Hi everyone,I have a question regarding the heat shield. How will windward thrusters integrate into the tile mesh? Will they cut holes on some of the tiles where they can poke out a thruster? I assume those thrusters would be made out of some very temp tolerant material.
They still need to do the weld between barrel sections. So I would guess one row of custom fit tiles. You got to cover the weld! Not too bad. It also allows tiling to occur on many barrels at the same time.
Tiles on the flap(s), is this discussed here? I didn't find it. Two sizes and same pattern as in SN10 body.
Quote from: HVM on 03/20/2021 09:28 pmTiles on the flap(s), is this discussed here? I didn't find it. Two sizes and same pattern as in SN10 body.And they are on the wrong side (leeward nor windward). Was similar arrangement on SN10. Guess they want to test the tiles, but dont want to mess with aerodinamics of the flaps (yet).
...It might not be feasible to test the tiles on the windward side without making a full heatshield for at least the fin. The problem is that without the proper pieces on the edges, the tiles are not very aerodynamic, and so subjecting them to the airflow could easily rip them all off like shingles in a tornado......
That seems troubling, as I'd think the static fire would be less stress than actually flying. (Or am I wrong about that?)The heat shield is my big concern for Starship meeting its goals (with Raptor reliability/maintenance being second). It will need to do vastly better than Shuttle level of maintenance "finicky-ness", and much better than the demonstrated safety/reliability (1 reentry-related fatal accident out of 135 flights) as well, to meet its goals.Do we know why the transpiration cooling was abandoned?
Large chunks out of two tiles broke off during the static fire, the larger patch also had small chips in several tiles. Photo credit: Nomadd
Do we know why the transpiration cooling was abandoned?
Both fractured tile(s) -batches are bond with red adhesive, and have felt pads. Interesting to see that Y-like structure inside the tile is not some space-time-spring-suspended-contraption but three metal fasteners from local hardware store...
Quote from: HVM on 03/23/2021 08:47 amBoth fractured tile(s) -batches are bond with red adhesive, and have felt pads. Interesting to see that Y-like structure inside the tile is not some space-time-spring-suspended-contraption but three metal fasteners from local hardware store... The mounting Y is just buried in that crumbly white part with holes to the attachment points. The white stuff is giving way when they break. It's almost chalk like, but much lighter. I don't know if the smaller tiles, or the ones with the red stuff which don't seem to be failing, are made the same way. But they're obviously testing variations and not just sticking the same thing up every time. Even if they get a batch with no failures, they'll probably keep trying new materials, construction and mountings, so assuming they can't figure it out is unwarranted. Finding new ways to break them is just more data. I can see where static fires with the ship being held down by those six mounting points might flex the hull more than flying.
Quote from: Nomadd on 03/23/2021 01:20 pmQuote from: HVM on 03/23/2021 08:47 amBoth fractured tile(s) -batches are bond with red adhesive, and have felt pads. Interesting to see that Y-like structure inside the tile is not some space-time-spring-suspended-contraption but three metal fasteners from local hardware store... The mounting Y is just buried in that crumbly white part with holes to the attachment points. The white stuff is giving way when they break. It's almost chalk like, but much lighter. I don't know if the smaller tiles, or the ones with the red stuff which don't seem to be failing, are made the same way. But they're obviously testing variations and not just sticking the same thing up every time. Even if they get a batch with no failures, they'll probably keep trying new materials, construction and mountings, so assuming they can't figure it out is unwarranted. Finding new ways to break them is just more data. I can see where static fires with the ship being held down by those six mounting points might flex the hull more than flying.Lighter than chalk? That's amazingly fragile.