention. I think given all the changes to the tank farm recently as well as the work carried out
on both vehicles, doing a partial load first to test everything was working as expected is smart.
As has become quite a regular occurrence, there has been both construction and removal work at
the launch complex kicking off with the removal of another vertical storage tank. Yes, first we
saw the LR11000 crane attached to the shell of the tank closest to the road, on the right hand side.
This shell here covered one of the two Nitrogen storage tanks. A big part of it was lifted out
after being cut into two pieces, and notice how much perlite insulation was still on the shiny
stainless tank inside! The scrapping commenced nearly immediately, and once only the dome with
a small barrel was left, the crane attached to the now-revealed storage tank underneath. In no time,
that was lifted out to be scrapped as well. So yea, never a dull moment at Starbase!
Now over at what used to be the suborbital side of the launchsite the transformation
here has screamed along. Section by section suborbital pad B was completely ripped apart.
The berm separating the pad to the tank farm also was demolished in what seemed the blink
of an eye. The tank farm hasn’t seen much destruction yet but on Friday they lifted
out a tank. SpaceX still had propellant in some of the cryogenic tanks after Ship 30’s static fire,
so now that everything has been removed, expect this to all come down quickly!
So there has been a very exciting development at the build site! At the beginning of the week,
Starship Gazer caught this delivery into the site. At first glance this might look like just
an ordinary flap, but a closer view at the label reveals that this is a forward flap for Block 2 of
Starship! Block 2 we suspect will be the more official name for Starship Version 2 that was
announced in Elon's presentation from just over a month ago. This is the first labeled hardware
relating to Block 2 that we’ve seen so far, so hopefully a lot more is coming soon. So back
when booster 11 was rolling out, SpaceX posted this great view confirming that Booster 14 was
indeed fully stacked, just as we predicted a few weeks back. Boosters 12 and 13 are in here too,
with Booster 12 sporting the grid fins that 13 and 14 are both yet to receive. Pretty
wild to think that at least one booster in this photo could attempt to be caught by
the tower if everything goes to plan. In general, the build site is still
steaming ahead with construction work! The Starfactory is getting on very well,
with the diagonal office structure at the end beginning to take shape. The latest RGV Aerial
Photography flyover reveals that the Starfactory will be directly attached to Megabay 2, just like
the Raptors Nest we saw for Megabay 1. With more footings now visible here too, they’ll have quite
a roomy connection between these buildings. In theory it looks like they could be able to move
completed Ship sections right from the starfactory into the Megabay. Now at the back right of the
megabay is where we suspect is where the welding turntable is. That one should be commissioned now
with multiple barrels moved inside. With these seemingly sacrificial rings they can calibrate
the robotic welders without potentially damaging flight hardware. I tell you what, the welds
on that triple section look so smooth? Things have certainly come a long way over the years!
This was a pretty neat spectacle by the way. Starfactory has begun to receive some
air conditioning units! Given that most of this area is now completely inaccessible by the crane,
there was only one option left. Skycrane! The front glass exterior of the Starfactory is almost
fully complete, and most other cladding panels installed. The factory really has shot up in size
over these last few weeks. As a reminder, this was the footprint of the initial Starfactory building
was first. That really looks tiny in comparison. Over at the Masseys test site the Ship static
firing stand looks to have a completed flame trench now. Also, a fully completed tank farm?
Yea. It looks like they are about ready to test this out. They are most likely working
hard now to certify the full tank farm here with help from Ship 26 which had moved over
here the week prior. It has been sitting waiting for some fiery action ever since!
Now as we hinted at last week, sections from tower 2 were on this move during the week. These
segments have been sitting at the Port since February after being transported from Florida,
so this has been a while coming! Early in the week with segment 7 which was moved over to Sanchez
area of Starbase where it was then placed down close to the two other segments already there.
Later in the week segment 3 was staged on the port connector road. Now keep in mind segment 3 is
below the ship quick disconnect arm, so a load of the pipes here will be heading towards the Ship.
Thanks to Starship Gazer we have got this super nice visual of what these pipes in the segments
are for! Some of the lines are spares so they can easily get more commodities up the tower when
needed. From left to right here these are Argon gas for welding, 400 bar gaseous helium, nitrogen,
oxygen and methane which most likely are related to the COPVs for the Raptor startup gasses. There
are hydraulic lines to the various actuators moving the ship quick disconnect arm, and finally
30 bar gaseous oxygen, methane and nitrogen lines which serve as tank pressurization and purge
gasses. That is indeed a very useful photo. Most likely see the rest of the sections come over in
the coming days, and that will just leave the two remaining ones sitting at Roberts Road in Florida.
Kathy Leuders made an appearance sharing some nice insights too! Some of the biggest takeaways being
that they do expect the launch license either in the last week of May, or possibly early June.
And in typical SpaceX fashion they want to be fully ready to launch as soon as they have that
license! Now one of the main fixes mentioned was for the guidance, navigation and control systems
on the Booster to allow it to get further in the timeline compared to Flight 3. That there is
probably related to the back and forth swinging that the Booster did. It certainly seemed like
the grid fins were somewhat responsible for that issue, so I imagine adjustments to the programming
around all of that is going on right now. The more breaking news is this announcement picked
up by Adrian with NASASpaceFlight! In the past day the FAA released a statement saying that if they
agree that no public safety issues were involved in the flight 3 mishap, SpaceX could return to
flight after their typical license requirements are met, and while the mishap investigation
remains open. Essentially I read this to mean that they are probably good to fly as soon as they can!
Now as we close out the last few weeks before flight 4 kicks off, we are wrapping up the
Flight 3 patch design shortly. This will be the last chance to grab any of that if you
are still after some of the merch. Either with the date included like this one right here,
or without. Luckily Spreadshirt managing the sales have a special free shipping offer which
knocks a heap off the overall price. Especially if having it sent outside the US. That ends on
Tuesday by the way, and I just want to say a huge thankyou to everybody that has loved
that design. I partnered up with Tony Bela who makes all these astounding infographics,
and I’m just really thrilled to have been able to have us all help with the work that he is doing.
Thank you for being the driving force behind that, for checking you are still subscribed here and for
loving what we do. What would you like to see for the next design? A patch for flight 4? Or perhaps
something a little different. Let us know below. Now as we know from over a week ago now,
the long awaited Starliner Crewed Flight Test mission got scrubbed a few hours before lift off.
Since then of course the Atlas V was rolled back into the Vertical Integration Building at Cape
Canaveral for the repair work. Earlier this week, United Launch Alliance had successfully replaced
the faulty pressure valve on the liquid oxygen tank of the Centaur upper stage,
and it almost seemed like the launch on Friday the 17th was good to go. Well, until news broke that
the team had detected another problem. This time though with Starliner. Indeed they found a small
helium leak in its thruster system. If it had been an uncrewed mission of some sort, they would have
been good to go, but with such a critical crewed mission, they didn't want to take any chances,
so they are working on that issue with the launch pushed again. Now the leak itself was traced in
the service module, through to a single reaction control system thruster. Helium is typically
used to pressurize tanks and is obviously not toxic or flammable in any way, so doesn't seem
like an issue that will hold things up long. Now speaking of ULA news was breaking this
week with the US Military raising concerns around the progress and development of their
new Vulcan Centaur rocket. Specifically in a letter released by the Pentagon they stated
that ULA is limiting their ability to build up their arsenal in orbit to compete with China.
Essentially point at concerns over the slow progress of the Vulcan Centaur which needs to
have at least two successful launches. They need that to get certified to launch National security
missions. Obviously the first long awaited Vulcan flight was launched this year in January after a
string of delays. That mission was a success for ULA of course even though the Peregrine Lunar
Lander had faults that stopped it completing its own mission. The second Vulcan launch will
carry the first Dream Chaser to orbit which is planned to happen around September currently.
A quick side note, Sierra Space has been sharing some great shots recently of this. This is Dream
Chaser’s forward down thrusters that will help control the vehicle as it approaches the space
station. Due to the necessary placement here, they will also take a bunch of reentry heating when
returning to Earth. That is why they need extra plating. This first Dream Chaser names Tenacity
has also now successfully completed the full environmental testing run at NASA’s
Armstrong Flight Research Center. A very nice dark image there of it there with the
Shooting Star module going through cold and hot cycles to simulate the mission.
Anyway, the other problem is Dream Chaser has also had numerous delays throughout its development. I
mean, I am all for them taking their time to make sure everything is right before they launch the
first Dream Chaser. It does beg the question, why doesn’t ULA just launch a mass simulator or
something else that they don’t need to wait for? Well, apparently as a backup, ULA is planning
to do just that. A dummy payload for their 2nd certification mission would at least get them the
required flights of Vulcan to be qualified for the military launches. That would mean however that
they are throwing away a rocket that they know works rather than being paid for putting Dream
Chaser into orbit, but I suspect at this point they probably have no other choice. Afterall,
they won 60% of the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 contracts, and they already lost about
6% of those contracts to SpaceX due to the Vulcan delays. Given they currently have a backlog of 25
national security launches, all due to be launched before 2027, they need to get moving. At this
point the pentagon is skeptical about whether ULA can actually turn around enough Vulcans to
launch all these missions in time anyway. Now we were treated once again to some
amazing Starlink launch action from SpaceX. [Ad Start] More on that in just a second but
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QR code on screen. Thank you Surfshark! [Ad End] So yes, early this week we had an early morning
east coast Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40.
Lifting off here was booster 1073 on its 15th flight, taking up 23 starlink version 2 mini
satellites to orbit for the Group 6-58 Mission. A neat view of those satellites as the fairings
separated away. That was a full stack of regular Starlink satellites on this one,
so no direct to cell versions. The booster coasted all the way to its entry burn and there we go,
it was lighting up the night sky, and yes, quite an awesome landing on the
droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas. Why awesome. Well listen to this.
Yea, we even got audio feeding through of the booster touching down. That is awesome! Now just
the next day we had another incredible launch, from Vandenberg this time. Booster 1063 there
standing with a beautiful background of the rich blue west coast sky. This one seemed almost camera
shy with it a little obscured by its own vapor cloud for most of the countdown. Some really
magnificent shots of the Falcon 9 booster lifting off there, and just like last week’s launch,
was carrying 13 Direct to cell starlink satellites included among the 20 in total. I suspect we’ll be
seeing these now on a bunch of flights given SpaceX wants this mobile service rolling out
to consumers by next year. And the booster here makes another spectacular landing on the droneship
Of Course I Still Love You, marking the 18th successful landing for this booster. And more
impressive is that this was the 50th launch for 2024, and given we haven’t even closed
out May yet, that is more than 10 launches per month so far. As Gwynne Shotwell posted,
it’s been an extraordinary year and we haven’t even hit the half way mark.
Of course the most awesome one of the week launched just hours before I was exporting
this video to go live. SpaceFlightNow had a terrific point of view from the ground after
this launch from Space Launch Complex 40 because this launch right after sunset was the perfect
time to witness the ultimate space jellyfish. Right at stage separation at that altitude,
the sun hadn’t set yet. Just look at the lighting of that one. Even the fairings could be clearly
seen floating away. Elon actually shared this wonderful view of the space Jellyfish downrange
from the perspective from the droneship. This was another record breaker too with
Booster 1062 landing for the 21st time. Now, through the past week, we’ve been
seeing some really crazy Aurora images floating around the internet. Although
extremely beautiful, what’s causing those rare and incredible scenes has a downside. In fact,
over the past week or so we’ve seen a series of some of the biggest solar storms we’ve seen in a
long while. It provided auroras being visible in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand,
and many other locations. Yea, the strength of these solar storms that was causing that was
crazy. In fact these were X-class flares which are some of the most intense producing G5 level
solar storms. Now interestingly we didn't really see any good views of them from the
international space station. Sadly, as mentioned by Don here, for a few days about twice a year,
the orbit of the station runs along the day-night terminator. That means that it
is continuously orbiting on the boundary of day and night. This makes it pretty much impossible
because with constant daylight, taking any good shots of the auroras is pretty unlikely.
That’s a bit of a shame because once measured it turned out that they were the biggest that
we’ve seen in over 2 decades. The last G5 event like this was way back in 2003 and this caused a
bunch of electrical issues at the time. The Sun of course is at a super active phase because it
is hitting its peak solar activity now during its 11 year cycle. At the peak of course the
chances of unprecedented Coronal Mass Ejections become way more likely, and almost impossible
to predict before they actually happen. Such events can create satellite blackouts, interfere
with the power systems, and the radiation could even harm the astronauts on the ISS. Also think
about the incredibly new and sophisticated networks out there like Starlink. Elon said
here that the satellites were under a lot of pressure due to the storm, but were holding up
well. There were reports of Starlink users having issues with reduced internet speed which probably
isn’t overly surprising. I do wonder if any on the Starlink satellites were damaged? So far, there
hasn’t been any word from SpaceX about them losing any satellites due to these storms, so that’s good
news. Did you manage to see some auroras where you were located? Let me know if the comments below.
I hope you enjoyed this video! If you did, don’t forget to hit subscribe so we
can keep making them. If you would like to continue with more space goodness,
check out this video here next, or maybe these videos. Thanks as always for watching all this
way through. That makes such a huge difference to us. I’ll catch you for the next video.
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