SpaceX Starship Flight 4: Has the FAA REALLY Just Cleared the Way!?

Summary

This 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

00:00

🚀 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.

05:04

🔧 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.

10:04

🛠️ 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.

15:06

🛰️ 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.

20:08

🌌 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.

Keywords

💡SpaceX

SpaceX is a private aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company founded by Elon Musk. It is known for its ambitious goals of enabling multiplanetary human life and has been pioneering advancements in rocket technology. In the video, SpaceX is central to the discussion of Starship development and its various milestones and setbacks.

💡Starship

Starship is SpaceX's next-generation spacecraft designed for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. It is a fully reusable spacecraft that is being developed to carry both crew and cargo. The video script discusses the progress and challenges faced during the development and testing of the Starship, particularly focusing on the flight test 4 and the issues encountered with Ship 31.

💡Cryogenic proofing test

A cryogenic proofing test is a procedure used to verify that a spacecraft and its components can withstand the extremely cold temperatures of space. The script mentions that Ship 31 underwent such a test, during which an unexpected electrical fault occurred, causing a significant delay and safety concerns.

💡Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR)

A Wet Dress Rehearsal is a test that simulates a launch countdown with the rocket fully loaded with propellants. It is conducted to ensure all systems are functioning correctly prior to an actual launch. The script discusses the preparation for a WDR with Booster 11 and Ship 29, which was postponed due to the issues with Ship 31.

💡Quick Disconnect Arm

The Quick Disconnect Arm is a mechanical system used to connect and disconnect various components of a spacecraft during preparation for launch. In the script, it is mentioned that the Quick Disconnect Arm was retracted and then swung back in, indicating a halt in the Ship lift process due to an anomaly.

💡Raptor engines

Raptor engines are the next-generation rocket engines developed by SpaceX for use in the Starship. They are designed to be highly efficient and capable of deep space travel. The script refers to the Raptor engines in the context of the startup gasses stored in COPV tanks for reignition during the boostback and landing burns.

💡Starliner

Starliner is a spacecraft developed by Boeing for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. It is designed to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The script mentions the Starliner Crewed Flight Test mission, which was scrubbed due to a helium leak in the thruster system.

💡Vulcan Centaur

Vulcan Centaur is a next-generation rocket being developed by United Launch Alliance (ULA). It is intended to replace the existing Atlas V and Delta IV rockets. The script discusses concerns raised by the Pentagon over the slow progress of the Vulcan Centaur, which is crucial for national security missions.

💡Dream Chaser

Dream Chaser is a spaceplane designed by Sierra Space for cargo and crew transportation to space. It is one of the few reusable spacecraft that can land horizontally on a runway. The script mentions the Dream Chaser's development delays and its planned launch on the second Vulcan Centaur rocket.

💡Starlink

Starlink is SpaceX's satellite internet constellation, aiming to provide global internet coverage. The script discusses several Starlink launches, including the deployment of both regular and Direct to cell version satellites, highlighting SpaceX's rapid launch cadence and the impact of solar storms on the satellites.

💡Aurora

An aurora, also known as the Northern or Southern Lights, is a natural light display in the Earth's sky, predominantly seen in the polar regions. The script describes the occurrence of rare and intense auroras caused by powerful solar storms, which were visible across various parts of the world and had an impact on satellite operations.

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  

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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.