Flight 12 (Booster 19, Ship 39) pre-flight preparations

[catdlr]

Thread interruption:

The road closures scheduled for this evening and tomorrow may be attributable to the relocation of additional test equipment to Massey. To prevent unnecessary clutter in this pre-launch discussion, any subsequent conversations regarding the transfer of these components to Massey and their use will be conducted in the Massey Facility thread. Should these components become an integral part of S39 testing, I will resume posting updates within this thread.

Thank you, Tony

[rfdesigner]

However you'd want lower RF frequencies for that.  The FCC application said "transmit for TT&C purposes in Ku-, Ka- and E-Band frequency band".  Those bands are high frequencies so these wouldn't be omni-directional transmitters, with a receiver wherever (even on the ship).  More likely they were straight up Starlink terminals, with the imagery initially stored onboard until the terminals linked up with the network and then ... download!  Heck, with the full closed-loop comms link via Starlink, they could then even joystick a camera and zoom in for more imagery.  This is all super low-risk and *cheap* stuff they totally could have done.

In theory it could have captured not just the ship as it drifted away, but also the ship's initial reentry, probably from a huge distance.  Hey I'll take a single moving pixel ... We could have some kiiiiiiiller new views coming our way.

Let's go!

Just catching up on this as I'd missed your original message.

You absolutely can use Ku/Ka for an omnidirectional link, the problem is the effective aperture of a dipole on the receiver at those frequencies means your range will be relatively low (compared to your lower frequency link), so you need to use starship as a relay.  However this is space and there's no clutter so you can guarantee line of sight, that is a monumental improvement compared to our typical experience on earth.

Lets run the maths for a 10Mbit link, I'll assume BPSK, if you go for a more complex transmission you will typically end up with needing better SNR at the receiver, but having lower noise due to lower bandwidth, so most systems will be comparable.  I'm going to assume a receiver noise figure of 5dB which is perfectly attainable in those bands.
I'm also going to assume a transmit power of a watt as that is certainly possible from a single amplifier.

The Friis Equation rearranged to give distance is : sqrt[ Pt x Gt x Gr x Lamda^2 / ( Pr x (4 * Pi)^2) ]

t = transmit, r = receive, P = power, G = antenna gain, Lamda = wavelength.

For the power received:

Noise = kTB, I'll assume 300k temperature as earth is going to be close and will dominate the thermal noise levels.

Pr = Thermal noise density (watts/Hz) + Noise Figure + SNR + 10*log(receiver bandwidth)

for our 10Mbit link with a 12MHz receiver bandwidth suitable for PBSK, and 6dB SNR giving us 1% BER (easily correctable with low overhead) that equates to -92.2dBm sensitivity.

Putting that back into the rearranged Friis equation gives us a range of 1.5km.

However that assumes a somewhat stabilized video feed pointing in the appropriate direction.  A 360 camera would have a higher bitrate, maybe a 360camera running some level of software to automatically select the appropriate view.

[catdlr]

TankWatchers
@WatchersTank
·
3m
🚨SHIP 39 ROLLOUT TONIGHT!
SpaceX is targeting tonight’s road closure to roll Ship 39 to Masseys and begin its testing campaign. If March is still the target for Starship Flight 12, the pace will need to remain high.

https://twitter.com/WatchersTank/status/2026754142069207495

[Starship V3]

Have we visual sign indicating that roll is gonna occur tonight?

[catdlr]

Have we visual sign indicating that roll is gonna occur tonight?

Welcome to the Forum Starship V3. A road closure is in effect for tonight. We are looking for signs that a ship transport stand is being moved into position and moved into MB2

[Starship V3]

Thank you! By the way I follow NSF since November 18th 2023 (Starship FT2) and watch Starship program since 2022

[catdlr]

Have we visual sign indicating that roll is gonna occur tonight?

What I've been waiting for.  But the rollout starts tomorrow at 10 am CT.   Here we go:

MattZ
@wvmattz
·
7m
We spotted what appeared to be Ship 39's stand head from its home at Sanchez, through the Ring Yard, and into MB2 ahead of a potential rollout as early as 10am CST Thursday!  Stay tuned to SBL to see what happens!

https://twitter.com/wvmattz/status/2026827823281738211

[Starship V3]

What did move? The Static fire stand or the cryo stand (crab no2)?

[catdlr]

What did move? The Static fire stand or the cryo stand (crab no2)?

We are being surprised daily by the movement of equipment to Massey and the Pad and back. S39 has not undergone cryo testing; however, why is the SF stand being rolled on instead? There is a test tank at Massey on the ship cryo stand. Therefore, where is S39 headed? It may be intended for fit testing on that strange contraption at the Massey SF pad. Consequently, this might be a preliminary test for S39 prior to the cryo test on the other stand and then back onto the Crab stand (again) for a formal SF. 

I'm impressed by what is happening, too, but I'm initially confused until I fully understand what is happening. Massey is one big test stand with various apparatus set up for testing. Just grab a seat in the grandstand and watch.

Tony

[ChrisC]

As seen on SBL, Ship 39 started moving out of the bay at 7:41am CT, and is now staged well outside.

The Starbase City schedule still shows the road closure / delay starting at 10am, so it looks like this is finally happening.

NSF has now posted a live stream for the rollout, starting at 10am CT / 11am ET.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=p9YEPLYiL54

[catdlr]

Ceaser G
@CeaserG33
·
24m
The first V3 Starship makes its way to Massesys for its initial round of testing.

https://twitter.com/CeaserG33/status/2027062247189533116

[catdlr]

Fabian Ramirez
@texas_lizard
·
34m
Starship Flight 12 Vehicle Ship 39.

Currently rolling out to Massey’s for testing.

Amazing looking Ship! 🔥

https://twitter.com/texas_lizard/status/2027059887084110307/photo/1

[catdlr]

Starship Gazer
@StarshipGazer
·
46m
A close look at Starship 39's leeward side is visible for the first time.

2/26/26

https://twitter.com/StarshipGazer/status/2027057286888444104/photo/1

[catdlr]

NSF - NASASpaceflight.com
@NASASpaceflight
·
41s
Starship Flight 12: Ship 39 is hogging the road down Highway 4. 😅

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/2027076491586965605

[StraumliBlight]

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/2027143801949618205

The first Starship V3 has left the build site to begin prelaunch testing

[catdlr]

After arriving at Massey, it went straight to the SF stand. The Cryo stand is currently being used by 39.1 (a test ship tank). Do they want to test S39 with this new equipment built here? Keep tuned.

https://twitter.com/HardcoreElectr1/status/2027118235653423232

[catdlr]

SpaceX
@SpaceX

The first Starship V3 has left the build site to begin prelaunch testing

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/2027143801949618205

[catdlr]

Juan “SMOKEY” DeLaGarza 🇺🇸🚀👨🏽‍🚀
@SmokeysOutpost
·
1h
The new kid in the block (S39) rolled out to the Massey’s Test site for the next phase of testing in preparation for Flight 12.

https://twitter.com/SmokeysOutpost/status/2027131619862065252

[catdlr]

So this is no longer a flight vehicle?  S39 is now called SN1

Elon Musk

@elonmusk
·
25m
Starship V3 SN1 is headed for ground tests.

I am highly confident that the V3 design will achieve full reusability.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2027189961548828708

[lightleviathan]

So this is no longer a flight vehicle?  S39 is now called SN1

Elon Musk @elonmusk
Starship V3 SN1 is headed for ground tests.
I am highly confident that the V3 design will achieve full reusability.

In the SpaceX tweet it specifies "prelaunch testing", so I would assume that 39 is a flight vehicle.