1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:04,719 On today's episode, we are getting into the latest space news, including SpaceX 2 00:00:04,719 --> 00:00:09,439 works on a starship fuel tanker prototype while waiting for a test launch date. 3 00:00:09,839 --> 00:00:14,720 NASA announces an expansion plan for the Kennedy Space Center that could include a new 4 00:00:14,759 --> 00:00:21,000 star factory, and Sierra Space improves on their inflatable habitat tech. This is 5 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:25,719 the space race. While SpaceX waits for the bureaucratic red tape to clear for 6 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:30,559 their next starship test flight, the engineers at Star based Boca Chica are not 7 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:35,200 being idle in a very typical fashion. The SpaceX team is simply continuing to 8 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:40,759 work on construction projects around the site, including the manufacturing and testing of new 9 00:00:40,799 --> 00:00:46,119 prototype starships. For example, Ship twenty six was recently spotted getting some work 10 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:50,439 done at the test stand just to the side of the orbital launch mount. 11 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:54,079 We haven't really seen Ship twenty six in a while, but this latest view 12 00:00:54,119 --> 00:00:58,759 has some folks confused. As you can see, this prototype doesn't have flaps 13 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:03,280 or even heat shield tiles, no cargo bay doors or starlink dispensers either. 14 00:01:03,759 --> 00:01:07,359 Earlier sightings of Ship twenty six showed these same things, of course, but 15 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:11,359 back then it was too early to tell if those features simply hadn't been added 16 00:01:11,439 --> 00:01:15,359 yet, and to be fair, they still could be. But as Ship 17 00:01:15,359 --> 00:01:19,120 twenty six appears to be being prepped to make a static fire test, it's 18 00:01:19,159 --> 00:01:23,159 far more likely that we are seeing the very first test article for one of 19 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:30,120 the most important systems in the SpaceX ecosystem, the starship orbital fuel depot. 20 00:01:30,599 --> 00:01:34,680 The idea is to design a starship that's just entirely a fuel tank, which 21 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:40,040 the company will put into low Earth orbit and keep topped up in case another 22 00:01:40,079 --> 00:01:45,280 starship might need more fuel for a longer flight. SpaceX has plans for several 23 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:49,359 variants of their starship, a crew type, an uncrewed cargo type, a 24 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:53,760 lander, even versions that can be used to make space stations, and a 25 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:57,959 fuel tanker variant would support all of these, and while it might be too 26 00:01:57,959 --> 00:02:01,640 early to tell exactly what Ship twenty six will be used for, its lack 27 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:07,319 of fins or heat shield tiles as it is preparing for static fire would seem 28 00:02:07,359 --> 00:02:10,759 to point to the fact that twenty six is not intended to come back down 29 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:15,199 to Earth. And more than that, SpaceX testing a potential fuel tanker version 30 00:02:15,319 --> 00:02:21,680 of their starship lines up with their timeline for an orbital refueling demonstration that they 31 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:25,400 are obligated to perform. It may have gotten lost in the turmoil of testing 32 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:30,639 and FAA investigations, but one of the biggest reasons for the scramble to get 33 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:34,520 a second test flight done for Starship was that the company is on a tight 34 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:38,680 schedule to get the vehicle up and running in time to participate in the Artemis 35 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:44,000 Moon missions, specifically Artemis three, for which NASA has contracted the company's human 36 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,599 Landing System Starship variant, due to take place in twenty twenty five. The 37 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:53,039 SpaceX HLS is due to carry a crew of NASA astronauts to the surface of 38 00:02:53,039 --> 00:02:57,520 the lunar South Pole, but before that can happen, NASA wants SpaceX to 39 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:00,439 prove a few things. Obviously, the first is that their starship can actually 40 00:03:00,479 --> 00:03:05,560 get into orbit, and in that same thought that the Lander variant can you 41 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,560 land. But the other critical test for the Starship ecosystem is the in orbit 42 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:15,400 refueling using a Starship fuel tanker, and if Artemis three is to remain on 43 00:03:15,479 --> 00:03:20,520 schedule, that means that the testing period for both the Lander and the fuel 44 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:24,240 depot vehicles have to be completed in twenty twenty four, and so it follows 45 00:03:24,319 --> 00:03:30,080 that we should be seeing prototypes for those two vehicles about now if SpaceX plans 46 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:34,360 to nail that timeline. Now, looking over Ship twenty six, we can't 47 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:38,000 see many exterior signs of new tech, but that doesn't mean much. If, 48 00:03:38,039 --> 00:03:44,000 for instance, Ship twenty six isn't meant to test how Starship's fuel handles 49 00:03:44,039 --> 00:03:46,680 being in orbit for long periods of time, then all it would need to 50 00:03:46,719 --> 00:03:53,000 have is a bunch of internal tanks and some sensors. Some folks have also 51 00:03:53,039 --> 00:03:58,000 suggested that this ship could be used to test maneuverability in orbit using its reaction 52 00:03:58,039 --> 00:04:02,280 control thrusters, which is definitely something this variant could test without needing many conspicuous 53 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:06,400 upgrades, But as it definitely doesn't seem to have any sort of ship to 54 00:04:06,479 --> 00:04:12,360 ship dock and callers, it's not likely to be testing the actual refueling functionality 55 00:04:12,719 --> 00:04:16,040 of a fuel depot. Seeing Ship twenty six getting worked on while we wait 56 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:19,959 for word of the next Starship launch is encouraging. Like we said, SpaceX 57 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:24,360 is also on a very tight schedule, and they can't afford to sit around 58 00:04:24,439 --> 00:04:30,000 even when government agencies slow things down with investigations and environmental surveys, so it's 59 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,360 a good thing the SpaceX team has plenty to work on in the meantime. 60 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:39,240 On September twelfth, NASA revealed an expansion plan for the Kennedy Space Center in 61 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:44,040 Florida, inviting the public to comment on the new facilities. The document detailed 62 00:04:44,199 --> 00:04:47,439 several improvements for the busy spaceport, not least of which was an over one 63 00:04:47,519 --> 00:04:53,480 hundred acre expansion of the SpaceX Roberts Road facility near Pad thirty nine A, 64 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:58,199 where the company launches most of their Falcon Nines and is currently building their orbital 65 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:02,519 launch apparatus for Starship. SpaceX currently uses their roughly fifty acre plot at the 66 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:08,800 Roberts Road site to maintain their fleet of Falconine rockets that operate from Pad thirty 67 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:12,639 nine A. This makes a good deal of sense, as transporting even a 68 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:16,079 tough rocket like the Falcon nine from a further location would just be asking for 69 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:21,600 delay causing mishaps. In a similar manner, then it makes sense that SpaceX 70 00:05:21,639 --> 00:05:27,639 would want to eventually expand their facilities on the Florida coast to at least accommodate 71 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:31,879 the maintenance of an active fleet of starships. Transporting the largest rocket ever built 72 00:05:31,879 --> 00:05:36,480 from Texas to Florida, even by barge, seems like a pretty terrible idea, 73 00:05:36,519 --> 00:05:42,839 and obviously NASA agreed. The expansion follows fairly closely to the original plan 74 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:46,600 laid out in twenty twenty, which was drawn up in phases, as these 75 00:05:46,639 --> 00:05:50,600 sorts of multi year construction projects often are. Even back then, SpaceX was 76 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:56,399 planning to at least grow its falconine program and knew it would need more room 77 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:00,279 eventually. Since then, however, the company has gained a new starship flavored 78 00:06:00,319 --> 00:06:04,560 focus, and so the northern expansion of the site will mostly be taken up 79 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:09,439 by an enormous new hangar, which is very likely to be a new starship 80 00:06:09,439 --> 00:06:14,839 maintenance and production facility. Not unlike the star factory at Boca Chica, the 81 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:18,279 plan looks fairly easy to complete. Most of the literal groundwork was done in 82 00:06:18,319 --> 00:06:24,160 early twenty twenty one when the first phase of the facility was constructed. Electrical, 83 00:06:24,199 --> 00:06:28,360 water and internet service is already there and would just need to be routed 84 00:06:28,399 --> 00:06:32,720 a little further northwards, and the supplemental environmental assessment NASA presented in their announcement 85 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:39,560 seems to agree that the expansion isn't a big issue either. The real problem 86 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:44,360 is the gas line routing, which is always a pain even in less industrial 87 00:06:44,399 --> 00:06:48,319 construction. But a much bigger deal is a proposed expansion of the Saturn Causeway, 88 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:54,120 an eight meter wide road that links the historic vehicle assembly building to Pad 89 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:58,800 thirty nine A, and which SpaceX hope to use for transporting their Starship from 90 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:02,240 the new facility to the pad. The problem is that the starship is wider 91 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:06,079 than the Saturn rockets were. In fact, the Starship is nine meters in 92 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:11,800 diameter, which would overhang the road. Their request is to widen the old 93 00:07:11,839 --> 00:07:16,759 causeway to ten point three meters to accommodate Starship and its SPM transport vehicles. 94 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:23,839 But in the grand scale of things, even these seemingly difficult engineering challenges are 95 00:07:23,879 --> 00:07:28,519 not much to worry about. Digging gas lines and widening roads is fairly straightforward 96 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:32,800 compared to wrangling an environmental survey. But considering that part is already done, 97 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:38,079 all SpaceX has to wait for here is for the public comment period to close, 98 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:43,079 and if by October sixteenth no major issue is brought forward by residents nearby, 99 00:07:43,519 --> 00:07:46,959 NASA will make a final assessment and SpaceX will be able to start planning 100 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:53,279 their next big construction project. On September twentieth, Hawaii played host to the 101 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:57,639 fifth test of the inflatable Life module made by Sierra Space, and the test 102 00:07:57,759 --> 00:08:03,879 article passed with flying colors. The Large Integrated Flexible Environment is a mostly fabric 103 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:09,360 habitation module designed to unfold during an orbital flight by inflating. Sierra designed the 104 00:08:09,439 --> 00:08:13,560 three hundred and thirty cubic meter module to be used on both the upcoming Blue 105 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:20,360 Origin led Orbital Reef space station project and with their Dream Chaser Crude shuttlecraft for 106 00:08:20,439 --> 00:08:24,399 longer duration missions. Most tests of the design right now are being conducted on 107 00:08:24,519 --> 00:08:30,439 smaller subscale versions of the real thing, and are usually burst tests, which, 108 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:35,440 as the name would suggest, involve inflating the hab until it pops. 109 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:39,120 This particular test added a metallic plate meant to simulate a window, which will 110 00:08:39,159 --> 00:08:43,919 be built into the design in the final version, But instead of weakening the 111 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:46,879 design by breaking up the form of the inflatable module as one might expect, 112 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:52,919 the metal plate ended up lending some extra strength, allowing the module to survive 113 00:08:52,039 --> 00:08:58,759 a full twenty percent more pressure than previous tests and an overall thirty three percent 114 00:08:58,799 --> 00:09:03,360 margin of safety over the certification standard for this sort of crude space. Obviously, 115 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:09,320 this thrilled Sierra Spaces engineering staff, who have been looking forward to clearing 116 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:13,679 the series of gated tests so they can get to a full in orbit demonstration. 117 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:18,919 The testing for fabric based designs is understandably stringent. There are a lot 118 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:22,519 of benefits to inflatable modules, but there just haven't been many real world tests 119 00:09:22,519 --> 00:09:26,840 of them to inspire more confidence. The only inflatable hab to ever have been 120 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:33,240 tested in space was the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module or BEAM, constructed by Bigelow 121 00:09:33,279 --> 00:09:37,320 Aerospace and sent to the ISS back in twenty sixteen and stayed there until twenty 122 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:43,600 twenty. That test was successful and showed some surprising advantages to inflatable modules. 123 00:09:45,159 --> 00:09:48,440 The first is somewhat obvious, because it's inflatable, the module doesn't have to 124 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:54,279 be aerodynamic and can simply be packed into a rocket's fuselage until it's in space. 125 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:58,840 The second is that most of these modules are made from overlapping sheets of 126 00:09:58,879 --> 00:10:01,840 fabrics like kevlar, milar, and, in the case of Sierra's Life Module, 127 00:10:01,919 --> 00:10:07,960 a fabric called vectrin, which goes rigid once inflated. This lends the 128 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:13,200 module more protection against debris strikes than even the more traditional hard shell aluminum designs, 129 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:18,840 and finally, some designs even sport better radiation protection, again depending on 130 00:10:18,919 --> 00:10:22,399 their construction. The issue, of course, is that they are a new 131 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:26,039 technology, and people get a little nervous when you tell them that a bit 132 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:31,720 of fabric is all that's protecting you from the vacuum of space. So a 133 00:10:31,799 --> 00:10:37,279 series of tests is being conducted one after another to thoroughly check the new Sierra 134 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:41,559 Space module for any engineering shortfalls. The team will take the next twenty four 135 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:46,240 months to finish this testing gauntlet, and then another twelve months after that to 136 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:50,519 finish developing their flight hardware. It's hard not to get swept up in the 137 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:54,360 Sierra team's excitement. They have some cool new tech and they know it.