SpaceX Status Report – August 18, 2020

Boca Chica, Texas

• SN5 – Under repair in the mid-bay.
• SN6 – On Test Stand 1 – Installing Raptor SN29.
• SN7.1 – Test tank under construction in the tents.
• SN8 – Under construction in the mid-bay.
• SN9 – Under construction in the tents.
• High Bay – Under construction – Installing Level 4, Half the height of the other levels. Is this the final level?
• Orbital Launchpad – Under construction – Rebar work for base columns.
• Installing a second test stand. Is this for testing SN7.1?
• Old gas well – On-site methane (CH4) propellant production?

Cape Canaveral, Florida

• Crew Dragon 1 capsule delivered to Cape Canaveral, Florida.

LC-39A Kennedy Space Center

• August 18 – 14:32 UTC, Falcon 9 – Starlink 10/SkySats 19-21 – Falcon 9 B1049.6 – This is a record sixth flight and landing for this Falcon 9 booster. One fairing half successfuly captured.

SLC-40 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

• N/A

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John Randolph – Launch Site Improvements

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John Randolph – SpaceX Curb Appeal

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NASASpaceFlight – SpaceX Boca Chica – Starship SN6 Receives Raptor SN29

Payload reduction due to reusability of booster & fairing is <40% for F9 & recovery & refurb is <10%, so you’re roughly even with 2 flights, definitely ahead with 3

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 19, 2020

Aloha, welcome back from space 💫 pic.twitter.com/xWPN09Wtaw

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 18, 2020

Very impressive render. Note, legs will be bigger & there’ll be way more stuff in engine bay. Main engines actually do majority of work in turning ship vertical before landing.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2020

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What About It – What is SpaceX actually building in Boca Chica?

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RGV Aerial Photography – SpaceX Boca Chica Site Aerial Update!

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Raptor engine just reached 330 bar chamber pressure without exploding! pic.twitter.com/kVKRWksvaB

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2020

SN40 is about to be tested & has several upgrades over 330 bar engine. For reference, 330 bar on Raptor produces ~225 tons (half a million pounds) of force.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2020