On March 3, Starship serial number 10 (SN10) completed SpaceX’s third high-altitude flight test of a Starship prototype as it successfully ascended, transitioned propellant, and reoriented itself for reentry and an active aerodynamic controlled descent. SN10’s Raptor engines reignited to perform the vehicle’s landing flip maneuver immediately before successfully touching down on the landing pad.
Test flights such as SN10’s are about improving our understanding and development of a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo on long-duration interplanetary flights, and help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyond.
The Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25, also known as the Space Shuttle main engine (SSME), is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine that was used on NASA’s Space Shuttle. NASA is planning to continue using the RS-25 on the Space Shuttle’s successor, the Space Launch System (SLS).
Designed and manufactured in the United States by Rocketdyne (later known as Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and Aerojet Rocketdyne), the RS-25 burns cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants, with each engine producing 1,859 kN (418,000 lbf) of thrust at liftoff. Although the RS-25 can trace its heritage back to the 1960s, concerted development of the engine began in the 1970s, with the first flight, STS-1, occurring on April 12, 1981. The RS-25 has undergone several upgrades over its operational history to improve the engine’s reliability, safety, and maintenance load.
The engine produces a specific impulse (Isp) of 452 seconds (4.43 km/s) in a vacuum, or 366 seconds (3.59 km/s) at sea level, has a mass of approximately 3.5 tonnes (7,700 pounds), and is capable of throttling between 67% and 109% of its rated power level in one-percent increments. Components of the RS-25 operate at temperatures ranging from −253 to 3,300 °C (−400 to 6,000 °F).
The Space Shuttle used a cluster of three RS-25 engines mounted in the stern structure of the orbiter, with fuel being drawn from the external tank. The engines were used for propulsion during the entirety of the spacecraft’s ascent, with additional thrust being provided by two solid rocket boosters and the orbiter’s two AJ10 orbital maneuvering system engines. Following each flight, the RS-25 engines were removed from the orbiter, inspected, and refurbished before being reused on another mission. On Space Launch System flights, all engines will be discarded into the Atlantic ocean. On initial flights, these discarded units will be historic Shuttle engines.
On Tuesday, February 2, Starship serial number 9 (SN9) completed SpaceX’s second high-altitude flight test of a Starship prototype from our site in Cameron County, Texas.
Similar to the high-altitude flight test of Starship serial number 8 (SN8), SN9 was powered through ascent by three Raptor engines, each shutting down in sequence prior to the vehicle reaching apogee – approximately 10 kilometers in altitude. SN9 successfully performed a propellant transition to the internal header tanks, which hold landing propellant, before reorienting itself for reentry and a controlled aerodynamic descent.
The Starship prototype descended under active aerodynamic control, accomplished by independent movement of two forward and two aft flaps on the vehicle. All four flaps are actuated by an onboard flight computer to control Starship’s attitude during flight and enable precise landing at the intended location. During the landing flip maneuver, one of the Raptor engines did not relight and caused SN9 to land at high speed and experience a RUD.
These test flights are all about improving our understanding and development of a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo on long-duration, interplanetary flights and help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyond.
The Graphite-Epoxy Motor (GEM) is a series of solid rocket boosters fueled by HTPB and produced by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems with a carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer casing. GEM series boosters were previously used on the Delta II, Delta III, and Delta IV. They will fly on the Atlas V and Vulcan.
The GEM-63XL is about 5 feet longer than the regular GEM-63 and will be used on the Vulcan launch vehicle starting in 2021. GEM-63XL offers higher performance at almost half the cost of the AJ-60A boosters currently being used on the Atlas V.
On December 9, 2020, Starship serial number 8 (SN8) completed a high-altitude flight test as it successfully ascended, transitioned propellant, and demonstrated a first-of-its-kind controlled aerodynamic descent and landing flip maneuver – which will enable landing where prepared surfaces or runways do not exist, including the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
The Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) is being developed as a large second stage for Block 1B of the Space Launch System (SLS), succeeding Block 1’s Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage. It will be powered by four RL10-C3 engines burning liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to produce a total of 440 kN (99,000 lbf) thrust. As of February 2015, the SLS Block 1B will provide thrust of 105 t (103 long tons; 116 short tons). The EUS is expected to first fly on Artemis IV in 2025.
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