Latest at Starbase with LabPadre: July 14

STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — This Week at Starbase, ship 37 receives its engines. We also catch a glimpse of some new hardware for block three, super heavy boosters, and construction continues in every corner of Starbase.

Will everything be ready in time ahead of flight 10, or can we see some delays due to vehicle or other infrastructure issues?

Well, let's dig into this week's update and take a closer look.

This week in ship and booster fabrication work, we saw the removal of a ship disconnect panel from inside Mega Bay Two.

The panel was likely removed from one of the building stands where it had been used to keep vehicles pressurized while being worked on.

The first fuel transfer tube of super heavy block three was wheeled out of Star Factory and taken to Mega Bay One for installation in booster 18.

SpaceX and Elon Musk shared additional photos and information about this new Falcon nine size transfer tube, which is large enough to carry the boost back and landing reserve fuel for the booster.

The new design should help super heavy carry more payload and be more reliable. When landing.

Workers brought several engines into Mega Bay, two for installation on ship 37.

Sea level and vacuum engines alike were taken in with at least one apparently rejected and sent back out before it, or a replacement was brought back in.

Moving on to construction progress at the launch complex, tower cladding on the east side of Pad B, the launch tower has reached the eighth level as workers continue to install the protective panels around the lower levels.

Workers also installed the back panel for the liquid oxygen booster quick disconnect structure on the gantry.

A new methane pump motor was delivered to the launch site, where it was unwrapped, unpacked, and covered over again.

The pump was uncovered and lifted into place the next day, followed by the pump motor the day after, bringing the pump station one step closer to full capacity.


Stay tuned to LabPadre for continued live coverage and other detailed Starbase content. Visit the LabPadre YouTube channel or LabPadre.com.