SpaceX dokončila řadu úprav potřebných pro druhý testovací let Starship

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):

 

 

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)