Project SpaceX SuperHeavy

Marijn

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That's one more time than me!
I am trying to record a video from launch to landing in a single take, so without edits. Which is a challenge. I just came very close. After dumping fuel, I thought the reserve fuel tank was selected.. But it wasn't.. I have to get used to the changes in the UI.

The regular Orbiter autopilots for prograde, retrograde etc. do overcorrect a bit resulting in some wasted RCS fuel. But the landing autopilot is awesome. It seems to be able to approach for landing even after overshooting a bit. Great job!
 

Marijn

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I've landed a 2nd time on the pad using the same de-orbit parameters (2, 58, 120), so I think that's a good way to start the reentry. But after that one, I had some failures as well so I am stll unsure how to exactly land the Starship after reentry.

One improvement I think would be if you can set the trim to control AoA in smaller amounts, like a tenth of a degree instead of one degree or perhaps even hundreds of a degree.

Here's on of the attempts:
 

BrianJ

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Damn, that's pretty close! Thanks for the de-orbit parameters, that's a good starting point for when I get around to trying to figure a reentry procedure (y) I might be able to add a "fine" control for the trim, if you think it'll help out.
Cheers,
Brian
 

Kyle

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Interesting tidbit from Tim Dodd I learned today (I'm not sure how valid this is, but he's pretty reliable)

Apparently there won't be an entry burn for the Super Heavy booster. Stainless steel absorbs the heat better than the aluminum of Falcon 9. Will just be a boostback burn and then a landing.
 

BrianJ

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Interesting tidbit from Tim Dodd I learned today (I'm not sure how valid this is, but he's pretty reliable)

Apparently there won't be an entry burn for the Super Heavy booster. Stainless steel absorbs the heat better than the aluminum of Falcon 9. Will just be a boostback burn and then a landing.
From an add-on point of wiew, that makes things more complicated in one way and simpler in another.
 

ssenko

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Great work on this addon! It's really fun to play with. After a few hours of trying I've got to the point where I can somewhat consistently land on the pad from orbit. A couple of things that were helpful to figure out:

1. I'm trying to start the skydive and land autopilot with velocity between about 900 m/s and 1300 m/s, range of about 25-40km from the target and altitude of somewhere around 25km. It seems to be able to land on the pad most of the time so long as you are somewhere within those ranges.
2. At the possible expense of losing some realism, it seems very helpful to reduce angle of attack to about 20 degrees as soon as you slow down enough for there to be no more plasma around the starship (typically somewhere around 2000 m/s for me). This gives a surprisingly decent L/D ratio and allows for enough control to get within the ranges above for the start of skydive and land most of the time.

Still pretty hard to land on the right spot, but definitely possible at least.
 
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Kyle

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~2x the thrust of the Saturn V on takeoff.

Just got fully vaccinated. Definitely going to take a trip out to South Padre Island for this!
 

4throck

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From https://apps.fcc.gov/els/GetAtt.html?id=273481&x=

Flight Profile:

The Starship Orbital test flight will originate from Starbase, TX. The Booster stage will separate approximately 170 seconds into flight. The Booster will then perform a partial return and land in the Gulf of Mexico approximately 20 miles from the shore. The Orbital Starship will continue on flying between the Florida Straits. It will achieve orbit until performing a powered, targeted landing approximately 100km (~62 miles) off the northwest coast of Kauai in a soft ocean landing.


Event Timelines:
Event T+ time (seconds)

Liftoff 0 MECO 169
Stage Separation 171
SES 176
Booster Touchdown 495
SECO 521
Ship Splashdown 5420
 

BrianJ

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Updated on OH: v.210515
Improved "Skydive and Land" algorithm.
Included Raptor(SL) 1,2 or 3 engine selection.
Added fine wing-trim adjustment [Ctrl+Up/Down Arrows]
Added rear docking port for refuelling.
Propellant tank indexes changed. ** Any saved scenarios may load propellant incorrectly!!
Includes "Tanker" variant, 170000kg fuel payload capacity, 200kg/s transfer rate to any docked vessel, target tank selection by index.
Added Tanker test scenarios and double launch test scenarios.
Scenarios now in "Starship" or "Tanker" subfolders. ** Might be advisable to delete old test scenarios before installing!!
Includes "Flight Test 1" scenario with (invisible) landing pad vessels in position off Texas coast and Kauai coast, as splashdown targets for Booster and Upper stages. Orbit parameters set for 200km LEO at correct inclination for Kauai splashdown after 3/4 orbit.

Next on to-do list - some kind of reentry autpilot.

Cheers,
BrianJ
 

francisdrake

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Thanks for the update!
I tried a few orbital rendezvous, but usually ran out of RCS fuel before docking. It makes me think the Starships may require OMS maneuver engines. The Raptors are an overkill for orbital maneuvers of a ship with nearly-empty tanks, but the RCS thrusters eat into the RCS fuel resources a lot when used for translation maneuvers. I assume the Starships will get a few Metholox thrusters which tap into the main fuel reserve and will allow axial thrusting.
 

BrianJ

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Thanks for the update!
I tried a few orbital rendezvous, but usually ran out of RCS fuel before docking. It makes me think the Starships may require OMS maneuver engines. The Raptors are an overkill for orbital maneuvers of a ship with nearly-empty tanks, but the RCS thrusters eat into the RCS fuel resources a lot when used for translation maneuvers. I assume the Starships will get a few Metholox thrusters which tap into the main fuel reserve and will allow axial thrusting.
Hi,
many thanks for the testing and input (y)
I confess I haven't tried rendezvous from a standing start - I had a suspicion the RCS would be insufficient.
I can simply link the RCS to the main propellant tanks easy enough.
Don't forget you can select a single Raptor SL for maneuvering - but I think the retro RCS will need beefing up anyway.
I wonder kind of thrust rating might be vaguely realistic for the RCS?
Cheers,
Brian
 

Marijn

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Great improvements! I really appreciate the fine adjustments for the trim. Although I am still unsure about the exact point to aim for, at least I can try things and hold it mostly steady while re-entering. De-orbit parameters I am experimenting with now are 2, 45 and 120.
 

MexSpace

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in fact Elon said that they would use methane for the RCS instead of being an independent system, by the way what an incredible job you are doing brianj do you think you can add in the future a version of the lunar starship and the manned starship?
 

BrianJ

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in fact Elon said that they would use methane for the RCS instead of being an independent system, by the way what an incredible job you are doing brianj do you think you can add in the future a version of the lunar starship and the manned starship?
Thanks, maybe I'll do some kind of Passenger version.

If the RCS are going to be Metholox, I guess I'll link them to the main fuel tanks and maybe give them a more "flamey" exhaust look.

I just did a proper rendezvous/refuelling mission and used up almost 2 tanks worth of RCS, although the actual RCS thrust rating wasn't too much of a problem. Used a single RaptorSL for on-orbit maneuvers and RCS for docking.
Great improvements! I really appreciate the fine adjustments for the trim. Although I am still unsure about the exact point to aim for, at least I can try things and hold it mostly steady while re-entering. De-orbit parameters I am experimenting with now are 2, 45 and 120.
Good. Those parameters for IMFD BaseApproach de-orbit look about the same as mine now, but I still haven't nailed it.

Cheers,
Brian
 

BrianJ

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Yes. We MUST have the logo ;-)
Although I don't have a Propellant Plant, I put it on the Launch Site fence anyway.
BocaChica Base "patch" .zip attached to this post, includes logo and small tweak to GSE building.
sb_logo_tn.jpg
 

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Kyle

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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.
 
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