Poll

Which SHLV will successfully fly first?

SLS
65 (33.5%)
Starship/Super Heavy stack
129 (66.5%)

Total Members Voted: 194

Voting closed: 04/23/2020 02:38 am


Author Topic: Which SHLV Will Fly 1st?  (Read 37834 times)

Offline Inoeth

Re: Which SHLV Will Fly 1st?
« Reply #80 on: 08/10/2020 07:05 pm »
With SN5 successfully completing a 150m hop and is likely to do another flight. This demos that Starship is aimed and can in its current design support reusability. Multiple flights lots of data, post flight hardware inspections available, will rapidly accelerate the project toward orbital flight including at least SH recovery but possibly SS as well. This projects that currently Starship has a possible 3 or more month lead on SLS.

While I agree that seeing SN5 hop is a great sign i'm not counting any chickens until we see several more hop tests to really prove out that reliability/reusability and then move on to the far harder high altitude tests with the 'bellyflop' landing.

That being said SLS isn't going to fly until Late 21 if you're incredibly optimistic at the earliest and more likely mid-latter 2022 from various reporting (tho what happens with the Green Run will give us perhaps a better sense of where they are progress wise). Either way at the pace SpaceX is going the High Bay for building the Super Heavy booster looks like it'll be done in a month or so and I fully expect to see them progress to the higher altitude test flights by the end of this year.

flying the full stack, getting orbital and thus being the first SHLV seems entirely doable in the next 15 months for SpaceX even with what i'm sure are going to be some (spectacular and explosive) setbacks.

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: Which SHLV Will Fly 1st?
« Reply #81 on: 06/15/2022 03:43 pm »
Time for an update as vehicles may actually launch in the coming months:

https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/1537096088821370880

Quote
NASA's Jim Free confirms that August 23-to-September 6 is the earliest window that the Artemis I mission could launch. This assumes a timely completion of the wet-dress test and finding few (if any) issues that require follow-up work.

Elon said yesterday that Starship & SH would be ready for launch in July (I interpreted that as vehicles ready only, not launch licence granted etc too).

So I think the first launches of both SHLVs could be quite close together. Of course that’s not necessarily the same as first successful launches!

Offline Vahe231991

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Re: Which SHLV Will Fly 1st?
« Reply #82 on: 06/28/2022 07:43 pm »
Time for an update as vehicles may actually launch in the coming months:

https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/1537096088821370880

Quote
NASA's Jim Free confirms that August 23-to-September 6 is the earliest window that the Artemis I mission could launch. This assumes a timely completion of the wet-dress test and finding few (if any) issues that require follow-up work.
NASA is now moving towards scheduling the first launch of the SLS for late August/early September of this year after having completed the final WDR test for the SLS, and the rollback of the SLS rocket into the VAB is scheduled for the beginning of July. Since SpaceX has to make a few tweaks to the environment surroundings near the launch site from which the Starship will be launched, the SLS is definitely fly first.
Elon said yesterday that Starship & SH would be ready for launch in July (I interpreted that as vehicles ready only, not launch licence granted etc too).

So I think the first launches of both SHLVs could be quite close together. Of course that’s not necessarily the same as first successful launches!

Offline Vahe231991

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Re: Which SHLV Will Fly 1st?
« Reply #83 on: 04/03/2023 09:22 pm »
The SLS successfully conducted its first launch on November 16, 2022. The Starship might well be on track to carry out its first launch this month.

Offline Jim

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Re: Which SHLV Will Fly 1st?
« Reply #84 on: 04/04/2023 12:12 am »
The SLS successfully conducted its first launch on November 16, 2022. The Starship might well be on track to carry out its first launch this month.

no need to point out the obvious

Online edkyle99

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Re: Which SHLV Will Fly 1st?
« Reply #85 on: 04/04/2023 01:56 am »
The SLS successfully conducted its first launch on November 16, 2022. The Starship might well be on track to carry out its first launch this month.

no need to point out the obvious
I like these revisits.  It shows how lousy the majority users of the forum are at predicting things!

 - Ed Kyle
« Last Edit: 04/04/2023 01:56 am by edkyle99 »

 

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