What they're building is not the full-on Starship (BFR/BFS) that will take us to the Moon and Mars. It is a test vehicle for use in "hopper" tests, similar to what SpaceX used to test and refine the landing capability of its Falcon 9 boosters. These hopper tests didn't take the prototype into orbit. They tested its ability to take off, hover, and land without falling over or crashing. (One blew up after take-off.) This "Spacehopper" as I shall call it will be the same width (9 metres diameter) as the final Starship but only about 3/4trs of the height, and of course has no windows. It does have three of the new methane Raptor engines, which haven't been tested in flight before. These appear to have been fitted with dual bell exhaust bells to allow for low-altitude as well as high-altitude/space use, which is an interesting innovation.
SpaceX has been working exceptionally hard over the holidays to get this prototype of the BFS ready and some have wondered what the hurry is. I think it's because of this late stage pivot from composites to steel alloy. The timetable for Mars is very tight. Cargo mission to Mars in 2022, circumlunar mission with humans on board in 2023, manned mission to Mars in 2025. If SpaceX misses the 2022 Mars-Earth opposition, the whole timetable slips 26 months, as, given current technology it is only when Mars and Earth are closest (i.e. in opposition) that we can reach it in a reasonable time. This is a "hard" timetable--things can't be postponed by a couple of months, as they can on Earth. So speed is of the essence. Test hops of the Spacehopper are scheduled in March/April. If all goes to plan, orbital flights will be able to start by end 2019. Musk has said that the Starship will be able to get to orbit without a booster provided it has only a very small payload, so they don't even have to wait until the Super Heavy (BFR as was) is built before they can test its ability to re-enter the atmosphere.
Here are some pics of what the "Spacehopper" looks like.
 |
| The nose cone and mid-section |
 |
| The mid-section |
 |
| Nose cone and mid-section welded together |
 |
| Base with "wings" (=landing legs) and 3 Raptor engines |
(Source of above pics Austin Barnard)
 |
| The finished Spacehopper will look like this. The Starship will be taller and will have 7 raptor engines plus windows, etc. Source: Elon Musk |
 |
| Hat-tip to Roger Holt (I didn't realise the Spacehopper was so big. Is this right? I dunno. The "wing" proportions look right. We know the Spacehopper's width is 9 metres and its height from the ground. is 5 times that, so 45 metres vs the BFS's 55, so yes, it looks right.) |
And in the images below you can see how the newest Starship design recalls concepts of spaceships 70 years ago. Musk has said that the steel alloys will be much improved. And of course, we have computerised control, indispensable for a remote landing on Mars. All the same, it's been a long wait! Once again, I urge you not to underestimate Elon Musk's ability to achieve the apparently impossible. I think there's a good chance the deadline of 2025 for a manned expedition to Mars will be met. And if it isn't, it'll be 2027. But I'm counting on 2025.
 |
| From the 1950 film Destination Moon |
No comments:
Post a Comment