Here are the plans for the first inter-Starship propellant transfer

The committee called Human Exploration and Operations, part of the NASA Advisory Council, met in recent days to discuss the development of human space exploration programs. On April 26, they analyzed the results obtained from SpaceX’s Starship and the company’s next steps to carry out the transfer of propellants into orbit.

During Starship’s third flight, SpaceX first performed an oxygen transfer test between the oxygen tank and the header tank. At the conference they announced that Elon Musk’s company executed this first test was successful, but technicians are still analyzing the data obtained. On https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1783880139887239390?s=61&t=N_c9ju8OkhmS3NmqSny94g Musk himself confirmed that the transfer of propellants between two Starships is precisely one of the objectives they want reach in 2025.

In addition to this, the objective is also the recovery and reuse of both the Super Heavy and the Starship, but for the latter at least two ditchings are necessary in a very specific point before a return to Earth can be attempted. A first attempt to capture a booster on the fly could instead take place as early as the end of the year.

The fourth launch of Starship, however, seems to be scheduled for the end of May and no longer at the beginning of May as Musk previously said. This small postponement was announced Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Moon to Mars Program.

The flight profile for refueling

During the conference they showed the flight plan diagram of the first in-orbit demonstration of propellant transfer between two Starships. To carry out this test, SpaceX will first have to launch a target Starship, followed by the lift-off of a chaser Starship. The latter will have to reach its target and position itself in front of it, to start the docking maneuvers.

Musk stated that docking between two Starships should be easier to manage, as both vehicles are from the same SpaceX, unlike what now happens between the Dragon and the ISS. Furthermore, the target Starship will have an active docking system (similar to that of the SpaceX capsule), while the chaser Starship will mount a passive mechanism (like on the ISS).

For docking to be successful, the Starship’s in-orbit maneuvering system must function properly. This appears to be one of the elements that caused the most problems during the flight carried out in March and is still in the testing phase.

Once docking is complete, the propellant transfer phase will begin. NASA has not currently said how much propellant they expect to swap and whether this will happen for both oxygen and methane. Once the operations are completed, both Starships will have to start their engines to perform the re-entry maneuvers to Earth.

Propellant transfer is one of the key elements of the Starship project, as it is necessary for Starship to leave Earth orbit and transport large quantities of cargo to the Moon. According to SpaceX estimates, the latest version of Starship will be capable of carrying over 200 tons of cargo into space. This value also remains for transport to the Moon precisely in the case in which a transfer of propellant is carried out in orbit.

Other uses of the Starship

In addition to plans for the upcoming future of the Starship program, possible uses of the carrier for lunar exploration were also presented. These new uses are part of a DARPA program called LunA-10 (10-Year Lunar Architecture), in which the agency has selected 14 companies to create feasibility studies for lunar technologies and infrastructure. Among these there is also SpaceX and the Starship which, once arrived on the lunar surface, will be able to support human exploration in various ways.

Thanks to its dimensions, with a diameter of 9 meters and a height of approximately 55 meters (also considering the landing legs), Starship can act both as a housing module and as a “warehouse”. Its tanks could be used to store propellants that could then be used to fuel other vehicles.

It could provide power to several instruments useful for lunar exploration, such as rovers, or act as a support for telecommunications antennas. In fact, its height would allow the installation of antennas capable of covering a large area. It would also be possible to dismantle some components of the Starships that no longer have to leave lunar soil, such as the engines, to reuse their components.

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