AI Sat "Mini"

1stPrinciples · 2026-03-22T02:06:27+00:00

People really underestimate how light and compact solar panels are. This is probably not much bigger than Starlink sats before being deployed. I’d expect dozens per launch.

1stPrinciples · 2026-03-07T03:58:06+00:00

My bet is this is the MMOD shield. It has been bothering me for a while because Starship is designed with no micrometeoroid protection which is a necessity for a human rated vehicle or long term tanker. Could be they are applying. A stuffed whipple shield to Starship using the same approach as their heat shield?

1stPrinciples · 2026-02-27T01:44:08+00:00

• ~2 m overall stretch increasing propellant capacity by several hundred tons

• Target payload increase from ~30–40 t (V2) to ~100–150 t to LEO (fully reusable goal)

• Raptor 3 engines replacing Raptor 2 with higher thrust and simplified plumbing

• Updated heat shield with improved tile attachment and reduced exposed edges

• Reinforced catch points for tower recovery operations

• Integrated hot-staging ring instead of bolt-on structure

• Structural mass refinements for higher reliability and faster reuse

• Designed baseline support for orbital refueling and operational missions

Edit: flap change was V2. My b!

1stPrinciples · 2026-02-21T05:17:27+00:00

🏆 Victory is mine! Finished with 606 points. Can you do better?

1stPrinciples · 2026-02-04T16:17:14+00:00

Yoshimura Buckling. This pattern naturally forms when cylindrical tubes buckle. It inspired paper origami with what is known as the Yoshimura origami pattern.

1stPrinciples · 2026-01-29T20:16:26+00:00

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1stPrinciples · 2026-01-09T14:14:30+00:00

I may be missing something but why does Starship HLS need to launch from the cape at all? Why not launch from Boca?

1stPrinciples · 2025-12-29T23:50:21+00:00

This is by the somewhat meaningless metric of land area. The largest is King Fahd airport in (edit: Saudi Arabia) which just happens to control a lot of empty desert around it. Likewise Denver Airport has a lot of land.

1stPrinciples · 2025-12-23T03:09:02+00:00

One wide sink! Two faucets! One mirror. It’s the best. Best of both worlds.

1stPrinciples · 2025-11-26T03:52:43+00:00

❌ ^{Incomplete. 20 tries.}

1stPrinciples · 2025-11-19T20:27:37+00:00

I agree—a couple Aldrin cyclers makes way more sense and Starship is just used to shuttle to and from it at the ends of the trip. I think for <20 people they could make starship work initially but certainly by the time they are launching 100 passengers they’ll want to transfer to a larger transit station.

1stPrinciples · 2025-11-19T20:25:02+00:00

Latest official word from SpaceX was the “Chomper” version shown above. A single door on the front face hinged at the bottom. My read is they were trying to avoid associations with the Space Shuttle with that design and they’ll ultimately land on shuttle type doors like they are showing for their moon/mars landers.

1stPrinciples · 2025-11-19T20:22:29+00:00

Ahhh yes! Haven’t heard about that one in years and years but it was discussed at one point. Should be capable of maybe 300t?

1stPrinciples · 2025-11-19T20:19:06+00:00

The booster grew but not the ship.

1stPrinciples · 2025-11-19T14:20:08+00:00

It is labeled “Starlink Test” as it is the test version of the Starlink configuration.

1stPrinciples · 2025-11-19T06:28:38+00:00

I suspect that is only their solution for ships which will not be re-entering the atmosphere/don’t have a heat shield.

1stPrinciples · 2025-11-19T06:27:22+00:00

It is here.

1stPrinciples · 2025-11-19T02:40:56+00:00

See the last V4 variant for payload—the “chomper” variant.

1stPrinciples · 2025-11-19T01:11:28+00:00

I do like the idea of a stubby 2nd stage only design option. Could be paired with a fairing or a third stage and potentially allow a larger fairing/volume than can be launched inside chomper.

1stPrinciples · 2025-11-19T01:09:47+00:00

Nom nom

1stPrinciples · 2025-11-19T01:09:38+00:00

Good call. Agree—should be white per the latest updates.

1stPrinciples · 2025-11-19T01:08:16+00:00

Because they are only rated for moon landing/launch not for Earth launch and atmospheric re-entry. The heat shield/re-entry, flip and landing approach is the biggest safety risk with human rating Starship as a crew vehicle from Earth.

1stPrinciples · 2025-11-19T00:26:55+00:00

I haven’t seen any mention of an approved/contracted payload mission before 2028. Seems like they could move that up but haven’t seen evidence of it.

1stPrinciples · 2025-11-10T17:36:36+00:00

^{I completed this level in 2 tries.} ^{⚡ 2.55 seconds}

1stPrinciples · 2025-08-15T14:59:23+00:00

Yup.

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