Everything We Learned From The Most Recent Starship Update
Just around two years ago in late 2019, Elon stood in front of Mk1 in Boca Chica Texas. In that short amount of time, SpaceX has made immense progress not only on Starship but Starbase as well. They managed to turn a prototype into a working rocket and a small town into a next-generation launch and production site. Just last night Elon once again stood in front of a crowd and talked about everything Starship, this time with practically a full flight ready Starship stacked behind him.
Over the entire update and presentation, a lot of valuable and interesting info was mentioned. Some of the main topics include Raptor V2 progress, FAA Approval, Cape Kennedy, and more general info surrounding the future of Starship and Starbase. All of which helped give us a better idea of exactly what challenges SpaceX is currently facing and what the future is likely to hold.
What SpaceX is attempting is incredible and immensely difficult. There are practically endless moving pieces that play a vital role in the success of Starship and more. Here SpaceX is working to develop each aspect and eventually send humans to the Moon, and Mars. Here I will go more in-depth into some of the most important pieces mentioned during the update, and some additional interesting topics mentioned.
Main Topics Covered
As you can imagine, a lot of aspects surrounding Starship were covered over the course of the presentation. In total Musk was speaking for around 1 hour and 15 minutes. Behind him was S20 recently stacked via the chopsticks on top of B4. He started the presentation by highlighting why Starship is so important and the benefits it will provide. From here Musk went on to talk about different specific features, updates, plans, and general information. This included a slide show with some graphics and eventually, a new Starship render. All of this took place in the first half of the presentation. About 35 minutes in he began answering questions from the media for the remaining portion of the Starship update.
Raptor V2 – The first main topic that was highlighted throughout the presentation multiple times was Raptor V2. As we know SpaceX has been working on innovating and producing Raptor V2 much faster, cheaper, and efficiently. Musk began comparing Raptor 1 and Raptor 2 to give a better perspective on the improvements SpaceX had made. While Raptor V1 produced around 185 tons of thrust, V2 is now producing around 230 tons. In addition, Musk mentioned that he was confident they would get V2 thrust up to 250 tons. Not only is the thrust a major improvement, but the design and simplicity are as well. During the presentation, they showed a photo of both engines next to each other and even had two Raptor versions side by side in the background. On Raptor V1 you can see a labyrinth of plumbing and parts surrounding the entire engine in a very complex design. Musk mentioned that V1 looks kinda like a “Christmas tree, spaghetti pile”, “while V2 is greatly simplified, while also increasing thrust at the same time.” In this side-by-side comparison, it becomes very clear the major improvements made. This simplification not only improves the efficiency of the engine, but also helps SpaceX with the cost and time to produce Raptor V2. Elon even pointed out that V2 costs about half as much as V1 even though it’s much more powerful. This was the next big topic surrounding Raptor V2. With future Starship models needing even more engines, production is becoming one of the top focuses of SpaceX. Elon pointed out that SpaceX was continuing to improve with Raptor production and he was confident within a short period of time the company could produce a Raptor V2 every day, or 7 a week.
FAA Approval – The next topic that was brought up quite frequently not only during the main presentation but the question phase, had to do with the pending FAA approval. Right now SpaceX is waiting for a final FAA decision that will decide whether or not Starship can launch from Starbase anytime soon. This process has taken quite a while and is extremely important to the future of Starship operations. There were a few questions asking Musk if he had any idea of the general time frame when SpaceX could receive a decision. Musk answered that they did not know much but sometime in March it could be possible to get an answer. Specifically, Musk said, “we have gotten sort of a rough indication that there may be an approval in March, but that’s all we know.” This could be promising information but it’s hard to say as even SpaceX does not have a lot of information regarding the FAA’s decision. Elon talked about the future of Starbase and mentioned that it will likely be used for continued testing, and not the main operating launch site for future Starship missions. Aside from this, it looks like SpaceX is practically as much in the know as us. We will likely have to continue to wait and see exactly when and what the FAA’s decision is.
Cape Kennedy – One of the last major topics that were brought up multiple times had to do with a different launch site for Starship. SpaceX was able to get access to Launch Complex 39A in Florida, where they are working to build a launch site for future Starship operations. After talking about the FAA approval and the concerns regarding whether or not Starbase would receive approval, Musk mentioned the worst-case scenario and the benefits of the Florida launch site. SpaceX applied for environmental approval a few years ago in the Cape and received approval so that issue is already sorted. Musk went on to say “I guess our worst-case scenario is that we would be delayed for 6 to 8 months to build up the Cape launch tower and build from there.” This is very promising information as it helps ensure that SpaceX is capable of an orbital test flight this year even if things do not go according to plan in Boca Chica. This also goes hand in hand with Musk saying that they are very confident the first orbital Starship test will be this year. Based on this information, we are likely to see a lot start to happen at the Florida launch site. Whether or not Starbase gets approval, Launch Complex 39A will play a vital role in daily Starship operations in the future. When asked about what the future plans of Starbase look like, Musk mentioned that the Cape will actually be the main launch site, and Starbase will become a site for testing and general operations.
Additional Information
While I covered some of the most talked-about topics, there was a lot of additional interesting and important information mentioned. Starting with the oil rigs named Phoibos and Deimos. Musk first highlighted that both have been lower in priority up until now. Just last month SpaceX started working on one of the rigs. Musk also talked about first building a launch tower on one of the platforms by later this year. This would make a single platform operational along with the Cape launch complex. Next was related to Starship’s general design. With an upper stage standing at 50 meters tall and a booster at 69 meters, Starship is right at 119 meters tall right now. Musk pointed out that the width at 9 meters will not change but we could see Starship get a bit taller over time.
In addition to this, S20 and B4 have a total of 35 Raptors installed, 29 on the booster and 6 on the upper stage. It was confirmed that future boosters will have 33 Raptors increasing the total to 39 Raptors on a single Starship. Not only was the Raptor V2 progress highlighted but they also provided a video showing an engine test of the updated engine. Moving past Raptor V2, a new render of Starbase and Starship was provided showing a launch from Starbase to Mars. This included the initial launch process, refilling, and arriving at a massive Martian city. It included all the updates to Starship’s design and was a great addition. One of the last things I want to mention has to do with Starship refilling in orbit. Musk pointed out and showed renders of two Starships docking horizontally in orbit and refilling. He mentioned that docking to the ISS is much harder and they have some valuable experience in that department thanks to Dragon. This will be necessary for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Conclusion
After around two years since the last Starship update, we finally got another just last night. Between the presentation and the question phase, we were provided with a ton of information about everything related to Starship. Some of the main topics included Raptor V2 progress, FAA approval, Cape Kennedy, and more. All of which helps give us a better idea of SpaceX’s general progress, plans, and what to expect in the coming months and years. Overall it was a great presentation that gave everyone a lot of insight and excitement for the future. We will have to wait and see how Starship develops over time and its impact on the space industry.