Connect with us

News

SpaceX installs Super Heavy booster on launch mount with giant robot arms

Published

3 years ago

on

SpaceX has transported the most powerful rocket booster ever assembled to its Starbase orbital launch site (OLS) and used giant robotic arms to install it.

It’s not the first such trip for Starship’s Super Heavy first stage in general, nor for this specific booster, which is known as Booster 7 or B7. Booster 7 first headed to the pad on March 31st and successfully completed two major cryogenic proof tests, but was then severely damaged during a subsequent structural stress test. After a few weeks of repairs back at the factory, B7 rolled to the pad a second time and completed a third cryoproof test and returned to the factory on May 14th, where it stayed until June 23rd.

After almost six weeks of additional work, Booster 7 rolled to the launch pad for the third time – possibly its last trip.

Even Booster 7’s first rollout wasn’t unprecedented, however. In September 2021, Booster 4 – an earlier prototype with fewer engines, less thrust, and several other differences – arrived at the launch site with 29 Raptor V1 engines installed. Over the next six months, SpaceX slowly finished the booster, conducted a handful of proof tests, and eventually performed three ‘full-stack’ tests with Starship S20. For awhile, SpaceX hoped to eventually fly B4 and S20 on Starship’s first orbital launch attempt, but that plan never came close to fruition.

Booster 4 was particularly underwhelming and never even attempted a single static fire despite having all 29 of its engines fully installed and encased inside a shell-like heat shield. Thankfully, Booster 7 appears to have a much better chance of at least attempting one or several static fires, even if there’s no guarantee that it will make it through that test campaign in good enough condition to support Starship’s orbital launch debut.

Advertisement

SpaceX used the six weeks Booster 7 spent back in a factory assembly bay to finish installing aerocovers, surfaces known as chines or strakes, car-sized grid fins, Starlink internet dishes, and – most importantly – 33 upgraded Raptor V2 engines. Combined, Booster 7 should be able to produce up to 7600 metric tons (~16.8M lbf) of thrust – 41% more thrust than Booster 4 was theoretically capable of. Crucially, SpaceX also finished installing Booster 7’s Raptor heat shield in the same period, completing in six weeks work that took Booster 4 more like half a year.

That is likely because testing Booster 4, for whatever reason, just wasn’t a priority for SpaceX. Preparing Booster 7 for static fire testing, however, is clearly a front-and-center priority in 2022. With its heat shield and all 33 Raptors installed, Booster 7 will be ready to kick off static fire testing almost as soon as it’s installed on Starbase’s orbital launch mount.

B7’s 33 Raptor engines

According to CEO Elon Musk, Booster 7 will start by igniting just one or a few Raptor engines. SpaceX has never ignited more than six Raptor V1 engines simultaneously and never tested more than three engines at a time on a Super Heavy booster. That plan could have easily changed, however. Either way, Super Heavy B7 will be treading significantly new ground. Even before actual static fires begin, Booster 7 will also need to complete one or more wet dress rehearsals (WDRs), a test that exactly simulates a launch but stops just before the moment of ignition.

If SpaceX attempts a full wet dress rehearsal, in which the booster would be filled with more than 3000 tons (~6.6M lb) of liquid oxygen (LOx) and liquid methane (LCH4), it would be a first for Super Heavy and just as big of a test of the orbital launch site. Booster 7 will also need to test out its autogenous pressurization, which replaces helium with hot oxygen and methane gas to pressurize the rocket’s propellant tanks.

(NASASpaceflight Starbase Live)

Several hours after Super Heavy B7 arrived (for the third time) at the orbital launch site, SpaceX used two giant arms attached to the pad’s launch tower to lift the ~70-meter (~230 ft) tall rocket onto the launch mount. While Musk says that the ultimate goal is to use those arms to catch Starship and Super Heavy out of mid-air, their current purpose is to take the place of the tall and unwieldy crane that would otherwise need to be used to lift either stage. The arms are an extremely complex solution but they do allow SpaceX to lift, install, and remove Starship stages remotely and insulate those processes from wind conditions, which cranes are sensitive to.

Once fully secured by the mount’s 20 hold-down clamps, the booster will be connected to ground systems and SpaceX can prepare B7 to start the next stage of preflight testing as early as Monday, June 27th.

Advertisement
Related Topics:

Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

Advertisement
Comments

Investor's Corner

Tesla ‘Model Q’ gets bold prediction from Deutsche Bank that investors will love

Tesla’s Model Q could be on the way soon, and a new note from Deutsche Bank thinks it will contribute to Q4 deliveries.

Published

10 hours ago

on

July 20, 2025

By

Credit: @JoeTegtmeyer/X

The Tesla “Model Q” has been in the rumor mill for the company for several years, but a recent note from Wall Street firm Deutsche Bank seems to indicate that it could be on its way in the near future.

This comes as Tesla has been indicating for several quarters that its development of affordable models was “on track” for the first half of 2025. The company did not say it would unveil the vehicles in the first half, but many are anticipating that more cost-friendly models could be revealed to the public soon.

Potential affordable Tesla “Model 2/Model Q” test car spotted anew in Giga Texas

The Deutsche Bank note refers to one of the rumored affordable models as the “Model Q,” but we’ve also seen it referred to as the “Model 2,” amongst other names. Tesla has not officially coined any of its upcoming vehicles as such, but these are more of a universally accepted phrase to identify them, at least for now.

The rumors stem from sentiments regarding Tesla’s 2025 delivery projections, which are tempered as the company seeks to maintain a steady pace compared to 2023 and 2024, when it reported 1.8 million deliveries.

Deutsche Bank’s analysts believe the deliveries could be around 1.58 million, but they state this is a cautious stance that could be impacted by several things, including the potential launch of the Model Q, which they believe will make its way to market in Q4:

“Looking at the rest of the year, we maintain a cautious stance on volume calling for 1.58m vehicle deliveries (-12% YoY) vs. consensus +1.62m, with the timing of Model Q rollout as the key swing factor (we now assume only 25k in Q4). In China, Tesla will introduce the Model Y L this fall (6 inch longer wheel base allowing for larger 3-row seating with six seats).”

Interestingly, the same firm also predicted that the Model Q would launch in the first half of the year based on a note that was released in early December 2024.

Those estimations came from a reported meeting that Deutsche Bank had with Tesla late last year, where it said it aimed to launch the Model Q for less than $30,000 and aimed for it to compete with cars like the Volkswagen ID.3 and BYD Dolphin.

Tesla’s Q2 Earnings Call is slated for this Wednesday and could reveal some additional details about the affordable models.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Tesla preps to expand Robotaxi geofence once again, answering Waymo

Just days after Waymo responded to them, Tesla is preparing for a potentially massive expansion of the Robotaxi geofence.

Published

11 hours ago

on

July 20, 2025

By

Credit: @AdanGuajardo/X

Tesla is preparing to expand its Robotaxi geofence yet again, just days after Waymo responded to its initial broadening of the area.

Tesla launched its first expansion last week, less than a month after introducing Robotaxi rides in Austin.

The company opted for a very interesting shape for its geofence expansion, which was more of an indication that it could launch more rides in virtually any area of the city due to the new geofence it chose.

Waymo then responded to Tesla shortly after with an expansion of its own. After Tesla’s first expansion of its geofence, it had 42 square miles of Robotaxi-accessible travel region. This was larger than Waymo’s 37 square miles.

However, the Waymo expansion last week brought the company to a substantial 90 square miles of Austin:

Waymo responds to Tesla’s Robotaxi expansion in Austin with bold statement

Tesla appears to be ready to respond. Drone operator and Gigafactory Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer spotted Tesla Robotaxi validation vehicles well west of downtown Austin in the area of Marble Falls, Texas.

This would significantly increase Tesla’s square mileage if it could manage to bring its geofence to that size:

The two companies are not directly responding to one another with these expansions, but it appears that there is a significant amount of competition underway, which ultimately benefits the consumers.

Waymo has been operating in Texas since March from a fully public perspective, while Tesla is still slowly expanding its test size for the Robotaxi fleet on a nearly daily basis. Tesla launched Robotaxi rides to a handful of Early Access Program members on June 22.

Tesla is also expanding to other regions of the United States, particularly in Arizona and California. However, the Texas expansion is a priority currently, as it is the only region where Tesla has received approval to operate passenger rides in a driverless setting in the country.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Elon Musk confirms awesome new features at Tesla Diner Supercharger

More details continue to be revealed about the Tesla Supercharger Diner as its opening seems to be imminent.

Published

1 day ago

on

July 19, 2025

By

Credit: Brad Goldberg (via Sawyer Merritt on X)

Elon Musk has confirmed a few new features that will be present at the Tesla Diner Supercharger in Los Angeles.

Musk confirmed these two new details as he revealed he recently ate at the Supercharger Diner. We also recently confirmed a few menu items as a soft launch has already occurred, and a public launch date appears to be within reach.

The new features were revealed by Tesla Joy on X. We shared the details, and Musk confirmed that these are, in fact, features of the Diner that Tesla owners will be able to enjoy.

Tesla reveals key detail of Supercharger Diner, but it’s bigger than you think

The Diner is not exclusive to Tesla owners, but these two features do require a Tesla for compatibility purposes.

Order Food from Your Car

As you pull into the Supercharger Diner, you can order any food item you want, including burgers, wings, fries, shakes, cookies, and more, directly from your vehicle.

A prompt will likely appear that will open a menu to the Supercharger Diner, allowing you to order food. An employee will bring the food out, that is, if Tesla decides to continue with a true and traditional 50s diner theme.

We get it, it’s not a groundbreaking feature. It’s still cool, convenient, and another advantage to visit the diner as a Tesla owner.

Movie Screen Audio Will Sync to Your Tesla

There are two massive movie screens that will play various entertainment options during your visit to the Supercharger Diner. There have been movie clips and even SpaceX launch highlights playing during recent drone flyovers at the location on Santa Monica Boulevard.

Instead of having to open your windows to hear the content on the screen, it will instead sync the audio and play directly in your vehicle through your car stereo speakers.

The Supercharger Diner has also appeared on the Tesla app for the first time, and is currently showing 80 stalls at the location:

Although the stalls are not yet active, the culmination of all the details we’ve learned over the past week about the Diner only points to one thing: an imminent grand opening.

Tesla has not yet confirmed a date for the Supercharger Diner’s opening, and Los Angeles building and construction permits also do not state a specific target date for opening.

It seems as if Tesla will reveal the date itself, potentially in the coming week, as it will report earnings on Wednesday, July 23.

Continue Reading

Trending