Project SpaceX SuperHeavy

[BrianJ]

Re: Rendezvous RCS fuel, I was able to rendezvous-and-dock using the tanker and only needed to take up 1/2 of the RCS prop.

Granted, it was a very long and careful rendezvous.

Nice bit of piloting
I'll probably go with the Metholox-RCS-linked-to-main-fuel-tanks anyway, since that seems to be the way SpaceX are going.
Cheers,
Brian

 

[Marijn]

 

[Kyle]

I didn't realize how many tankers Starship is going to take to do any BLEO activities. It took me two tankers just to get on a TLI trajectory.

 

[BrianJ]

I didn't realize how many tankers Starship is going to take to do any BLEO activities. It took me two tankers just to get on a TLI trajectory.

Yeah, I was thinking about that. Although ~130T is the max. payload you can get into LEO (without going expendable on the booster) with the current upper stage fuel tanks, there's probably room for a lot more fuel than 130T in the payload bay. So would it make sense to just fill the payload bay with fuel ( I mean extend the current tanks!) and use some of the extra to get to orbit? I think I need to experiment.....

Also I'm still wondering about the "no re-entry burn for the booster" idea - is LOX and liquid methane next to red-hot steel plausible? Won't it just go boom from the pressure?? We'll see in due course, I guess

Cheers,
Brian

 

[Marijn]

According to this graphic, lots of tankers are required: https://preview.redd.it/ll4xxryzcvw...bp&s=d310be59026ceac3006b25a7b9b58989b6703eaf

 

[BrianJ]

According to this graphic, lots of tankers are required: https://preview.redd.it/ll4xxryzcvw...bp&s=d310be59026ceac3006b25a7b9b58989b6703eaf

That looks like it matches quite well with my add-on figures, as it stands.
I just wonder, if we forget about having a payload-bay and use all the space for fuel, if you can get a bit more into LEO.
Don't know if that's feasible for Starship in practical engineering terms, maybe need another 3 Raptors on the upper stage.

 

[Voyager_VI]

That was amazing Marijn!

 

[Marijn]

Finally a reentry and landing on video. The late turns were not intentional, but it seems the autopilot knows what it is doing:

And some fun with a Starhip and Tanker launch at the same weight into the same orbit..

 

[Kyle]

Yeah, I was thinking about that. Although ~130T is the max. payload you can get into LEO (without going expendable on the booster) with the current upper stage fuel tanks, there's probably room for a lot more fuel than 130T in the payload bay. So would it make sense to just fill the payload bay with fuel ( I mean extend the current tanks!) and use some of the extra to get to orbit? I think I need to experiment.....

Also I'm still wondering about the "no re-entry burn for the booster" idea - is LOX and liquid methane next to red-hot steel plausible? Won't it just go boom from the pressure?? We'll see in due course, I guess

Cheers,
Brian

Well, a lot of the heat and pressure is going to be towards the bottom of the booster, where the engines are. Falcon 9 entry burns for the EDL profile are very short, especially for those Starlink missions, so those get a ton of heat and pressure and the RTLS profile Super Heavy will follow is a bit more gentle than those. I think it'll be able to handle it with ease.

 

[Mr. Residuals]

Um, need some help figuring out how to re-enter the atmosphere. I'm not sure how to activate the Reentry Auto Pilot. Since the only thing I have gotten so far is soft water landings. Also I can't launch SN-15 in the SN-15 mod, I've read the manual. I was about to add this whole post to my 2nd every post on the forums, but I decided to add it here instead.

EDIT: I don't have a joystick and number pad.

 

[ephialtes]

Excellent mod atm. Very fun to play around with. I think the Starship model could be a bit more accurate, although that'll probably happen later on. Cheers

 

[Gargantua2024]

Stacking of SuperHeavy BN3 is now underway!
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-stacking-starship-super-heavy-booster-bn3/

 

[4throck]

I know they are used to hand dozens of motors on the Falcon Heavy.
But the circular arrangement and gigantic size of the Booster remembers me of the N1.
I really really hope the Raptors perform well.

 

[Mr. Residuals]

Um, need some help figuring out how to re-enter the atmosphere. I'm not sure how to activate the Reentry Auto Pilot. Since the only thing I have gotten so far is soft water landings. Also I can't launch SN-15 in the SN-15 mod, I've read the manual. I was about to add this whole post to my 2nd every post on the forums, but I decided to add it here instead.

EDIT: I don't have a joystick and number pad.

View attachment 25279

Dam, reentering the atmosphere and landing in 1 peice is even harder than I though. Any ideas?

Finally a reentry and landing on video. The late turns were not intentional, but it seems the autopilot knows what it is doing:

And some fun with a Starhip and Tanker launch at the same weight into the same orbit..

I watched the video, I still can't get a sense of how to reenter and land properly. Booster landings are successful, but Starship landings, including hops, still don't work as I mentioned in post #70.

 

[Marijn]

I watched the video, I still can't get a sense of how to reenter and land properly.

It takes quite a bit of practice. There is no autopilot yet so you have to reenter manually.

I used BaseSyncMFD to plan the de-orbit burn using angle=2, ant=45 and alt=120. That part isn't visible in the video. Everything else is. I did use AeroBrakeMFD to control the angle of attack with the trim including lots of fine adjustments.

 

[BrianJ]

Well, a lot of the heat and pressure is going to be towards the bottom of the booster, where the engines are. Falcon 9 entry burns for the EDL profile are very short, especially for those Starlink missions, so those get a ton of heat and pressure and the RTLS profile Super Heavy will follow is a bit more gentle than those. I think it'll be able to handle it with ease.

You may well be right, it's just that the "re-entry plasma" effects that you get in Orbiter with no re-entry burn make me nervous!

 

[BrianJ]

Excellent mod atm. Very fun to play around with. I think the Starship model could be a bit more accurate, although that'll probably happen later on. Cheers

Thanks. I might get back to working on the mesh once I've had a bit more fun with Autopilot functionality ;-)

 

[BrianJ]

I know they are used to hand dozens of motors on the Falcon Heavy.
But the circular arrangement and gigantic size of the Booster remembers me of the N1.
I really really hope the Raptors perform well.

Reminds me of the N1 too! And yes, I hope the huge collection of Raptors cooperate.

 

[BrianJ]

Dam, reentering the atmosphere and landing in 1 peice is even harder than I though. Any ideas?


I watched the video, I still can't get a sense of how to reenter and land properly. Booster landings are successful, but Starship landings, including hops, still don't work as I mentioned in post #70.

The re-entry is vaguely Space Shuttle-like with AoA at 60deg, steering by banking. Marijn seems to have the best technique with it, so refer to his posts above. As mentioned, no "Re-Entry Autopilot" available as yet.

If you're still having problems with "Starship SN-15" add-on, it's probably more appropriate to post over on its own thread here: https://www.orbiter-forum.com/threads/starship-sn15.39858/
Try to describe what you are doing and what happens(or doesn't happen).

Cheers,
Brian

 

[Mr. Residuals]

It takes quite a bit of practice. There is no autopilot yet so you have to reenter manually.

I used BaseSyncMFD to plan the de-orbit burn using angle=2, ant=45 and alt=120. That part isn't visible in the video. Everything else is. I did use AeroBrakeMFD to control the angle of attack with the trim including lots of fine adjustments.

Hmm, so for the De-orbit burn I link BaseSyncMFD with Glide slope MFD. Since I am puzzled now.