SpaceX Unveils Sweeping Starship V3 Upgrades (teslarati.com) 46
SpaceX has detailed major Starship V3 upgrades ahead of a launch targeted as early as May 19. The changes are meant to move Starship closer to its core goals: rapid reuse, Starlink deployment, orbital refueling, and eventually Moon and Mars missions. Longtime Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from Teslarati: Here is an explicit, broken-down list of the key changes, first starting with the changes to Super Heavy V3:
- Grid Fin Redesign: Reduced from four fins to three. Each fin is now 50% larger and stronger, repositioned for better catching and lifting performance. Fins are lowered on the booster to reduce heat exposure during hot staging, with hardware moved inside the fuel tank for protection.
- Integrated Hot Staging: Eliminates the old disposable interstage shield. The booster dome is now directly exposed to upper-stage engine ignition, protected by tank pressure and steel shielding. Interstage actuators retract after separation.
- New Fuel Transfer System: Massive redesign of the fuel transfer tube -- roughly the size of a Falcon 9 first stage -- enables simultaneous startup of all 33 Raptors for faster, more reliable flip maneuvers.
- Engine Bay/Thermal Protection: Engine shrouds removed entirely; new shielding added between engines. Propulsion and avionics are more tightly integrated. CO? fire suppression system deleted for a simpler, lighter aft section.
- Propellant Loading Improvements: Switched from one quick disconnect to two separate systems for added redundancy and reduced pad complexity.
Next, we have the changes to Starship V3:
- Completely Redesigned Propulsion System: Clean-sheet redesign supports new Raptor startup, larger propellant volume, and an improved reaction control system while reducing trapped or leaked propellant risk.
- Aft Section Simplification: Fluid and electrical systems rerouted; engine shrouds and large aft cavity deleted.
- Flap Actuation Upgrade: Changed from two actuators per flap to one actuator with three motors for better redundancy, mass efficiency, and lower cost.
- Faster Starlink Deployment: Upgraded PEZ dispenser enables quicker satellite release.
- Long-Duration Spaceflight Capability: New systems for long orbital coasts, orbital refueling, cryogenic fluid management, vacuum-insulated header tanks, and high-voltage cryogenic recirculation.
- Ship-to-Ship Docking + Refueling: Four docking drogues and dedicated propellant transfer connections added to support in-space refueling architecture.
- Avionics Upgrades: 60 custom avionics units with integrated batteries, inverters, and high-voltage systems (9 MW peak power). New multi-sensor navigation for precision autonomous flight. RF sensors measure propellant in microgravity. ~50 onboard camera views and 480 Mbps Starlink connectivity for low-latency communications. "Believe it or not, there's more," writes schwit1. "Two years ago, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever flown was Starship V1. Last year, it was Starship V2. V3 is about to become the biggest and most powerful rocket ever flown -- but don't worry, the company already has plans for V4."
- Grid Fin Redesign: Reduced from four fins to three. Each fin is now 50% larger and stronger, repositioned for better catching and lifting performance. Fins are lowered on the booster to reduce heat exposure during hot staging, with hardware moved inside the fuel tank for protection.
- Integrated Hot Staging: Eliminates the old disposable interstage shield. The booster dome is now directly exposed to upper-stage engine ignition, protected by tank pressure and steel shielding. Interstage actuators retract after separation.
- New Fuel Transfer System: Massive redesign of the fuel transfer tube -- roughly the size of a Falcon 9 first stage -- enables simultaneous startup of all 33 Raptors for faster, more reliable flip maneuvers.
- Engine Bay/Thermal Protection: Engine shrouds removed entirely; new shielding added between engines. Propulsion and avionics are more tightly integrated. CO? fire suppression system deleted for a simpler, lighter aft section.
- Propellant Loading Improvements: Switched from one quick disconnect to two separate systems for added redundancy and reduced pad complexity.
Next, we have the changes to Starship V3:
- Completely Redesigned Propulsion System: Clean-sheet redesign supports new Raptor startup, larger propellant volume, and an improved reaction control system while reducing trapped or leaked propellant risk.
- Aft Section Simplification: Fluid and electrical systems rerouted; engine shrouds and large aft cavity deleted.
- Flap Actuation Upgrade: Changed from two actuators per flap to one actuator with three motors for better redundancy, mass efficiency, and lower cost.
- Faster Starlink Deployment: Upgraded PEZ dispenser enables quicker satellite release.
- Long-Duration Spaceflight Capability: New systems for long orbital coasts, orbital refueling, cryogenic fluid management, vacuum-insulated header tanks, and high-voltage cryogenic recirculation.
- Ship-to-Ship Docking + Refueling: Four docking drogues and dedicated propellant transfer connections added to support in-space refueling architecture.
- Avionics Upgrades: 60 custom avionics units with integrated batteries, inverters, and high-voltage systems (9 MW peak power). New multi-sensor navigation for precision autonomous flight. RF sensors measure propellant in microgravity. ~50 onboard camera views and 480 Mbps Starlink connectivity for low-latency communications. "Believe it or not, there's more," writes schwit1. "Two years ago, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever flown was Starship V1. Last year, it was Starship V2. V3 is about to become the biggest and most powerful rocket ever flown -- but don't worry, the company already has plans for V4."
Excited ! (Score:4, Interesting)
The views from the cameras on the dummy sats will be amazing.
Imagine if they filmed Starship during reentry !
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Debug? Starship has yet to complete a flawless end-to-end mission.
The same applies to Artemis.
You have to hand it to Elon Musk ... (Score:3, Insightful)
... he sure is effing serious about getting us back into space. Good stuff, like it!
9WM? (Score:2)
What the hell does a rocket need NINE MEGAWATTS of electrical power for? That's powering-a-midsize-town amounts of electricity.
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Re:9WM? (Score:5, Informative)
NINE MEGAWATTS
It's an electric rocket system. They've aggressively eliminated all possible hydraulics. Gimbling rocket engines and flap articulation is all electric in Starship V3 and booster stage. So is cryogenic recirc. All that stuff has to react rapidly to achieve the agility necessary for the insane flight profile they have; slow gear trains won't cut it; so they have dozens of the most powerful direct drive actuators our species has yet devised.
Also, 9 MW isn't all that much. It's about 12,000 HP, or what you get from a modest gas turbine, or a few diesel locomotives. Naval vessels use gas turbines of that size for on-board power generation.
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> All that stuff has to react rapidly
Just to add color ... equipment that has to do a lot of work quickly, even if intermittently, has a huge draw. Like your well pump or air conditioner when it starts up.
Now imagine you need to start a few dozen air conditioners simultaneously. The startup energy can be 10x the operating energy.
I've been doing the math on some of this for home solar. In my case I can ramp up the voltage over a few seconds but AIUI rockets still need instant action in many cases.
It's po
Re:9WM? (Score:5, Informative)
Well, it needs to move its flaps. Those flaps are roughly 150 square meters, each. It needs to be able to move them against a hypersonic airstream. Imagine trying to push 150 square meters into a mach 25 airstream, and I imagine you'll figure out where the power draw comes from.
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The booster descent speed is nowhere close to mach 25, but otherwise yes.
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Self-correction: talking starship here, not booster.
Mach 25 is accurate, although it happens in the very high atmosphere with very low air density.
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The booster descent speed is nowhere close to mach 25, but otherwise yes.
OP was talking about FLAPS which the booster doesn't have so clearly he was referring to the Starship 2nd stage which DOES have flaps and can on orbital re-entry can reach mach 25 and beyond.
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Maybe check my other comment first.
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What the hell does a rocket need NINE MEGAWATTS of electrical power for? That's powering-a-midsize-town amounts of electricity.
Recharging Teslas in Space [wikipedia.org]? :-)
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What the hell does a rocket need NINE MEGAWATTS of electrical power for?
To train an LLM during flight.
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Re: 9WM? (Score:2)
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things like:
- rapid movement of heavy structures like those grid fins and the engines
- rapid pumping of propellant
- separation of the stages
For comparison, a single Space shuttle main engine turbopumps were rated at 17 MW for the oxygen side, and 53 MW for the hydrogen side.
Re: 9WM? (Score:1)
Don't get this bit (Score:3)
How does the Booster's tank pressure protect the dome from the Starship engine fire ?
This is from the Spacex link: https://www.spacex.com/updates#starship-v3
Re:Don't get this bit (Score:5, Interesting)
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Thanks.
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Ah, okay. I was thinking about protecting from melting in the heat, but of course collapsing due to pressure differential would also be bad.
A large mass of cryogenic fuel/oxidizer right up against the other side of a thermally-conductive dome also makes a great heat sink. Warming the fuel will cause it to expand, but after burning a lot to get up there, tankage is not a problem.
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Re: Ready for Thunderf00t to mock it (Score:1, Troll)
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Musk spent 44-billion on Twitter because he's a snowflake.
Given that he censors opinions he doesn't like that would be true.
Will is crash again? (Score:2)
They have yet to have a fully successful mission.
Still in debug phase.
Good luck.
Re: Will is crash again? (Score:2)
True enough, but Apollo and Shuttle never had a successful mission either.
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They have yet to have a fully successful mission. Still in debug phase. Good luck.
Neither has Artemis or Starliner. Yet all are making commercial launches. Vulcan Centaur though it has had fully successful launches has those launches suspended due to the failures of the SRBs, New Glenn is suspended due to the failure to achieve a proper orbit on the 3rd flight.
Starship is not yet a production model though hopefully now much closer with Block 3. Those mentioned above ARE supposed to be production models (including Starliner with it's dodgy manned mission).
later (Score:2)
Will be more interesting if the thing works. Let me know then.
A beast of a rocket (Score:2)
124.4 meters (408.1 feet) tall, 9 meters wide, 5,500 metric tons at launch with a TWR of 1.6. Should leap off the pad and hit max Q in 45 seconds. These engines are grossly overpowered for the launch mass, which implies another stretch. And they're a work of art.
I have to go see one of these launches one day.
And they're not done. Raptor 4 is in the works. They really are going to Mars. The long dry spell of "boldly go" is coming to an end.
Crossing my fingers! (Score:2)
I am really hoping the new engines perform well as that will allow so much more development.
More powerful engines means more payload capacity which means you can experiment with cryo insulation and active cooling and all the nifty things needed for on-orbit fuel transfer.
In parallel, it will be interesting to see how cheaply a Skylab II can be made if the space lavatories and space jacuzzis and all the other life support apparatus are not as weight-constrained as the Apollo days.
Exciting stuff!
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How big (volume) of an inflated station module could Starship carry?
Re: Crossing my fingers! (Score:2)
I had not thought of an inflatable habitat. I was just thinking of a box inside the payload bay ( a cylinder approx 8m dia by 4.5 m tall ) with a docking port behind a larger pez door.
Use it to test out cheaper ( heavier and bulkier ) insulation, gyros, solar, cooling, heating, air recycling etc and if they work, dock a dragon and try out the other things.
Which stars will Starship be visiting? (Score:2)
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Almost low orbit ship