První testovací let Starship proběhl v dubnu a skončil dálkově spuštěnou explozí. Na základě analýzy dat se pak prováděly úpravy, jejichž dokončení vyžadovala FAA, než bude moci dojít k druhému letu. Elon Musk teď oznámil, že nutné úpravy už byly dokončeny.
V návaznosti na první testovací let Starship v dubnu 2023 požadovala FAA (agentura ministerstva dopravy USA) dokončení řady úprav, které vzešly z interního vyšetřování a analýzy dat SpaceX, než bude možné uskutečnit druhý testovací let. Na jejich seznam se můžete podívat v následující tabulce, nebo na obrázky s jejich seznamem, jež v tomto tweetu zveřejnil Elon Musk.
| Description | ID# | Corrective Action Description | Status |
| Tank sensing | C1 | Replace certain fittings with welds inside tank | Complete |
| Aft and cavity environment failure | C2 | Increase fire suppression capacity by 15x | Complete |
| Booster leak mitigation | C3 | Replace certain manifolds with dedicated drain per corresponding valve | Complete |
| C4 | Replace certain flanges with better seals and improve joint design | Complete | |
| C5 | Replace certain fittings with welds in specific location | Complete | |
| C6 | Replace accessible valves of a certain type with new design | Complete | |
| C7 | Replace certain flange bolts with higher strength bolts and increase torque | Complete | |
| C8 | Disallow certain seal re-use, and add cameras to monitor all engines during ground operations | Complete | |
| C9 | Increased scrutiny on leak checks | Complete | |
| C10 | 90+ cameras added to detect leakage during operations | Complete | |
| Raptor leak mitigation | C11 | Add leak capture and drain hardware for valves of a certain type | Complete |
| C12 | Add leak check and screen for porosity on igniter units | Complete | |
| C13 | Improved igniter seal design | Future Action | |
| C14 | Weld certain alignment bolt holes shut | Complete | |
| C15 | Reassess k-factor and torque for engine hot joint #1, add leak capture and route overboard | Complete | |
| C16 | Reassess k-factor and torque for engine hot joint #2 | Complete | |
| C17 | Add safety cable to certain fluid lines on high risk locations | Complete | |
| C18 | Add one methane sensor per engine bay | Complete | |
| C19 | Ground test campaign to better characterize typical engine leakage | Complete | |
| C20 | Improve structural FEA/fatigue analysis for all medium to high criticality lines | Complete | |
| Collateral damage from fire | C21 | Add insulation to engine lines sensitive to thermally driven loads | Complete |
| C22 | Add insulation to avionic harnessing | Complete | |
| C23 | Add backup wire to specific harness | Complete | |
| C24 | Improve thermal protection of avionics tray | Complete | |
| C25 | Change routing to flight computers | Complete | |
| Booster reliability improvement | C26 | Replace sensor with more reliable units | Complete |
| C27 | Coat gimbal assembly with lubricant | Complete | |
| C28 | Add pump pressure sensors to certain location | Complete | |
| C29 | Add pump temperature sensors to certain location | Complete | |
| C30 | Replace certain bolts, and increase torque for certain flanges | Complete | |
| C31 | New seal design for certain areas of booster | Complete | |
| C32 | Add electric actuation system | Complete | |
| C33 | Better manage engine bay pressure by increasing fire suppression capacity by 15x | Complete | |
| C34 | Change certain booster valve timing | Future Action | |
| Raptor reliability improvement | C35 | Add final leak checks for critical joints | Complete |
| C36 | Add support bracket for certain sensor | Complete | |
| C37 | Add support bracket for certain sensor | Complete | |
| C38 | Add check valves to certain areas of engine | Complete | |
| C39 | Improve oxygen valve design | Future Action | |
| C40 | Improve oxygen valve seal design | Future Action | |
| C41 | Improve design of hot manifold | Future Action | |
| C42 | Change nitrogen shutdown usage | Complete | |
| C43 | Change engine shutdown logic | Complete | |
| C44 | Increase capability for ground leakage mitigation | Complete | |
| C45 | Redesign fire suppression system | Complete | |
| C46 | Change conditions around bolts | Complete | |
| C47 | Change timing of specific valve actuation | Complete | |
| Avionics reliability improvement | C48 | Eliminate certain type of connector | Complete |
| C49 | Redesign network architecture | Future Action | |
| Risk Process | C50 | Improve risk tracking process | Complete |
| Safety System | C51 | Implement improvements to safety system | Complete |
| C52 | Verify flight safety system design improvements using additional type of test article | Complete | |
| C53 | Verify flight safety system design improvements via analysis | Complete | |
| C54 | Perform component testing | Complete | |
| C55 | Review and improve operations surrounding flight safety system | Complete | |
| Change Control | C56 | Improve CAD controls | Complete |
| C57 | Add engineering walkdown | Complete | |
| C58 | Improve use of change management system | Complete | |
| Pad Design | C59 | Redesign of launch pad deck | Complete |
| C60 | Improve assumptions for new pad deck design | Complete | |
| C61 | Add water cooled pad deck | Complete | |
| Pad Design Process | C62 | Improve pad deck design documentation | Complete |
| C63 | Improve pad design process | Complete |
Celkem jde o 63 položek, ale jen 57 z nich bylo podle FAA nutných dokončit před tím, než bude možné uskutečnit druhý testovací let Starship (zbývajících 6 bude možné realizovat později). To už bylo podle Elona Muska splněno a na startovací plošině tak už čeká další booster Super Heavy (1. stupeň) a Starship na jeho vrcholu (2. stupeň):
- zdroj obrázku: Twitter účet Elona Muska -
Kdy k druhému letu dojde zatím není známé, jelikož teď se čeká na reakci ze strany FAA. Vzhledem k tomu, jak rychle ale SpaceX postupuje, se dá očekávat, že jakmile dá FAA zelenou, proběhne druhý testovací let Starship velmi brzy během následujících dní, jakmile to bude počasí umožňovat.
Více informací o prvním testovacím letu Starship si můžete přečíst v této naší nedávné aktualitě.
Zdroj: účet Elona Muska na Twitteru (X)
