Thread by @Ringwatchers

Ship 24.2. A confusing test article with a confusing name that has had a confusing life thus far. Today we’re going to talk about how SpaceX is planning to structurally verify the Starship Payload Bay, and why this monstrosity exists. (1/16)

🖼️ @ChameleonCir

Ship 24.2 will be a 7-ring tall article composed of 3 main sections: a top ring with a dome and 24 external attachment points, a Ship Payload Bay that features a PEZ dispenser rack, and a bottom ring with a hatch in the side. (2/16)

🖼️ @ChameleonCir

Knowing that this is a 7-ring tall test article, we were able to quickly determine that the newly reconfigured nosecone cage is the perfect height to support this. We’ll come back to this later. (3/16)

📸 @RGVaerialphotos
🖼️ @ChameleonCir

The top ring generated a lot of speculation over the last few months, and while many believed it was related to the HLS lander or hot staging, both of these now seem unlikely. We think this is quite simply a testing interface. (4/16)

📸 @CosmicalChief for @FelixSchlang

This ring features a rusty plate on top with 4 attachment points on it, which seem randomly placed, but that’s almost never the case when it comes to these kinds of articles. So what do these line up with? (5/16)

📸 @RGVaerialphotos
🖼️ @ChameleonCir

If we look at the “nosecone” cage in its updated configuration, we can see new piston mounts on the top. When placed in the model, they line up perfectly with that rusty plate. (6/16)

📸 @RGVaerialphotos
🖼️ @ChameleonCir

While the 24 protrusions on the side do penetrate through the hull, their shape indicates that they may be some kind of pull-point for pistons. The cage was also modified to have possible piston mounts. (7/16)

📸 @CosmicalChief for @FelixSchlang, @RGVaerialphotos

However, it appears to just be 12 mounts on the cage. It’s unclear what this will look like, but they may be able to have 1 piston attach to 2 points or some other type of setup. While their purpose is still speculation, it doesn’t seem impossible. (8/16)

📸 @RGVaerialphotos

The dome could serve a couple of purposes. A likely possibility is that this may just be serving as a stand-in for a nosecone, allowing the volume to be lightly pressurized, and also adding some rigidity at the top. (9/16)

📸 @thejackbeyer for @NASASpaceflight
🖼️ @ChameleonCir

The bottom of the article would meet the flat surface that the cage base features, closing off the bottom as well. The low pressure does not necessarily need a dome, and the Payload Bay wouldn’t normally have a concave dome underneath anyway. (10/16)

🖼️ @ChameleonCir

The Payload Bay features a PEZ dispenser on the inside, and while it had a sliding door, it no longer does. Like Ship 28, a door could possibly be reinstalled, as both the seals and actuators remain. (11/16)

📸 @CosmicalChief for @FelixSchlang, @RGVaerialphotos
🖼️ @ChameleonCir

Finally, the bottom ring is a replica of the ring that would be below the Payload Bay (normally assembled with the Forward Dome). Notably, this ring and the pathfinder for the top ring came outside at the exact same time. (12/16)

📸 @LabPadre, @cnunezimages, @RGVaerialphotos

Speaking of timelines lining up, around the time some of these sections were in production, SpaceX was modifying the nosecone cage base with those 12 potential piston mounts from before. (13/16)

📸 @RGVaerialphotos

While the above is still speculation, there’s quite a bit of evidence to back this all up. Together, this should likely allow the Payload Bay to have both compressive and torsion forces applied to it, something that is crucial to make sure it will survive flight loads. (14/16)

Today’s thread was a bit longer, but S24.2 is a significant test article as SpaceX attempts to fly Starlink satellites on Starship. Maybe you agree with us, maybe you don’t. Either way, we’ll find out in due time, and it’ll be interesting if anything. (15/16)

As a side note, it’s been an adventure tracking these parts, and if you’d like us to go a bit deeper into some of the really strange stuff that happened while they were being produced to give a bit more background, let us know below. (16/16)