Starship Nosecone & Starlink Update
Also have a look at our Starship's Deck B, in launch configuration
Welcome space friends!
SpaceX and Starship
Road closure update: the primary date for the Starship SN5 static fire test has moved to tomorrow, July 16, with backups on July 17 and 18.
One of the nosecones at Boca Chica has been stacked on top of a few other rings, as seen on the right below. It sure looks better now than the older one, which you can see on the left. It's fun to watch as SpaceX steadily improves the design. Photo courtesy Nomadd @ NSF.
In addition, BlueZilla is continuing to make progress building the Super Heavy High Bay. Photo courtesy RGV Aerial Photography.
Starlink has sent emails to potential users in Canada, looking for potential beta testers. Musk has said it will be a closed beta, so initial results and experiences will be hidden behind Non-Disclosure Agreements. Starlink also released a few photos of their new roof-mounted antennas, one of which is shown below:
Hard to tell for sure, but the antennas look roughly the same size as a DirecTV dish to me, except they contain motors and can change their pointing direction. They will apparently be powered through an attached Ethernet cable.
Getting Ready
As with a long adventure vacation on Earth, the specifics of what you pack to take with you to Mars will depend a lot on your particular interests, hobbies, planned occupation, and the like. Even so, there are a few things most people will want to bring:
Camera. You won't be able to use cameras in the same way as on Earth, though, so you may want one you can aim without holding it up to your eyes, using a large viewfinder, for example.
Clothes and related gear. Pack as though the clothes you bring with you will be the only ones you'll be able to wear for the next 3 years. Don't forget sweaters, jackets, gloves and other cold-weather gear. Interior spaces should mostly be kept heated, but since it's so cold outside, there may be certain workspaces, for example, that could be also pretty cold. I’m thinking about Starship like a small hotel, which means ventilation may not be perfect, so there could be areas that are a little warm or a little cold.
Personal care and hygiene. SpaceX should eventually publish guidelines here. I could imagine that certain kinds of soap, for example, might be more suitable on Starship than others, due to issues such as perfumes, foaming, biodegradability and so on. Similarly, things like electric razors can generate a lot of particulates that would be a bad idea in zero-G.
Computer. I suspect everyone will bring at least one laptop and probably a tablet, as well. Phones might be useful, too, but only as portable computing devices and cameras, not as actual phones, since there of course won't be cellular service on Starship or on Mars. Desktop computers and displays might be possible, too, for use after you arrive, although they should be packed carefully to avoid being damaged in transit. Computers are a priority item for me, so I could imagine bringing a couple of spares, too, in case something breaks.
For music, videos and the like, since there will be 99 other people on Starship with you, speakers won't work. Headphones will be fine, or maybe AirPods or similar. You will certainly want a good microphone, too, for a number of reasons, including communicating with friends and family on Earth.
Digital material. This might include videos, movies, music, books, PDFs, and so on. I'm expecting Starship and Mars to be well equipped in this area, with huge collections of files, but it never hurts to have a bunch of your own, too, just in case.
Getting There
The next deck up from where were last time on Deck A, is, of course, Deck B, as shown in the sketch below, in the crash couch configuration:
There’s room for 50 passengers on each of these two Decks.
The small area at the top of the image contains a couple of toilets. The green spaces to the left and right of the middle area are passageways down to Deck A, surrounded by railing. The couches are all facing the same direction since acceleration forces during landing will come from an angle due the “belly flop” nature of landings, not from the direction of the engines like during launch. These areas are also surrounded by windows, to allow an exterior view.
Decks B and C have the same 3 purposes, at different times:
Crash couches
Sleep
Private space
The hexagonal tiles on the floor represent a modular flooring system where walls and crash couches can be attached, and then later detached and moved or stowed. Due to the relatively low G-loads on Starship, the couches won't need to have big, thick cushions or anything like that. They basically just need to be strong chairs, in a slightly reclining position.
Passengers will buckle-in to the couches before launch. Once on the way to Mars, the couches can be detached from the modular flooring, disassembled, and stowed. One potential storage location might be under the floor of Deck A, just above the upper fuel tank.
Here's a photo of a treadmill on the International Space Station (ISS). Remember, in zero-G, there's no up or down, so running on a machine mounted to the wall won't feel any different than running on the floor.
Living There
The rock formations on Mars are incredible. Here's a photo from the Curiosity Rover, of the Murray Buttes area:
I'm convinced geology will be one of the early in-demand skills on Mars. In particular, identifying and cataloging the many new minerals we're likely to find. Finding ores that can be mined and processed into materials such as metals, clay and concrete will also be extremely important for early colonies.
Other
Bob Behnken, one of the two SpaceX astronauts that recently flew to ISS on Falcon 9 Crew Dragon, posted the photo above, which is incredible. It shows Earth (an area in and around Kazakhstan) and, near the horizon toward the left, the comet Neowise.