NASA recently made a presentation at some conference that revealed interesting information.
They say that they expect Starship's fourth orbital test flight (OFT-4) to take place before the end of May.
And there was this very informative briefing slide about the on-orbit ship-to-ship fuel transfer experiment to take place next year in 2025.
It involves two Starships in orbit at once such that the second homes in on and docks with the first, then transfers propellant to it. Both are to be launched from Starbase, which raises some questions. How quick succession between launches are they anticipating? How quickly can the launch pad and ground support equipment be turned around for a second launch?
NASA says that the docking mechanism and quick disconnects (the physical connections through which fuel will flow) are currently in development.
They say that they expect Starship's fourth orbital test flight (OFT-4) to take place before the end of May.
And there was this very informative briefing slide about the on-orbit ship-to-ship fuel transfer experiment to take place next year in 2025.
It involves two Starships in orbit at once such that the second homes in on and docks with the first, then transfers propellant to it. Both are to be launched from Starbase, which raises some questions. How quick succession between launches are they anticipating? How quickly can the launch pad and ground support equipment be turned around for a second launch?
NASA says that the docking mechanism and quick disconnects (the physical connections through which fuel will flow) are currently in development.