Booster 9 (B9) is a Super Heavy booster prototype that has flown on IFT-2 with Ship 25 (S25).[1] After assembly, it was moved to the OLS cryo station for preliminary structural testing. According to Elon Musk it has many design changes with regard to B7 and likely also B8:
"Our focus is on reliability upgrades for flight on Booster 7 and completing Booster 9, which has many design changes, especially for full engine RUD isolation."[2]
The engine isolation was added on Booster 7 as well, but only as retrofit: "We’re taking a little risk there [B7 being the first to fly], as engine isolation was done as retrofit, so not as good as on Booster 9."[3]
B9 is the first booster to use electric TVC (Thrust vector control) actuators instead of hydraulic.
B9 is also the first booster to use hot-staging. This means that while the ship's engines are being ignited, it still sits on the booster. Per Elon Musk, using this method the payload capacity is increased by 10%. To prevent B9 being destroyed by the ships engines, there was be a extra section added on top of B9 with vents for the engines exhaust and shielding of the forward dome.
Booster 9 was the first booster to successfully ignite all of its 33 Raptor Engines in flight.
Technical Upgrades[]
In comparison to previous booster prototypes, B9 features several upgrades, as explained by The Ring Watchers:[4]
One of the most notable change is the removal of the hydraulic power units on the side of the aft section. They were used to power the TVC (Thrust Vector Control, gimbaling) system. The engines on B9 are the first to use electric TVC instead of hydraulic.
Hardware has been added to the thrust dome. The black boxes are likely related to the electric TVC system as there appears to be one box for each gimballing engine.
The large liquid methane pipes for the gimballing Raptor engines are now pre-mounted on the thrust puck, which should simplify the preassembly needed on the engines and may speed up installation.
Underneath the chines, various pieces of hardware were rearranged, possibly due to new hardware or smarter installation methods. Starlink dishes have been added to the tops of the chines.
Furthermore, the chines have been lengthened a little bit, as they contain more hardware, such as batteries. While the chines were the same height on B7 and B8, this is not the case anymore on B9.
The thrust puck design for B9 was revised. The highlighted areas show, that more metal is milled down, reducing the weight of the puck.
New bracing has been added on the forward dome of B9. The four pairs of lines are not present on older boosters.
Various vents have been modified, such as the LOX ullage vents, which now have a revised "cowbell" diverted over them. Various plates have also been installed over the CH4 tank vents, changing the shape of the vent.
Finally, the grid fins now have additional plates on the exterior faces, possibly adding strength against warping.
B9 has received its Hot Stage Ring. This allows Starship to hot stage. The hot stage ring was only added in August 2023. It will allow for separation with help of the ship engines.
Vented interstage and heat shield installed atop Booster 9. Starship and Super Heavy are being upgraded to use a separation method called hot-staging, where Starship’s second stage engines will ignite to push the ship away from the booster[5]
Timeline[]
- 24 Oct 2021: B9 thrust puck delivered and unloaded, this is the first one for 13 engines (10+3) instead of only 9
- 16 Dec 2021: Booster thrust puck accidentally delivered to launch site (third one for 13 inner engines), possibly for B9?; developed since first one spotted in early October (recesses bigger, [247]structural weaving increased - less weight) [WAI]
- 09 Feb 2022: Comm dome (4-rings with ullage vents, stringers (less than one ring high) spotted outside tents
- 16 Feb 2022: B7 [?] aft section (4-ring) spotted [possibly the number is B9, difficult to read]
- 02 Mar 2022: Booster aft dome sleeve (4-ring) in front of tents, aft dome on sleeving stand, workers wrap up extending pipes for engines with plastic bags; aft dome sleeved [B8/B9?]
- 10 Mar 2022: B9 common dome sleeve (4-ring, RCS/ullage vents upside down) moved out of tent
- 10 Mar 2022: Common dome lifted onto sleeving stand, sleeved with common dome sleeve, lifted off sleeving stand and moved back into tent
- 13 Mar 2022: Booster aft section (4-ring) flipped; header tank part visible (with three-engine pipe outlets!) [B8/B9?]
- 17 Mar 2022: Booster header tank outside tents [B8/B9?]
- 18 Mar 2022: Booster header tank still outside tents (for LOX) [B8/B9?]
- 19 Mar 2022: Booster header tank lifted [B8/B9?] and moved into tent 2?
- 20 Mar 2022: New booster fwd dome spotted in tent [B9?]
- 20 Mar 2022: New booster comn dome section moved out of tent 1 (4-ring, sleeved), ullage vents preinstalled [B8/B9?]; attached to flipping jig, flipped
- 20 Mar 2022: New booster fwd dome [B9/B10?] lifted onto sleeving stand
- 20 Mar 2022: New booster fwd dome sleeve [B9/B10?] moved outside tent 1, prepared for flipping
- 21 Mar 2022: B9 fwd dome flipped
- 22 Mar 2022: Booster fwd dome lifted onto sleeving stand [B9/B10/B11?, same as on March 20?], sleeved with flipped fwd dome sleeve (likely the one from March 20, 3-ring) after it rolled out of tent 1 again
- 28 May 2022: Booster fwd tank #2 spotted [B8/B9, barely readable]
- 14 June 2022: Booster common dome flipped [B9??]
- 14 June 2022: 4-ring barrel section moved at production site [B9??]
- 16 July 2022: CH4 tank stacking began [RGV]
- 26 July 2022: CH4 section not stacked on the triple ring section, but rolled back out in front of Mega Bay, still 6 rings tall
- 27 July 2022: CH4 section moved into Mega Bay, stacked on a triple section in Mega Bay; now 9/13 rings tall
- 29 July 2022: B9 last CH4 section moved into Mega Bay
- 29 July 2022: Fwd sections moved within the Mega Bay; For the first time, there was a dual lift, featuring B9 CH4 tank and final quad stack; lifted to the welding turntable to complete stacking of the upper 13 rings
- 30 July 2022: B8 moved within Mega Bay, likely making way for B9 stacking
- 24 Aug 2022: LOX tank segment spotted outside Mega Bay
- 25 Aug 2022: CH4 section lifted onto a new stand at 18:40; cmn dome wheeled in front of Mega Bay
- 26 Aug 2022: First LOX tank section moved to Mega Bay, cmn dome attached to bridge crane for stacking with it
- 03 Sep 2022: LOX tank stacked on another quad section (now 12 of 23 rings tall)
- 14 Sep 2022: LOX tank section lifted and stacked on a quad; now 16/23 rings tall [vid 15]
- 15 Sep 2022: CH4 tank spotted in Mega Bay
- 17 Sep 2022: LOX tank stacked onto another quad section, now 20/24 rings tall
- 21 Sep 2022: Downcomer moved into Mega Bay for installation
- 26 Sep 2022: Thrust section moved into Mega Bay early morning OLM work continued extensively; covers were installed at the hold down clamp openings (blast shielding to protect the interior) [vid 27]
- 27 Sep 2022: Spotted in Mega Bay, it appears to be the first booster to use electric TVC (thrust vector control) as no hydraulic power units have been installed
- 28 Sep 2022: LOX tank stacked onto thrust section, now 24/24 rings tall [Kevin Randolph, WAI]
- 15 Dec 2022: Roll out to OLS cryo station
- 21 Dec 2022: Cryo Proof Test
- 29 Dec 2022: Cryo Proof Test
- 10 Jan 2023: B9 rolled back to the Mega Bay
- 18 July 2023: B9 moved to the Rocket Garden. (Likely waiting to being moved to the Launch Site)
- 20 July 2023: B9 moved to the Launch site.
- 23 July 2023: Full Cryo Proof Test
- 4 August 2023: 33 Engine Spin Prime
- 6 August 2023: Attempt at 33 Engine Static Fire (Only 29 Engines fired for 2.74 seconds)
- 8 August 2023: B9 rolled back to the Mega Bay ahead of Hotstage integration and launch preparations.
- 16 August 2023: Hot Stage Ring installed on B9
- 22 August 2023: B9 rolled to the launch site.
- 23 August 2023: Static fire, 33 engines ignited, 31 of them went to full duration
- 5 September 2023: stacked with S25
- 14 September 2023: destacked with S25
- 21 September 2023: Hotstage ring removed.
- 26 September 2023: B9 HS:1 is lifted back onto B9.
- 27 October 2023: Vented interstage removed from B9 again.
- 28 October 2023: Vented interstage reinstalled on B9.
- 11 November 2023: Hotstaging ring removed from B9 following destack of S25.
- 15 November 2023: Hotstaging ring reinstalled on B9.
- 16 November 2023: Hotstage ring destacked after grid fin actuator failure.
- 17 November 2023: Vented interstage reinstalled on B9.
Testing campaign[]
Overview, without full stack tests:
| Date | Test type | Outcome | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 December 2022 | Cryogenic Proof | Success | Booster 9 conducted a cryogenic proof test of both tanks. |
| 29 December 2022 | Cryogenic Proof | Success | Booster 9 conducted a cryogenic proof test of both tanks. |
| 23 July 2023 | Cryogenic Proof | Success | Booster 9 conducted a full cryogenic proof test of both tanks. |
| 4 August 2023 | Spin Prime #1 | Success | Booster 9 conducted a spin prime test with FIREX but without deluge. It went through a second cycle, but without spin-prime testing. |
| 6 August 2023 | Static Fire #1 | Variable | Booster 9 conducted a static fire test, the first one with the new deluge system. Planned for just under 5 seconds; actual duration 2.74 secs, 4 engines shut off prematurely. |
| 23 August 2023 | Spin Prime #2 | Success | Booster 9 conducted a spin prime test with an unknown amount of engines. |
| 25 August 2023 | Static Fire #2 | Success | Booster 9 conducted a full duration static fire. All 33 engines ignited successfully, 2 engines shut off prematurely. |
15 December 2022 - Roll out[]
On 15 December 2022, Booster 9 rolled out from the Mega Bay to the cryo pad at the orbital launch site to begin its testing campaign. Meanwhile, SpaceX static fired Ship 24.
Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 13:41 B9 moved out of Mega Bay
- 14:09 B9 entered hwy 4
- 15:20 Cars to pad
- 16:07 Arrived at launch site
21 December 2022 - Cryo Proof Test[]
Today, SpaceX conducted the first cryogenic proof test on Booster 9, filling both tanks partially with liquid nitrogen.
Timeline according to LabPadre and NSF streams:
- 08:00 Road closed
- 08:21 Pad cleared
- 09:19-24 LOX side started to spool up
- 09:30 CH4 subcoolers half frosty
- 10:18 Venting below B9 test stand started
- 10:26 Cryo load started on LOX tank
- 11:00 Frost around 6-7 rings high
- 11:20 OLM vent started
- 11:25 Frost started to decrease, detanking
- 13:05 CH4 subcoolers frosted up
- 13:09 CH4 subcoolers top vent started, loading to begin
- 13:20 Frost nearly fully disappeared on LOX tank
- 13:20 Venting under B9 increase
- 13:32 Frost on B9 CH4 tank started to form
- 14:02 Frost about 4-5 rings high
- 14:20 Frost about 6 rings high on CH4 tank
- 14:55 Detank started
- 17:25 Road opened
Zack Golden analyzed the testing: "SpaceX is proceeding extremely carefully with testing of Booster 9. They appear to be cycle testing the fill drain valves by pumping small amounts of Liquid Nitrogen into the CH4 tank for about 3 minutes at a time. This is also the first cryo test performed on a transport stand".[6]
29 December 2022 - Cryo Proof Test[]
Teams at Starbase conducted a cryo proof test on both tanks of Booster 9. While the LOX tank was only filled a view rings, the upper CH4 tank was filled at leas two thirds.
Timeline according to LabPadre and NSF streams:
- 07:57 Road closed
- 09:05 LOX side started to spool up
- 09:14 Pad cleared
- 11:05 LOX side venting decreased
- 11:30 CH4 subcoolers have partially frosted, frost started to decrease again
- 12:07 Cars to pad
- 12:30 LOX side venting picked up a lot
- 13:00-14:50 Frost on CH4 subcoolers started to grow again
- 13:45 LOX side venting decreased
- 14:02 Pad cleared again
- 14:18 LOX subcoolers restarted venting
- 14:51 Vent on base of transport/cryo stand started
- 14:54 Cryo load started on LOX tank; frost starting to form
- 15:20 LOX side venting stopped
- 15:37 Detank after frost got around 2-3 rings high
- 15:46 LOX side started venting again
- 15:51 CH4 subcoolers top vent started to vent (not as in CH4 fueling, much slower)
- 16:15 Frost has disappeared
- 16:15 CH4 subcoolers top vent stopped and started to defrost
- 16:21 Venting around base of transport stand of B9 started again
- 16:26 Frost on CH4 tank started to form
- 17:35 Frost on CH4 tank around 10-11 rings; frost started to decrease - detank
- 19:36 Road opened
10 January 2023 - Roll Back[]
Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 10:11 Two SPMTs moved under B9
- 13:05 Started to move
- 14:03 Entered Hwy 4
- 14:55 Arrived at build site
- 15:34 Entered Mega Bay
18 July 2023 - Roll out to Rocket Garden[]
Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 4:45 B9 moved out of the Mega Bay
- 5:00 B9 entered Hwy 4
- 6:24 B9 arrived at Rocket Garden
20 July 2023 - Roll out to Launch Site[]
Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 4:15 B9 started to move
- 5:06 B9 stopped at the Sanchez gate
- 6:29 B9 entered Hwy 4
- 7:31 B9 arrived at Launch Site
- 7:50 Ship QD Arm moved and Chopsticks moving up
- 8:19 B9 moved near Chopsticks
- 8:28 Chopsticks lowered down and in position for lifting B9
- 9:08 B9 moved under Chopsticks
20 July 2023 - Lifting[]
Timeline according to NSF Stream:
- 12:51 Chopsticks closed around B9
- 13:38 B9 Stand Clamps retracted
- 14:00 Workers at OLM
- 14:09 Workers at B9
- ~14:20 PA: Lift aborted, retry in 2 hours
- 20:16 Pad clear ahead of lifting B9
- 20:26 lifting of B9 started
- 21:26 B9 placed on OLM
- 1:45 Chopsticks released B9
23 July 2023 - Full Cryo Proof Test / Prop load test[]
B9 testing on 23 July 2023
According to SpaceX, this was a propellant load test as they wrote: "Propellant load tests recently completed for Starship Super Heavy Boosters 9 and 10".[7] Timeline according to NSF Stream and LabPadre discord:
- 7:32 Hwy 4 closed
- 7:45 Pad clear alarm sounds and new vertical vent spotted at the LOX side of the Tank Farm
- 8:15 B9 venting from CH4 tank
- 8:19 PA: Attention Starbase, the entire pad is now clear. All personal please exit the pad now
- 8:30 Lots of venting from the tank farm
- 8:35 CH4 vent stack venting and pad clear
- 8:42 LOX chillers venting
- 9:06 OLM venting
- 9:12 SQD arm retracted
- 9:16 LOX Heat Exchangers opening for the 2nd time
- 9:20 SQD arm moved back in
- 9:28 OLM venting increasing
- 9:33 Grid fin testing
- 9:52 Loud venting
- 9:53 CH4 recondenser active
- 10:16 OLM venting stopped
- 10:25 LOX tank loading started
- 10:46 CH4 tank loading started with LN2
- 12:03 CH4 tank fully loaded with LN2
- 12:16 LOX tank fully loaded
- 14:04 Detanking underway
- 20:03 Road open
04 August 2023 - Spin prime test #1 and possibly aborted test[]
B9 spin prime test on 04 August 2023.
SpaceX conducted a spin prime test, likely with a successful outcome, as they wrote: "Booster 9 completed a flight-like chill and spin of the Raptor engine pumps in advance of static fire".[8] They went into a second cycle, held in a similar position for some time and depressed without a second spin prime test, suggesting an abort. There was some confusion with the closure notice as it disappeared from the website before the testing. Testing timeline according to LabPadre and NSF streams:
- 04:40 CH4 main tank stack started venting
- 05:59 Road closed
- 06:27-39 Chopsticks lifted
- 06:34 Venting near LOX side started to chill down the lines, increased over next 10 minutes at far east side of OLS
- 06:41 Pad cleared, chopsticks arms opened
- 07:00 LOX side venting increased a lot
- 07:10 LOX side venting has decreased
- 07:25 Loud vent
- 08:05 LOX side venting still going on and CH4 stack as well
- 08:25 OLM vent started
- 08:48 OLM vent increased
- 09:43 OLM vent stopped
- 09:45 Loud vent
- 09:48 Engine venting; CH4 subcoolers top vent started - methane load likely started
- 09:51 LOX frost started to form
- 09:58 Engine chill vent (chill pit); CH4 subcooler top vent stopped
- 10:02 OLM vent restarted strongly; LOX tank 1.7 rings filled
- 10:03 OLM vent stopped again
- 10:06 OLM vent restarted, but only slightly
- 10:09:05 FIREX water started for a short moment and stopped again
- 10:13:00-05 FIREX started
- 10:13:20 Spin prime test
- 10:16 Long depress vents on both tanks
- 11:00 Frost disappeared
- 11:21 OLM vent started (before only small vent)
- 11:58 OLM vent stopped
- 12:14 LOX side venting spooled up again
- 12:25 OLM vent started
- 12:37 OLM vent stopped
- 12:4? CH4 subcoolers top vent started, indicating propellant load
- 12:44 Unknown venting from under OLM table; engine chill venting
- 12:46 LOX tank frost started to form
- 12:50 CH4 subcoolers top vent stopped
- 12:57 LOX frost has reached same level as before; OLM vent restarted
- 12:59 OLM vent stopped again; on and off over next few minutes
- 13:18 Engine puffs
- 13:27 OLM vent restarted, stopped at 13:30
- 13:31 OLM vent restarted, B9 depress vents (long)
- 13:42 Frost starting to disappear
- 14:15 Frost disappeared
- 14:19-22 Unknown venting from whole OLM table area (from below and above!), then slowly reducing
- 14:34-36 Huge depress vents from both tanks
- 15:28 Cars to pad
- 15:47 Road opened
- ---
- 19:55:53 Igniter test
06 August 2023 - Static Fire Test #1[]
Short summary:
- SpaceX stream: here
- Engines ignited: 29
- Static fire duration: 2.74 seconds
- 4 engines shut off prematurely
Drone view of B9's static fire on 6 August 2023[9]
According to John Insprucker, SpaceX's objective of today was to test the booster, which has been improved compared to Booster 7, the new and improved infrastructure and a new startup sequence. The engines were not powered up to full thrust (normal for static fires). From the start of the first bank of engines, to the shutdown of the last engine, the test should have taken just under 5 seconds. Propellant load started at T-67 minutes. The LOX tank was fully loaded.[10] After the test, a "test duration of 2.74 seconds with 4 engines shutting down prematurely" was announced. Also, the pad and launch vehicle appeared to look good.[10]
For todays testing, SpaceX issued an overpressure notice to residents.[11] Timeline according to LabPadre and NSF streams:
- 07:29 Road closed
- 07:52 FIREX test (10 seconds)
- 08:06 CH4 "pope" vent stack started
- 08:35 LOX side venting started
- 09:10 Pad cleared
- 09:14 LOX side venting decreased
- 10:40 Pad not clear anymore - 3 SpaceX vehicles to launch site
- 11:36 Pad cleared again
- 11:44 LOX side subcoolers venting again
- 12:00 One of the LOX subcoolers frosted up
- 12:07 Recondenser venting
- 12:14 OLM vent
- 13:00 OLM vent in waterfall mode
- 13:03 OLM vent stopped; CH4 subcoolers top vents started
- 13:06 Engine venting
- 13:08 LOX frost forming; new B9 bottom vents between stringers venting (possibly related to engine chilling
- 13:10 Engine chill vent near OLIT
- 13:15 3 rings frost on LOX tank
- 13:17 CH4 tank getting frosty
- 13:20 Cmn dome vent
- 13:22 CH4 tank 1 ring frost
- 13:25 LOX tank frost 6 rings high
- 13:29 CH4 tank frost 2 rings high
- 13:30 CH4 subcoolers top vents stopped
- 13:38 LOX tank 8 rings frost (plus aft dome)
- 13:48 Cmn dome venting
- 13:56 LOX 16 rings frost (4 remaining)
- 14:04 Engine puffs once again
- 14:05 OLM vent restarted - LOX load complete at around 18 rings
- 14:07:37-41 FIREX start (T-23 to T-19)
- 14:07:53-57 Deluge start (T-07 to T-03)
- 14:07:58 Static fire of 2.74 seconds (T-2 ignition sequence start), 4 engine shut down prematurely
- 14:08:23 Water deluge still flowing high
- 14:10:30 Water deluge stopped
- 14:12 Venting
- 16:56 Road opened
07 August 2023 - Lift and Roll Back[]
Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- around 4am B9 transport stand positioned by OLM
- 07:30 Booster QD retracted
- 09:05 PA: "Attention Orbital Pad, please clear for Booster lift activities in approx. 30 minutes. We'll be clear for several hours."
- 10:50 Ship QD swung away from B9, pad siren sounding for possible lift
- 11:16 Chopsticks slightly closed, went down to attach to B9
- 13:07 B9 lifted off OLM
- 20:45 Chopsticks lowered away from B9's lifting points
- 20:48 B9 released from chopsticks on the transport stand
- 22:30 B9 leaving the launch site
- 23:35 B9 entering the Mega Bay
22 August 2023 - Roll Out[]
SpaceX rolled out Booster 9 after it added the hot staging ring and possibly also exchanged some engines that didn't perform as expected during the first static fire.
Booster 9 rolling back to the OLM
Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 11:09 B9 moved out of the Mega Bay
- 11:25 B9 entered hwy 4
- 11:54 Chopsticks rising ahead of B9 arrival
- 12:50 B9 moved between the chopsticks
22 August 2023 - Lifting[]
Booster 9 being lifted on the OLM
Timeline according to RGV discord:
- 14:30 Chopsticks closed around B9
- 15:45 PA: "Attention Starbase, the Orbital Pad is now closed, please exit the Orbital Pad now."
- 17:10 B9 lifted off Transport Stand
- 17:45 B9 lifted on OLM
- 19:25 Chopsticks released B9 and SQD swung back in
23 August 2023 - Spin Prime #2[]
SpaceX conducted a second Spin Prime test of Booster 9. It is unknown how many engines were tested.
Timeline according to RGV discord:
- 14:59 Road Closed
- 15:07 FireX tested
- 15:19 FireX tested again
- 16:30 Pad clear
- 17:50 Frost on methane subcoolers
- 18:35 OLM started venting
- 19:25 OLM vent stopped, LOX load started
- 19:29 Methane subcoolers venting, CH4 loading started
- 19:38 Frost spotted on B9's LOX tank
- 19:45 CH4 and LOX loading complete
- 20:10 Spin Prime
- 20:14 Depress vent
- 20:30 Venting from bottom of the booster
- 20:50 OLIT venting
- 22:25 B9 fully detanked
- 23:30 Road Open
25 August 2023 - Static Fire #2[]
- Full duration static fire (nearly 6 seconds)
- 33 engines successfully ignited, all but 2 running for full duration
SpaceX is attempting a second static fire test for Booster 9 after the last resulting in the shut down of 4 engines. An overpressure notice has been given. During countdown, SpaceX confirmed the static fire attempt: "Starbase team preparing for second Booster 9 static fire, live views will begin a few minutes prior to ignition"[12]
Daniel Hewitt, Senior Mechanical Design at SpaceX,[13] opened the official SpaceX stream (see here) during the T-40 seconds hold, which is a planned hold to get fuel temperatures to the desired temperatures. The LOX tank has been nearly completely filled while the CH4 tank was only filled to a small degree for this test.[14] Hewitt explained that the flame deflector [FIREX and deluge system] will spool up around 10 seconds before ignition. During countdown, teams weren't tracking any issues. With this test, SpaceX are trying to do a flight-like startup, where they put the hardware into a condition as it would be on a launch day. With such tests, they can tweak the startup procedure, as they did since the last static fire.[14] As this is a static fire, the engines are only throttled up to about 50 percent of their thrust.[14]
According to Elon Musk, the test appeared to be successful: "Successful Starship Super Heavy Booster static fire!".[15] Later, SpaceX announced that they "successfully lit all 33 Raptor engines, with all but two running for the full duration",[16] teams targeted about 6 seconds for the test.[14] They added that "The test produced approximately 7.9 million lbf of thrust (~3,600 metric tons)".[16]
B9 static fire #2[17]
B9 static fire test #2[16]
B9 static fire test #2[18]
Timeline according to NSF stream and LabPadre discord (+/-1 minute as stream time indicators are not correct):
- 08:40 Beach clearing began
- 9:00 FireX test
- 9:04 Road Closed
- 9:12 Pope vent active (CH4 side), minor venting at LOX side
- 9:20 Pad Clear
- 9:29 Venting of the LOX side increased
- 9:38 CH4 subcoolers starting to form frost
- 9:39 CH4 recondenser active
- 10:02 CH4 recondenser stopped
- 10:06 LOX subcoolers active
- 10:18 LOX subcoolers stopped venting
- 10:30 OLM vent started
- 11:21 OLM "water fall" mode
- 11:22 LOX subcooler venting increased more
- 11:24 OLM vent stopped
- 11:25 CH4 subcooler top vents started - fuel load
- 10:30 LOX tank frost started to form
- 10:31 Weird venting on B9, possibly from purge tanks
- 11:31 LOX tank frost 1 ring high
- 11:38 CH4 tank frost started to form
- 11:50 CH4 subcoolers stopped; loading complete at around 1-2 rings
- 12:05 LOX frost reached top of chines
- 12:25 LOX subcoolers stopped, tank nearly completely full; engines venting
- 12:36:03-15 FIREX powerup (T-31 first drops, T-23-19 actual startup)
- 12:36:27-30 Deluge startup (T-6 to T-3)
- 12:36:31-37 Static fire test, full duration (ignition sequence started at around T-2.7 seconds, test lasted up to T+2.? seconds)
- 12:39 Deluge stopped completely after slowly fading out
- 12:39 OLM vent restarted
- 12:54 Detanking has started
- 13:00 Full speed ship QD arm retraction test
- 13:19 Chopsticks closed and lowered beside B9
- 15:47 Road opened
Additional footage of the Static Fire (SpaceX Twitter)
References[]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_krgcofiM6M
- ↑ https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1572561810129321984
- ↑ https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1572564908381999105
- ↑ https://twitter.com/RingWatchers/status/1606762935761739778
- ↑ https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1692610662604702138
- ↑ https://twitter.com/CSI_Starbase/status/1605655909958619156
- ↑ https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1683591537983385600
- ↑ https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1687551185509888000
- ↑ https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1688294107721121792
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHxKhpFUOuo
- ↑ https://twitter.com/bocachicagal/status/1688009513645821952
- ↑ https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1695119566362513915
- ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-hewitt-046b2144?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F [26 August 2023]
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENxZS6PUDuI
- ↑ https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1695132978303865240
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1695159123019698498
- ↑ https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1695158759717474379
- ↑ https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1695159316670718231