Hexagonal tiles on most of windward side, no shield needed on leeward side, transpiration cooling on hotspots
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 17, 2019
Only some of the hottest sections
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 17, 2019
Full size
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 17, 2019
We decided to skip building a new nosecone for Hopper. Don’t need it. What you see being built is the orbital Starship vehicle.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 17, 2019
You can deep throttle on single shaft system by choking flow of fuel or oxygen between pump & combustion chamber. Problem is more with the tiny rocket engine that powers the pump, called a gas generator. That has to throttle *way* deeper than the main chamber.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 17, 2019
Working on regulatory approval for both Boca Chica, Texas, and Cape Kennedy, Florida. Will also be building Starship & Super Heavy simultaneously in both locations.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 17, 2019
Raptor is *very* complex, even for a staged combustion engine. We’re simplifying as much as possible with each iteration. Throttling down to ~50% is hard, but manageable. Going to 25% would be extremely tough, but hopefully not needed.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 17, 2019
Hopefully. Always many issues integrating engine & stage. First hops will lift off, but only barely.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 17, 2019
First (really short) hops with one engine. Suborbital flights with three.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 17, 2019