So like other innovative SpaceX aircraft, everything will need to be fine-tuned through extensive testing.
On Twitter Musk gave an outline of what the engineers were working on to get ready for launch.
Winds are too high today. Looks like wind speed will be low enough to stack early tomorrow morning.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 5, 2021
“The final heat shield tiles need to be completed. These are “~98% done.
The booster engines need thermal protection.
The on-the-ground propellant storage tanks need to be completed.
The quick disconnect, or QD, arm for the ship needs to be completed.” He claimed in his tweets.
The company will need to reinforce the ground systems, in order to assure the new Super Heavy booster can handle high pressure and static test firings of the enhanced propulsion system.
After the rocket was stacked it was once again dismantled. So the heat shield tiles can be applied to the stainless exterior of the ship. These will be used to protect the ship during its landing when it reenters the Earth’s atmosphere.
SpaceX plans for the massive ship inaugural flight to last about 90-minutes after it lifts off from Texas. And the booster will separate 3-minutes later. Then they anticipate a soft landing 60 miles off of Hawaii.
