Pinned
Pc and MR sweeps. So pretty.
00:00
Andy Lapsa
215 posts
Andy Lapsa
@AndyLapsa
Joined July 2022
- Suction testing is one of the most exciting phases of any engine development program since we intentionally drive the pumps to the onset of cavitation. It’s important to know where that limit is, but cavitation can very quickly lead to RUD. Happy to report awesome results with
00:00 - Five years ago today I made one of my hardest decisions: leave a stable and well-paying job to start something from scratch. There aren’t a lot of first-time founders with young families, and a huge part of me felt like this was wildly irresponsible. It turns out that’s a good
The biggest technology challenge remaining for Starship is a fully & immediately reusable heat shield. Being able to land the ship, refill propellant & launch right away with no refurbishment or laborious inspection. That is the acid test.
Engine and heat shield are kicking ass. Heat shield is actively cooled and fully integrated into the engine, and all Hopper flight requirements have been met. Looks pretty too! @erikkuna- 🚀🔥 Full-flow staged combustion engine hotfire? Check. ✅ Want to learn more? Head over to our site for details: stokespace.com/stoke-space-co… #StokeSpace #FullFlow
- It was less than 10 years ago when the idea of recovering a 1st stage was extremely controversial. Now it's absurd to even consider anything else. Today, the same skepticism surrounds 2nd stage reuse, but it won't be long until that, too, is archaic.
- Let's GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
- This is why we started from day 1 thinking hard about rapidly reusable heat shields. It’s metallic, ductile, and the surface temperature is tailorable and controllable well below material limits. It certainly hasn’t been to space (or back) yet, but to the best ability on earth
Replying to @danpiemontThank you for the thoughtful rebuttal. To the best of my knowledge, none of the rideshare missions have lost money. I do hope that rocket companies focus on reusability. That is the fundamental breakthrough needed for humanity to become a spacefaring civilization. Falcon is - At a conceptual level @Erdayastronaut's videos are better than any college course I've seen on rocket engines. This topic on start transients is almost never talked about, yet it's one of the hardest. Well done sir. Here's to keeping the fire pointed in the right direction!Last week I released "How to start a rocket engine" and wow, the response has been incredible! Thank you for diving really deep into this topic with me! It was a pleasure to make and I'm so glad so many are learning with me! Have you watched yet? - youtu.be/bAUVCn_jw5I
- Proud to be part of this team. Crazy good!
Some more pictures to put a wrap on Hopper. Onward and upward! - LFG!! Enormous success by all accounts except one: this new design sits lower in the thrust structure and it's really hard to get good direct imagery of the plumes/Mach diamonds. We'll work to improve on this!Andromeda Hotfire ✅
00:00 - 6 great tests in 5 days and we’re just getting rolling!Say hello to Zenith, our full-flow staged-combustion booster engine, built to power Nova to orbit. 🚀
00:00
