To commemorate their greatest accomplishment to date with the Starship, SpaceX has released a recap video of the SN8 high-altitude flight. This was the 12.5 km hop test that took place on December 9th, 2020, which saw the SN8 prototype ascend to an altitude of 12.5 km (7.8 mi), conduct a “belly-flop” maneuver, and return to the launch pad. While it didn’t quite stick the landing, the test was a major milestone in the development of the Starship.
The flight test came after multiple static fire tests were conducted with previous prototypes (the SN1 through SN5), and a series of 150 meter (~500 ft) hop tests with the SN5 and SN6. On October 20th, 2020, another successful static fire test was conducted with the eighth prototype (SN8) using three Raptor engines. With the engines and design validated, the company prepared to conduct its first high-altitude test in December.
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The two minute-twenty second video captures the highlights of the test by merging footage from the many different cameras that were recording that day. This included a series of external cams (including a drone cam that follows the SN8 all the way up) cams inside the engine compartment, one on the landing pad, and fuselage-mounted cams.
It begins by showing the engine ignition and the ascent, with all three Ratpor engines producing a trail of orange-blue flames – which is the result of its liquid methane and liquid oxygen (LOX) fuel being burned. This is followed by the engine cutoff, where the three Raptor engines disengage (one at a time) as the SN8 nears its apogee of 12.5 km.
In slow motion, we then see the SN8 turn on its side and watch its fins adjusting for the “belly-flop” maneuver. This portion of the test was meant to validate the prototype’s aerodynamic surfaces, which the Starship will rely on to manuever and shed speed while making an atmospheric reentry. The descent is captured from multiple angles using the drone cam and the fuselage cam.
Then comes the “flip manuever,” where two of the Raptors reignite and gimbal in order to bring the tail around for landing. This is shown from both the side (drone cam) and the ground. The engines them flame up for the landing burn, but fail to slow the SN8 down enough for it to make a soft landing. The touch down and Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly (RUD) – aka. explosion – ensue.
The ascent of the SN8, showing the three Raptor engines firing. Credit: SpaceX
This was due to a fuel line pressure issue, which the ground crews quickly identified after the test was complete. Shortly thereafter, Musk took to Twitter to share what they had learned:
“Fuel header tank pressure was low during landing burn, causing touchdown velocity to be high & RUD, but we got all the data we needed! Congrats SpaceX team hell yeah!!”
Despite the fiery ending, all of the key systems and surfaces involved were validated. These included the ascent, the switchover from the tail to the header fuel tanks (once SN8 reached its apogee), and the precision flap manuever that allowed for a controlled descent. Meanwhile, the crews obtained all the data they needed about the issue that prevented a soft touchdown and will be using it to inform the next round of tests.
The video then ends with the caption that reiterates the successes of this first-ever high altitude flight test:
“SN8 DEMONSTRATED A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND CONTROLLED AERODYNAMIC DESCENT AND A LANDING FLIP MANEUVER. TOGETHER THESE WILL ENABLE LANDING WHERE NO RUNWAYS EXIST INCLUDING THE MOON, MARS AND BEYOND.
“NEXT UP: SN9.”
The SN8 commencing its “belly-flop” (flip) manuever. Credit: SpaceX
Speaking of which, all indications are that Musk plans to conduct a hop test with the SN9 and others in the coming weeks. These include Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the airspace around Brownsville, Texas, and road closure notices issued for Cameron Country around the Boca Chica test sight.
These have since been extended, with new NOTAMs issued for next Wednesday and Thursday (Jan. 13th and 14th) from 08:00 AM to 06:00 PM local time (CST) – or 06:00 AM to 04:00 PM PST; 09:00 AM to 07:00 PM EDT. Similary, new road closures have been announced for State Highway 4 and Boca Chica Beech in Cameron Country for Monday to Wednesday (Jan. 11th to Jan. 13th).
The SN9 has since been rolled out onto the landing pad and conducted its first static fire test earlier this week (Wed. Jan. 6th). Unfortunately, the test was aborted after a very brief firing and another is likely to happen this coming week before any hop tests are attempted. Meanwhile, the SN10 has been stacked and integrated inside the High Bay and will be ready to roll out as soon as the SN9 has been put through its paces.
The SN11 and SN12 are also being assembled inside the facility’s Mid Bay, with the SN11 almost finished and just in need of its nosecone. Musk has also hinted that he and his crews at the Boca Chica facility will be testing the SN9 and SN10 (and subsequent prototypes) simultaneously. This was in response to a tweet by RGV Aerial Photography (@RGVaerialphotos), which conducts weekly flyovers to take pictures of the Boca Chica facility.
The image in the tweet shows the SN9 on the landing pad, with an earlier picture of the SN8 added (using Photoshop) on the adjacent pad. The image is captioned with a question for Musk: “With SN10 nearly complete and repairs being done at the landing pad, do you think this is something we will get to see in the next few weeks?” To this, Musk tweeted a reply of, “Yes.”
2021 is going to be an exciting time for SpaceX, commercial space, and space exploration in general! While the year has seen its share of bad news already, it looks like there are some serious bright lights on the horizon!
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
