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| 0:00 | · | This week at Starbase, while the various |
| 0:02 | · | construction projects continue at the |
| 0:04 | · | usual rapid pace, crews begin scrapping |
| 0:07 | · | booster 17, test article B18.1 under |
| 0:10 | · | goes another round of cryo testing, and |
| 0:12 | · | the pad 1 launch mount practically |
| 0:14 | · | disappears right before our eyes. While |
| 0:16 | · | SpaceX is known for their rapid pace of |
| 0:18 | · | production, just how fast do we think |
| 0:21 | · | the demolition work at Pad 1 could |
| 0:23 | · | possibly be? Let's dig into this week's |
| 0:26 | · | update and find out. |
| 0:32 | · | Starting off this week, Starship 39.1, a |
| 0:36 | · | test tank for Block 3 engineering |
| 0:38 | · | validation, was brought out of Mega Bay |
| 0:40 | · | 2 and taken back into the Star Factory. |
| 0:43 | · | Mega Bay 2's door was opened again the |
| 0:45 | · | next day, revealing that Starship 39 is |
| 0:48 | · | now on the middlework stand, still |
| 0:50 | · | waiting on its aft dome, with the rest |
| 0:51 | · | of the ship resting on wood blocks. |
| 0:54 | · | A newly made nose cone lifting jig was |
| 0:57 | · | brought into Star Factory to accelerate |
| 0:59 | · | ship production work. And inside the |
| 1:02 | · | factory, Starship 40's nose cone was |
| 1:04 | · | stacked onto its payload bay section, |
| 1:06 | · | bringing the second Block 3 ship another |
| 1:08 | · | step closer to completion. The |
| 1:11 | · | protective weather cap was removed from |
| 1:13 | · | booster 17 in the rocket garden for what |
| 1:16 | · | was a planned move to Mega Bay 1, but |
| 1:18 | · | workers then began moving the booster |
| 1:20 | · | toward Mega Bay 1 for disassembly. and |
| 1:23 | · | suddenly seemed to realize that they |
| 1:25 | · | didn't actually have any room inside for |
| 1:27 | · | it. Perhaps they just needed to clear |
| 1:29 | · | some space inside the garden, but the |
| 1:31 | · | booster ended up being moved back after |
| 1:33 | · | a while. It was then shuffled back and |
| 1:35 | · | forth several times while crews either |
| 1:37 | · | tried to decide where to put it or what |
| 1:39 | · | needed to be cleaned out. Eventually, |
| 1:41 | · | they found a space near the garden and |
| 1:42 | · | set the booster down to begin further |
| 1:44 | · | disassembly work. The rocket garden crew |
| 1:46 | · | began disassembling the chine covers, |
| 1:48 | · | exposing the booster subsystems and fire |
| 1:51 | · | suppression COPVS underneath. Back at |
| 1:54 | · | the site of pad one, after wrapping up |
| 1:56 | · | removal of the outer armor from the |
| 1:58 | · | orbital launch mount, demolition crews |
| 1:59 | · | moved on to the inner part of the top |
| 2:01 | · | half of the original ring. Each section |
| 2:04 | · | was sliced apart with plasma lances |
| 2:06 | · | before being hoisted out by crane until |
| 2:08 | · | the launch table was biseected and the |
| 2:10 | · | internals were taken away. With most of |
| 2:13 | · | the upper half of the table removed, |
| 2:15 | · | workers then began lancing through the |
| 2:16 | · | lower ring supports and the rest of the |
| 2:18 | · | structures that bridge the launch mount |
| 2:20 | · | legs. Some of the cutup segments were |
| 2:22 | · | lifted out while others would be dropped |
| 2:24 | · | onto dirt padding on the ground below. |
| 2:26 | · | The cable chain used to anchor and carry |
| 2:29 | · | the chopstick's electrical systems was |
| 2:31 | · | also removed from tower 1 as work |
| 2:33 | · | continues to remove the legacy systems |
| 2:35 | · | from the pad. Amid all that demolition |
| 2:38 | · | work, construction work on pad 2 |
| 2:40 | · | continued with the arrival of both of |
| 2:42 | · | the pads booster quick disconnect |
| 2:44 | · | covers. Before those covers were |
| 2:46 | · | installed, the new clamp arm test |
| 2:48 | · | structure was lifted, rotated, and then |
| 2:50 | · | lowered into a new position to begin |
| 2:52 | · | testing on the next set of arms. The |
| 2:55 | · | liquid oxygen cover was the first of the |
| 2:57 | · | two to be put in place, completing the |
| 2:59 | · | armored housing that protects the |
| 3:00 | · | booster's lock ground systems during |
| 3:02 | · | launch. And about 24 hours later, the |
| 3:05 | · | cover for the methane quick disconnect |
| 3:06 | · | was also lifted and installed. |
| 3:09 | · | Inside Mega Bay 2, composite deck sheets |
| 3:12 | · | for a new access platform under |
| 3:14 | · | construction in the right front corner |
| 3:15 | · | of the bay were lifted into place. |
| 3:18 | · | Meanwhile, the gigabay continues to |
| 3:20 | · | rise. Multiple steel beams are being |
| 3:22 | · | lifted at the same time and were slotted |
| 3:24 | · | sequentially into place while iron |
| 3:26 | · | workers bolt each piece together. On |
| 3:29 | · | Friday, the old engine access platforms |
| 3:32 | · | were removed from one of the Mega Bay 2 |
| 3:34 | · | workstations and placed in the |
| 3:35 | · | building's doorway. New replacement |
| 3:37 | · | platforms were soon brought over and |
| 3:39 | · | installed in their place. Moving on from |
| 3:42 | · | all that construction and |
| 3:43 | · | deconstruction, let's talk a little bit |
| 3:45 | · | about testing. Back down to the launch |
| 3:47 | · | site, qualification work on pad 2's |
| 3:49 | · | various systems was carried out this |
| 3:51 | · | week. The methane side of the ground |
| 3:53 | · | support equipment bunker was purged, |
| 3:54 | · | cleaning out any remaining foreign |
| 3:56 | · | object debris that might be inside. The |
| 3:58 | · | new pad's deluge system was also tested |
| 4:00 | · | a few times as water sprayed into the |
| 4:02 | · | air and into the flame trench. The |
| 4:05 | · | Starship cryogenic test stand loaded |
| 4:07 | · | with hydraulic rams to simulate engine |
| 4:09 | · | flight loads arrived at the build site |
| 4:11 | · | after heading out from the Massiey's |
| 4:13 | · | outpost early on Thursday morning. On |
| 4:15 | · | Friday, the stabilizer arms on the pad 2 |
| 4:18 | · | chopsticks underwent some actuation |
| 4:20 | · | testing as the clamp arm tester dubbed |
| 4:22 | · | ibroofen was rotated to yet another set |
| 4:25 | · | of clamp arms. Over at the Massie |
| 4:28 | · | Outpost, the booster 18.3 test tank |
| 4:31 | · | underwent another round of testing as |
| 4:33 | · | the block 3 booster verification process |
| 4:35 | · | continues. |
| 4:37 | · | The westernmost tower crane had some |
| 4:39 | · | trouble at the construction site, |
| 4:40 | · | spinning around for several hours. This |
| 4:43 | · | ended up happening again a bit later. |
| 4:45 | · | Now, while these cranes are designed to |
| 4:47 | · | weather vein in the wind, they are not |
| 4:49 | · | designed to keep spinning around like |
| 4:51 | · | that. I'm honestly not sure what went |
| 4:54 | · | wrong here. So, let me know what you |
| 4:56 | · | think in the comments. Well, you know |
| 4:58 | · | what comes next. Moving on to our Falcon |
| 5:00 | · | 9 operations. This week in Cape |
| 5:02 | · | Canaveral saw the launch of the Starlink |
| 5:04 | · | Group 10-51 mission on Falcon 9 booster |
| 5:08 | · | 1069. Lifting off from launch complex |
| 5:11 | · | 39A with another batch of SpaceX's |
| 5:13 | · | telecommunication satellites before |
| 5:15 | · | landing downrange on a shortfall of |
| 5:16 | · | Gravitas. The barge and booster were |
| 5:18 | · | successfully brought back to port and |
| 5:20 | · | unloaded at the dockside stand for |
| 5:22 | · | stowage before being sent back to |
| 5:23 | · | Robert's Road for refurbishment. |
| 5:26 | · | Starlink Group 6-87 was the second |
| 5:29 | · | Falcon 9 launch this week with |
| 5:30 | · | preparations beginning 2 days in |
| 5:32 | · | advance. Just read the instructions |
| 5:34 | · | headed out to sea, joined by Bob to |
| 5:36 | · | catch the booster and the fairings. |
| 5:38 | · | Falcon 9 booster 1096 lifted off from |
| 5:40 | · | Slick 40 for its third flight, carrying |
| 5:43 | · | 29 satellites into space before landing |
| 5:45 | · | and returning to the coast. Both the |
| 5:47 | · | booster and fairing halves were |
| 5:48 | · | successfully recovered after the flight |
| 5:50 | · | and unloaded at the Port Canaveral |
| 5:52 | · | docks. |
| 5:53 | · | SpaceX ended the week with a double |
| 5:55 | · | header from Florida as first the |
| 5:57 | · | Starlink Group 6-89 mission lifted off |
| 6:00 | · | from historic LC39A on booster 1092 |
| 6:03 | · | carrying another 29 satellites to orbit. |
| 6:05 | · | Then about 3 and 1/2 hours later, |
| 6:07 | · | booster 1078 blasted off from Slick 40, |
| 6:11 | · | also carrying 29 satellites to join the |
| 6:13 | · | Starling constellation. |
| 6:15 | · | In other space news this week, Blue |
| 6:17 | · | Origin's second New Glenn launch vehicle |
| 6:19 | · | was raised vertical ahead of its first |
| 6:21 | · | daytime launch scheduled for the next |
| 6:23 | · | day. However, various range issues, |
| 6:26 | · | including a wayward yacht, a cruise |
| 6:28 | · | ship, and even solar storms, ended up |
| 6:31 | · | delaying the launch by a few days. |
| 6:33 | · | Ultimately, after 4 days of delay, the |
| 6:36 | · | rocket lifted off from launch complex |
| 6:38 | · | 36, slowly climbing into the sky with |
| 6:40 | · | the Escapade mission for NASA. Following |
| 6:43 | · | a successful first stage ascent under |
| 6:45 | · | the power of seven BE4 engines, the |
| 6:47 | · | second stage separated and ignited, |
| 6:49 | · | followed shortly by payload fairing |
| 6:51 | · | jettison. After staging, the booster, |
| 6:53 | · | aptly nicknamed Never Tell Me the Odds, |
| 6:56 | · | performed a re-entry burn, slowing down |
| 6:57 | · | enough to descend for its landing burn. |
| 7:00 | · | It came down 200 m to the side of the |
| 7:03 | · | landing ship Jacqueline, and then |
| 7:05 | · | translated over to the deck and |
| 7:08 | · | performed New Glenn's first successful |
| 7:10 | · | soft landing. And if that sounds insane, |
| 7:14 | · | that's because it kind of was. As if |
| 7:16 | · | that wasn't exciting enough, following |
| 7:18 | · | the second stage burns, the Escapade |
| 7:20 | · | spacecraft successfully separated from |
| 7:22 | · | the rocket. This is a pair of rocket lab |
| 7:25 | · | built satellites that will investigate |
| 7:27 | · | Mars' magnetosphere over the course of |
| 7:29 | · | about 11 months, but for about the next |
| 7:31 | · | year, they will loiter near Earth's L2 |
| 7:33 | · | Lrangee point before heading to Mars |
| 7:35 | · | when the transfer window opens in |
| 7:37 | · | November of 2026. |
| 7:39 | · | Now, switching over to our Artemis |
| 7:41 | · | program news. NASA is continuing its |
| 7:43 | · | acceptance testing of the engines for |
| 7:45 | · | the fifth launch of the Space Launch |
| 7:47 | · | System rocket, firing the second of that |
| 7:49 | · | vehicle's four RS25 engines at the |
| 7:51 | · | Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. |
| 7:54 | · | Also, Airbus has shipped the fourth |
| 7:57 | · | European service module, which will |
| 7:59 | · | propel the Orion spacecraft in lunar |
| 8:01 | · | orbit on Artemis 4. And rounding out our |
| 8:04 | · | news from the Artemis program this week, |
| 8:06 | · | NASA released new photos of the fully |
| 8:08 | · | stacked Artemis 2 launch vehicle inside |
| 8:10 | · | the vehicle assembly building. Scheduled |
| 8:12 | · | to fly in early 2026, this will be the |
| 8:15 | · | first mission to send crew to lunar |
| 8:17 | · | orbit since the 1970s. |
| 8:20 | · | Rocket Lab released their third quarter |
| 8:23 | · | 2025 earnings report where they detailed |
| 8:25 | · | revenues and ongoing plans for their |
| 8:28 | · | shareholders and investors. The company |
| 8:30 | · | highlighted their growing revenue and |
| 8:32 | · | backlog of Electron rockets as well as |
| 8:34 | · | the ongoing work to bring their Neutron |
| 8:36 | · | rocket into service. This partially |
| 8:38 | · | reusable two-stage toorbit rocket will |
| 8:40 | · | be brought to their Wallops launch site |
| 8:42 | · | for its first flight no earlier than the |
| 8:44 | · | first quarter of 2026. |
| 8:47 | · | Tory Bruno, the CEO of the United Launch |
| 8:49 | · | Alliance, shared some new images of |
| 8:51 | · | their stock of BE4 engines supplied to |
| 8:53 | · | them by Blue Origin. Inside the |
| 8:55 | · | discussion thread on X, he also |
| 8:57 | · | mentioned that 30 Vulcan rockets are |
| 8:59 | · | currently in various stages of |
| 9:01 | · | production. Also from ULA this week, |
| 9:04 | · | lifting off from Slick 41, the VIAT 3F2 |
| 9:08 | · | satellite was successfully launched on |
| 9:10 | · | the Atlas 5551 rocket heading to |
| 9:13 | · | geostationary orbit to provide high |
| 9:15 | · | bandwidth communications over the |
| 9:17 | · | Americas. |
| 9:18 | · | Relativity Space released their October |
| 9:21 | · | monthly highlight for their TeranR |
| 9:22 | · | development program. The month's |
| 9:24 | · | highlights include progress on component |
| 9:26 | · | level critical design reviews, stage 2 |
| 9:28 | · | downcomer installation, expansion of |
| 9:30 | · | their machine shop for 3D printed |
| 9:32 | · | components and friction stir welded |
| 9:33 | · | structures, and other equipment that |
| 9:35 | · | will expand their production capacity to |
| 9:37 | · | flight scale. They've also completed the |
| 9:39 | · | first round of acceptance testing for |
| 9:41 | · | their stage 1 flight engine, while work |
| 9:43 | · | continues on the A2 test stand at |
| 9:45 | · | Stenis. At launch complex 16 in Cape |
| 9:48 | · | Canaveral, work continues on their |
| 9:49 | · | horizontal integration facility, fuel |
| 9:51 | · | farm support infrastructure and water |
| 9:53 | · | tower. Relativity also announced that |
| 9:56 | · | they will be launching satellites for |
| 9:58 | · | space solutions company SCES aboard |
| 10:00 | · | Tanrar rockets once they enter service. |
| 10:03 | · | Vast Space announced a cooperative |
| 10:05 | · | agreement with the government of |
| 10:07 | · | Usuzbekiststan's Ministry of Digital |
| 10:09 | · | Technologies to explore human |
| 10:10 | · | spaceflight operations in lower Earth |
| 10:12 | · | orbit aboard their upcoming Haven 1 |
| 10:15 | · | space station. |
| 10:16 | · | Firefly released an update on the Alpha |
| 10:19 | · | Flight 7 first stage, announcing that |
| 10:21 | · | they have uncovered the root cause of |
| 10:23 | · | the ground test event that occurred at |
| 10:24 | · | the end of September. During vehicle |
| 10:27 | · | integration, the engine combustion |
| 10:28 | · | chamber was contaminated with stray |
| 10:30 | · | hydrocarbons which resulted in a vehicle |
| 10:32 | · | fire and explosion. Moving forward, |
| 10:35 | · | corrective actions have been implemented |
| 10:36 | · | and another alpha vehicle has been taken |
| 10:38 | · | from the manufacturing line to perform |
| 10:40 | · | their next mission. The Canadian Space |
| 10:43 | · | Agency have awarded Nordspace a $1 |
| 10:46 | · | million Canadian Space Technology |
| 10:48 | · | Development Project grant to continue |
| 10:50 | · | developing additive manufacturing |
| 10:52 | · | technology for liquidfueled rocket |
| 10:54 | · | engines. Loheed Martin shared images |
| 10:57 | · | from a recent burst test of a fullscale |
| 10:59 | · | coreless airlock class inflatable space |
| 11:02 | · | station module which achieved a safety |
| 11:04 | · | factor of 14.7 reaching 224 PSI before |
| 11:08 | · | failure. |
| 11:10 | · | Sierra Space have made additional |
| 11:12 | · | progress on pre-flight testing of their |
| 11:14 | · | Dreamchaser spacecraft, verifying the |
| 11:16 | · | landing gears runway performance by |
| 11:17 | · | pulling it across the tarmac. They also |
| 11:20 | · | completed electromagnetic compatibility |
| 11:22 | · | testing, verifying that the spacecraft's |
| 11:24 | · | electronics are ready to operate in |
| 11:25 | · | space. Amazon has announced this week |
| 11:29 | · | that project Kyper, their low Earth |
| 11:31 | · | orbit telecommunications satellite |
| 11:33 | · | network, is being renamed to Amazon LEO. |
| 11:37 | · | And finally for this week, construction |
| 11:39 | · | work at launch complex 39A's Starship |
| 11:42 | · | complex continues with the lower section |
| 11:44 | · | of the liquid oxygen booster quick |
| 11:46 | · | disconnect box being lifted into place |
| 11:48 | · | on the launch map. |
| 11:51 | · | As always, it was another exciting week |
| 11:52 | · | here in the world of spaceflight. And as |
| 11:54 | · | always, we here at Lab Padre were here |
| 11:56 | · | to cover it. If you want to make sure |
| 11:58 | · | you don't miss out on another week, |
| 12:00 | · | click all those fancy schmancy buttons |
| 12:01 | · | down there and stay tuned. Thank you to |
| 12:03 | · | all of our supporters and until next |
| 12:05 | · | time, this is Kaden from Lab Padre |
| 12:07 | · | signing off. |
