Elon is now apparently claiming that debris from the destruction of the pad was not the cause of damage to the rockets.
I am deeply curious if this is just him trying to cover for the call to launch the rockets despite risk to platform, or if it represents even more issues if there was unrelated explosive engine failure.
It's hard to say. Honestly, the heat and shock reflected off the ground and back up at the bottom of the structure could cause damage on their own, so possibly the concrete debris didn't hurt the vehicle (only the pad). I think the bigger revealed issue was their reported "loss of comms" on the way up due to an "energy event" which is probably a euphemism for "explosion." More concerning still was that AFTS didn't go off for 40 seconds after it was supposed to.
Long story short, I don't want to get too far into parsing his words as there is always some spin for optics. But there were plenty of other issues, too!
SpaceX can straighten out the Starship project by making a few modifications.
The KSC Starship launch facility should be modified.
The OLM and OLIT should be relocated to 500 meters off the shore at KSC in ocean water 15 meters deep.
A bridge that's 500 meters long should be built to connect the KSC road system to the OLIT.
These are simple marine engineering projects.
SPMTs would transport the two Starship stages to the OLIT.
The chopsticks would stack the two stages on the OLM in the usual way.
Modified LNG tanker ships with 50,000t (metric ton) cargo capacity would be used to transport methalox and liquid nitrogen to the OLM. This is enough for 6 or 7 Starship launches.
These LNG tankers function as a floating tank farm.
This is the best way to ensure that KSC can support three Starship launches per day, which is Elon's requirement.
I think that this new and improved KSC Starship launch facility could be operational in 18 months.
Sounds like an interesting proposal. I am not sure about protections for the waters immediately off shore, but I do think some form of at-sea launch may eventually be in the cards.
Elon is now apparently claiming that debris from the destruction of the pad was not the cause of damage to the rockets.
I am deeply curious if this is just him trying to cover for the call to launch the rockets despite risk to platform, or if it represents even more issues if there was unrelated explosive engine failure.
It's hard to say. Honestly, the heat and shock reflected off the ground and back up at the bottom of the structure could cause damage on their own, so possibly the concrete debris didn't hurt the vehicle (only the pad). I think the bigger revealed issue was their reported "loss of comms" on the way up due to an "energy event" which is probably a euphemism for "explosion." More concerning still was that AFTS didn't go off for 40 seconds after it was supposed to.
Long story short, I don't want to get too far into parsing his words as there is always some spin for optics. But there were plenty of other issues, too!
SpaceX can straighten out the Starship project by making a few modifications.
The KSC Starship launch facility should be modified.
The OLM and OLIT should be relocated to 500 meters off the shore at KSC in ocean water 15 meters deep.
A bridge that's 500 meters long should be built to connect the KSC road system to the OLIT.
These are simple marine engineering projects.
SPMTs would transport the two Starship stages to the OLIT.
The chopsticks would stack the two stages on the OLM in the usual way.
Modified LNG tanker ships with 50,000t (metric ton) cargo capacity would be used to transport methalox and liquid nitrogen to the OLM. This is enough for 6 or 7 Starship launches.
These LNG tankers function as a floating tank farm.
This is the best way to ensure that KSC can support three Starship launches per day, which is Elon's requirement.
I think that this new and improved KSC Starship launch facility could be operational in 18 months.
Sounds like an interesting proposal. I am not sure about protections for the waters immediately off shore, but I do think some form of at-sea launch may eventually be in the cards.