The Norminal Newsletter issue #4
🚀 SN15 successfully lands, 🛰️ NASA halts SpaceX HLS, ☀️ Fastest human spacecraft
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🚀 SpaceX
SN15 successfully lands (16mins video)
On May 5th SpaceX flew its Starship prototype SN15 and successfully landed back on the launchpad. This test marks the first successful prototype sub-orbital flight to 10km with a successful landing, SN15 is the second generation of the Starship prototypes and has 100's of improvements. Previous prototypes came very close to a successful test notably SN10 that had a harsh landing and exploded after 10 mins of landing on the pad.
Crew-1 safely splashes down (6mins read)
The four astronauts of the Crew-1 mission splashed down aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule in the Gulf of Mexico after a five and a half month stay on the ISS. The splashdown occurred at night and was the first at night recovery by an American crewed spacecraft since Apollo 8 December 1968.
FAA authorizes next three SpaceX launches (5mins read)
With SpaceX's fast rate of iteration and multiple Starship high altitude tests this year, the FAA has agreed to authorize the next three launches of the prototype (SN15, SN16, SN17). This shows an improving relationship between the FAA and SpaceX and will allow for the Starship program to continue its fast development while still complying with the FAA's safety regulations.
🛰️ NASA
Dynetics HLS protest NASA's HLS choice (6mins read)
After NASA choose SpaceX to build the next HLS (Human Landing System) for the Artemis moon program, Dynetics filed a protest over the decision claiming it chose “the most anti-competitive and high-risk option available”. Because of this protest and a previous one filed by Blue Origin NASA instructed SpaceX that progress on the HLS contract has been suspended until all outstanding litigations are resolved. In the meantime, SpaceX will still continue its Starship development program.
NASA solar probe becomes the fastest object ever built (5 mins read)
The Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018 with the mission of making observations of the outer corona of the Sun. In late April, the spacecraft became the fastest human-made object moving clocking speeds at 532,000 km/h and the closest to the sun at 10.4 million kilometers.
SpaceX SN16 timeline
After this weeks’ successful SN15 test flight we’ll be looking at SN16’s progress
🏗️ Fully stacked in high bay ✅
💨 Ambien pressure test
❄️ Cryogenic test
🔥 Static fire
🚀 Flight
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