Weekly Challenge #39: Starship Integrated Flight Test 2: Orbital Boogaloo

[Dakota]

Your challenge is to recreate and perform all elements of a (successful) Starship integrated flight test:

• Build a two-stage heavy lift rocket, both stages capable of autonomous flight and propulsive landing.
• Launch and begin flying your rocket to orbit... then quicksave.
• Decouple and boost the first stage back to the launch site, landing it on one of the four landing pads. Use those gridfins!
• Load the quicksave, fly the second stage to orbit, then deorbit it so that it re-enters over the ocean to the west of the KSC.
• Propulsively slow the second stage's descent so that it splashes down in one piece. (Super bonus points if you also land the second stage on a KSC landing pad instead)

Good luck, Kerbonauts!

[PicoSpace]

Here is my SpaceX Starship IFT-2 Video. I dropped them in the ocean as that is what the actual test plan is, I’ll see about attempting to land both parts at KSC and post another video if I’m successful.

 

[NexusHelium]

And what if my flight termination system fails?

Edited November 17, 2023 by NexusHelium

[Aeolica]

If Elon has SSTO already, why does he need a two-stage rocket?

[Kimera Industries]

53 minutes ago, Aeolica said:

If Elon has SSTO already, why does he need a two-stage rocket?

None of Elon or SpaceX's designs have been single-stage-to-orbit, as far as I know. There's an excellent Everyday Astronaut video about the extreme disadvantages of SSTOs, and I highly recommend you give it a watch.

In the video, he explains why a two-stage setup like Starship is better for reusability and practicality. Elon has commented that a Falcon 9 first stage could in theory get into orbit, but as Tim points out in the video, it would have absolutely zero payload capacity. As soon as you want a large payload, you need to scale everything up by an enormous amount. Now, don't say "But in KSP-" because in KSP the solar system is 1/10 the size of ours and everything is stupidly easier as a result. Not that I'm complaining, but that's just why the "but it works in KSP" argument doesn't work unless you have RSS and RO, and even then, KSP is an optimized model of how spaceflight should work. It works as a game, but not as a practical simulator for reality.

Did anyone else see the IRL launch, though? The hot staging was beautiful! And now that they've proven that the FTS works, another flight is probably going to come much faster. Looking forward to IFT 3! 

[Aeolica]

4 hours ago, Kimera Industries said:

None of Elon or SpaceX's designs have been single-stage-to-orbit, as far as I know. There's an excellent Everyday Astronaut video about the extreme disadvantages of SSTOs, and I highly recommend you give it a watch.

In the video, he explains why a two-stage setup like Starship is better for reusability and practicality. Elon has commented that a Falcon 9 first stage could in theory get into orbit, but as Tim points out in the video, it would have absolutely zero payload capacity. As soon as you want a large payload, you need to scale everything up by an enormous amount. Now, don't say "But in KSP-" because in KSP the solar system is 1/10 the size of ours and everything is stupidly easier as a result. Not that I'm complaining, but that's just why the "but it works in KSP" argument doesn't work unless you have RSS and RO, and even then, KSP is an optimized model of how spaceflight should work. It works as a game, but not as a practical simulator for reality.

Did anyone else see the IRL launch, though? The hot staging was beautiful! And now that they've proven that the FTS works, another flight is probably going to come much faster. Looking forward to IFT 3! 

If the first cosmic velocity were 2426m/s, things would be different. BFR has over 6000m/s dV with the 150t starship.

Edited November 18, 2023 by Aeolica

[Chris Windle]

My Integrated Flight Test - The booster didn't land on a platform, but did land near the runway.  

https://www.facebook.com/chris.windle.794/videos/876094914249621

 

[Kimera Industries]

2 hours ago, Aeolica said:

If the first cosmic velocity were 2426m/s, things would be different. BFR has over 6000m/s dV with the 150t starship.

Indeed. Earth's gravity makes things very hard. So does its atmosphere, but alas, we need that to breathe.

[Antnee]

Here is an inspired by the challenge mission for a first start. Vehicle is a fairly modest 630 tons of two stage calamity, capable of propulsive landing and second stage cargo deployment to orbit (occasionally) if it works. I've had more success as of late landing horizontally, and chose to modify the conditions of the test seeing how I'm not really following the rules at the start!! I may try a full scale attempt with a more polished, true to form replica in a bit. I've broken up the images into the individual craft stage events of the flight. Hope someone hits the bulls eye!! Land at target automation?? Man, I miss it...

 Vehicle:

Second stage: 

Ascent

Stage Separation

Orbit

Cargo jettison to orbit

Recharge

Deorbit burn

Prograde

Descent

Approach

Touchdown

Deceleration

Landed

 

 

First stage: 

Stage separation

Flip and Backburn

Attempting to steer

Frantic burn activation or FBA

Wrestling K2-D2, fuel critical

Off target landing

All in all quite a bit of fun peppered with frustration on this one... Hope you enjoyed the flight!!

 

[PTNLemay]

On 11/18/2023 at 8:40 AM, Aeolica said:

If Elon has SSTO already, why does he need a two-stage rocket?

I think Elon stated that SpaceX's boosters (both Flacon9's and the Superheavy) could reach orbit on their own.  But on the condition that they carry no payload.  So, while it would be fun to try, it wouldn't serve much of a purpose.