Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, recently gave a tour of the company's new Starfactory production facility to science YouTuber Tim Dodd. The facility is located at SpaceX's Starbase in South Texas and is expected to significantly improve production rates for the company's rockets.
During the tour, Musk showed off various sections of the factory, including the Megabay, which holds three booster rockets. He also discussed the new design of SpaceX's next-gen Raptor engine, which will not require a heat shield but instead have integral cooling circuits throughout the engine.
Starbase is a unique launch site in the nation where visitors can get close to rockets preparing to blast off. SpaceX has built a rocket factory and launch site from the ground up at Starbase with easy public access. It is currently the only private facility in the United States that can send rockets into orbit.
Musk expressed his intention of attempting a tower catch on Flight 5 of SpaceX's Starship, which would mark a significant milestone for the company's reusable rocket program.
The new design of SpaceX's next-gen Raptor engine will not require a heat shield but instead have integral cooling circuits throughout the engine. This design is expected to simplify the production process and reduce costs.
Starbase, located in Brownsville, Texas, has been under construction by SpaceX since the late 2010s. The facility includes two operational launch pads and one under construction. It is also home to an orbital tank farm and a new parking garage and office building.
Visitors to Starbase can get close to rockets preparing to launch, making it a unique destination among the nation's launch sites.
Musk showed off various sections of the factory during the tour, including the Megabay, which holds three booster rockets. He also discussed the new design of SpaceX's next-gen Raptor engine and expressed his intention of attempting a tower catch on Flight 5 of SpaceX's Starship.
Starbase is currently undergoing construction with multiple production stations expected to be completed soon. Once completed, it will enable SpaceX to have serialized production of the rocket, especially the ship. The facility is also home to an orbital tank farm and a new parking garage and office building.
The next-gen Raptor engine design features integral cooling circuits throughout the engine, which Musk described as 'complicated on the inside but simple on the outside.' This design is expected to significantly improve production rates for SpaceX's rockets.
Visitors to Starbase can get close to rockets preparing to launch, making it a unique destination among the nation's launch sites. The public can wander around and view the spacecraft and tanks holding liquid oxygen, methane, and nitrogen used to fuel and test it. A test of the water-deluge system under the Starship also provides an interesting spectacle for visitors.
Musk expressed his intention of attempting a tower catch on Flight 5 of SpaceX's Starship. This would mark a significant milestone for the company's reusable rocket program and could potentially reduce costs by allowing for more frequent launches.
