Starbase Updates | June 2024

What's Happening at Starbase Texas in June 2024?

This page is a summary of the major highlights at Starbase Texas over the month of June in 2024. All updates are sourced from publicly available posts from the user /u/threelonmusketeers who updates the Starship Dev Threads on Lemmy and Reddit.

 

June 30th, 2024

June 29th, 2024

IFT-5:

June 28th, 2024

Other:

June 27th, 2024

Other: Highlights from StarBase update with Kathy Lueders

  • 3 months to completion of Starfactory
  • Working with TXDOT on expanding HWY 4 to a 4 lane road eventually
  • Starbase commercial retail Space on hold.
  • Staff residency over 50% local to Brownsville with ~400 staff living on site.
  • Permanent Orbital Fuel Depot for Moon + Mars missions
  • SpaceX monitoring sound levels for Port Isabel + SPI + Brownsville during testing.
  • Texas Parks & Wildlife Environmental mitigation teams in place before and after launches.
  • Monthly emergency management meetings with Cameron County and local hospitals for catastrophe scenarios.

June 26th, 2024

June 25th, 2024

Other:

June 24th, 2024

June 23rd, 2024

Other:

  • "The best appendix is no appendix": Lars Blackmore (SpaceX principal landing engineer) belatedly expresses his pleasure at the success of IFT-4. Tweet 1, tweet 2, tweet 3.
  • Elon replies to Tim Dodd, and highlights upcoming changes with Raptor 3. Integrated regenerative cooling channels throughout the engine eliminates the need for engine shielding and reduces the required fire suppression system.

June 22nd, 2024

Other:

June 21st, 2024

Other:

June 20th, 2024

June 19th, 2024

June 18th, 2024

June 17th, 2024

June 16th, 2024

June 15th, 2024

IFT-5

June 14th, 2024

June 13th, 2024

Other:

June 12th, 2024

IFT-4/IFT-5:

  • No mishap investigation: "The FAA assessed the operations of the SpaceX Starship Flight 4 mission. All flight events for both Starship and Super Heavy appear to have occurred within the scope of planned and authorized activities."

June 11th, 2024

KSC: Zack highlights notable points in the environmental impact statement for LC-39A, and posts additional thoughts.

  • 35 booster engines, 9 ship engines
  • Up to 44 launches per year with both pad and drone ship landings
  • Separate catch and launch towers
  • Liquid methane, LOX, and LN2 produced on site.
  • 3.8 megalitre water deluge planned, 2.5x larger than current Starbase deluge.

June 10th, 2024

IFT-4:

June 9th, 2024

IFT-5 info from Elon:

  • Launch NET one month from now.
  • S30 heat shield to be replaced with tiles which are twice as strong, and adding an secondary ablative protection.

June 8th, 2024

KSC:

Other:

June 7th, 2024

KSC:

Other:

June 6th, 2024

IFT-4:

KSC:

Other:

June 5th, 2024

KSC:

  • Second chopstick is loaded onto barge, joining the first chopstick, the chopsticks carriage, and the two tower segments.

IFT-4:

Other:

June 4th, 2024

KSC:

IFT-4:

June 3rd, 2024

KSC:

Other:

June 2nd, 2024

KSC

June 1st, 2024

KSC:

IFT-4: