Summary of [SUMMER 2021] Starbase Tour with Elon Musk [PART 1]

00:00:00 - 00:50:00

In this video, Tim interviews SpaceX CEO Elon Musk about the company's upcoming Mars rocket, Star ship. Musk reveals that the launch pad system is as complex as either of the company's stages and that the manufacturing process is hard. He also discusses the importance of having everyone on board understand the system at a high level in order to make good engineering decisions. Part two of the interview is scheduled to be released soon and will be even more exciting.

• 00:00:00 In this video, Tim Dodd tours SpaceX's Starbase Texas facility and talks with Elon Musk about the development of the company's upcoming Mars rocket, Star ship. Musk reveals that the launch pad system is as complex as either of the company's stages and that the manufacturing process is hard.
• 00:05:00 This video discusses the design and optimization of the SpaceX Raptor engine. The main challenge is reducing the cost per ton to orbit, which requires reducing the weight of the engine while maintaining a high thrust-to-weight ratio.
• 00:10:00 Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, explains the design of the company's upcoming Starbase tour rocket, which is designed to be reusable and reduce the cost of space transportation. The rocket will have a lightweight propellant mixture and grid fins that do not fold down, which reduce the amount of equipment needed to control the rocket.
• 00:15:00 In this video, Tim discusses the rationale for why the grid fins on the Starbase tour are actually unnecessary, and how the design decision was made. He goes on to say that the third step of a smart engineer's process is to simplify or optimize something that should not exist. Finally, he discusses how the handling costs of nitrogen tetroxide and monomethyl hydrazine are high and how over-correcting for safety can lead to dangerous consequences.
• 00:20:00 The author discusses how he made a number of mistakes while automating and accelerating the production of Model 3 cars. He emphasizes the importance of step four--automating--and recommends that production go faster only after automating and accelerating the other three steps.
• 00:25:00 The video discusses the importance of end-of-line testing and how it's often forgotten in production lines. The in-process tester can often choke the cycle time and cause the line to break.
• 00:30:00 SpaceX is working to eliminate cold gas thrusters and hot gas thrusters from the B4 spacecraft for the first orbital test, which is expected to occur in 2021. The thrust chamber assembly and pumps for the Raptor 2 spacecraft are being produced in Hawthorne, California, and the first Raptor is expected to be tested in about a month.
• 00:35:00 In this video, Tim Ferriss interviews SpaceX CEO Elon Musk about the company's recent success with launches of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. Musk discusses the challenges of designing and building big rockets, and explains why size is not the only important factor in determining a rocket's thrust. He also discusses the importance of having everyone on board understand the system at a high level in order to make good engineering decisions.
• 00:40:00 The video discusses the Starbase tour, which is a mock-up of the interior of the planned Hyperloop One tube transport system. Elon Musk discusses the thrusters on the booster, which are automatically activated and separated when rotated. The main engines are also used to initiate the separation, and the ullage gas from the main tanks is used to provide thrust.
• 00:45:00 This video discusses the possibility of using main engines to land on the moon, instead of using a separate thruster system. If this can be proven, it would save on fuel and enable the use of bigger engines for other purposes.
• 00:50:00 In this video, Tim interviews Elon Musk about the Starbase tour. The tour goes over the basics of SpaceX's star ships, and Musk reveals that the vacuum engines don't need gimbals to stay stable, so only one engine can be used to provide the necessary control authority. Musk also discusses the possibility of using multiple star ships to travel to different destinations, and explains how ITAR and communications might affect the project. Part two of the interview is scheduled to be released soon and will be even more exciting.