SpaceX Ground Testing SN15 Starship and Soon BN1 Booster

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SpaceX is testing the SN15 Starship prototype which is the first of an upgrade batch of five Starship prototypes. The BN1 booster is assembled and close to the start of ground testing. The BN1 booster will not be flown.

The SN20-SN24 batch of Starships and the BN3 or BN4 super-heavy boosters should be the first ones flown to orbit in the late summer of 2021.

SN15 completed the Ambient Pressure test.

SOURCES- SpaceX
Written By Brian Wang, Nextbigfuture.com

17 thoughts on “SpaceX Ground Testing SN15 Starship and Soon BN1 Booster”

  4. I think you missed the point. Try a simple word substitution.

    Let's stipulate one thing: there's absolutely no reason for us to have a government. Government does absolutely nothing to feed us, to clothe us, to protect us, to heal us. It's dangerous and hideously expensive too, a budget-busting luxury that policy makers and administrators have spent millenia trying to defend—always unsuccessfully because the fact is, there's no practical defense for it. So stand down the parliaments, take down the office buildings full of bureaucrats, pocket the money and let's move on. Still want the adventure of having national leaders? That's what they make Game of Throne TV series for.

  5. (The "Bigger Than Worlds" is the title, not my comment, btw). I was trying to understand the seemingly common situation where the *far out* idea gets all the *public's* attention, while the currently important practical stuff is ignored, yet has almost identical basic ideas. The Wiki short description of Bigger fits my observation exactly. The topics are either planet as in going interstellar or huge Dyson/Ringworld structures, except perhaps Macro-Life(?). Clearly better stories in fiction, but even so, seems like knowing all about race cars(Ringworld, etc) on tv but not being able change the oil in a normal(O'Neill) one, or not knowing cars(Space) exist at all, only planets.

    The Endless Frontier looks far more interesting, but has no Wiki?? reviewer: "A really wonderful science and science fiction collection. The unifying concept revolved around near Earth colonization, such as the L5 points, or the asteroids. It featured articles on the real science and speculation, followed by a fiction piece. Kind of dated, but still very entertaining."

    Also, I now realize that the very title "The High Frontier" is planet chauvinist. There is no *high*, in that sense, in Space. It is a planet thing only. So, "The Endless Frontier" is taken, howse "The Big/Huge/Large Frontier"?

  6. I would say Ringworld is NOT superior to O'Neill colonies, it was merely intended to be impressive.

  7. Neither, altho "Mote" was great book, very disturbing. Both look very interesting, preaching to the choir I'm in but also very much more than current events. Niven (Bigger than . . .) accused O'Neill of copying Ringworld until O'Neill was able to show class notes that were made prior to Ringworld publication. We must remember the Bernal Sphere, Tsiolkovsky greenhouses, not get too hung up on who was first. O'Neill is heavily focused on current task, as long as the possibilities are presented as a reason to get going. His economic/Physics arguments are what I am persuaded by. The common sense Physics of expanding tech civilizations. 0 g, sunlight, vacuum all free, that sort of thing. And, the notion of just forgetting about living primarily on planets. I have a question about why Ringworld, which is physically impossible due to lack of sufficient tensile strength material, is so much better known than O'Neill, which clearly is possible? I almost think it is as simple as the fact that stuff that is possible may turn into work!

  9. I'm curious: Have you read Pournelle's Endless Frontier series? Or Niven's Larger than Worlds essay?

  11. When Bezos starting talking of trillions of people in Space, he was almost every time misquoted as having said *millions*, even tho he was quite clear and means it. See Isaac Arthur "Rotating Habitats" and the Al Globus work in the NBF blog cited for more options. Not all rotating habs will be the same. Also, the spelling as *O'Neil* is a common indication of having put O'Neill into a small box, the Island 3 as what he is about, when in fact that is just an example of more profound ideas as to the very location for our next lunar base, for instance. Orbital at Halo, or on the surface of a planet, the Moon? Incredibly important decision.

  13. Welcome to this site! I push O'Neill like there is no tomorrow. Because that is what I am afraid of without Space, as opposed to planets, as our home. It already is, actually, we are on a planet in Space.

    To be fair, Jeffrey goes on with much as your argument, the word *stipulate* is tricky, too. But consider the prospect of Space Solar as the ONLY cheapest and best solution to global weirding/warming/heating. Talk about it! Also, if you "Reply" button I get an email, and don't just not see your comment.

    http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/pdfz/documents/2009/70070criswell/ndx_criswell.pdf.html

  14. Dan, I would agree that we have not been good stewards of our Mother Earth. With that being said our future is out among the stars. We are a race of explorers. Don't forget about all the technology that the space program has brought us. It's science and technology that will save the us from extinction.

  15. Wki- Jeffrey Kluger (born 1954) is a senior writer at Time magazine and author of nine books on various topics, such as The Narcissist Next Door (2014); Splendid Solution: Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio (2005); The Sibling Effect (2011); and Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 (1994). The latter work was the basis for Ron Howard's film Apollo 13 (1995). He is also the author of two books for young adults: Nacky Patcher and the Curse of the Dry-Land Boats (2007) and Freedom Stone (2011).

  17. Let's stipulate one thing: there's absolutely no reason for us to go to space. Space does absolutely nothing to feed us, to clothe us, to protect us, to heal us. It's dangerous and hideously expensive too, a budget-busting luxury that policy makers and administrators have spent decades trying to defend—always unsuccessfully because the fact is, there's no practical defense for it. So stand down the rockets, take down the space centers, pocket the money and let's move on. Still want the adventure of going to space? That's what they make movies for.—Jeffrey Kluger

    Should he read "The High Frontier" by Gerard K. O'Neill? He is apparently interested in Space.

    https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/05/towards-an-economically-viable-roadmap-to-large-scale-space-colonization.html

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