Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast. This is a show where we discuss the critical Crossroads, The Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink, and I'm your host, Will Walden. If you want uninterrupted episodes of the Elon Musk podcast, please go to clubelon.supercast.com to find out how there's a link in the
show notes. So Elon Musk recently shared insights into the second full scale Starship test flight, which ended unexpectedly, and the starship's upper stage exploded due to a fire ignited during the venting of liquid oxygen propellant. Musk clarified this. He said the reason that it actually didn't quite make it to orbit was we vented the liquid oxygen, and the liquid oxygen ultimately led to a fire and an explosion.
Now looking ahead, SpaceX has set very ambitious targets for the next Starship Test objectives include reactivating the Raptor engines in space, conducting an in flight propellant transfer and also operating the payload Bay door potentially as early as February of 2024. Now the in flight propellant transfer is possibly for an upcoming NASA Artemis mission. The payload door is for Starlink satellite deployment and reigniting.
The Raptor engines in space propels the Starship spacecraft all the way to Kauai near Hawaii and that's where it will splash down in the ocean now. Meanwhile, the Falcon 9 and the Falcon Heavy rockets remain in Spacex's operations and these rockets will continue their service into the late twenty 20s and possibly beyond 20-30 carrying satellites, cargo and also astronauts. Now significant enhancements are
planned for the Falcon series. Musk aims to certify Falcon first stage boosters for up to 40 flights and reduced turn around times for launchpads to under 24 hours. And a key event for SpaceX has the launch of the private mission to the International Space Station. With four individuals on board, this mission, facilitated in collaboration with Axiom Space, is a huge step for commercial Space Flight. Now funded by Axiom Space
itself. This mission represents the third group of paying passengers to the International Space Station. Axiom Space, aspiring to build its own space station similar to the International Space Station, is using these missions as fundamental experiences now.
The mission faced A slight delay for additional pre launch checks, particularly focusing on the Parachute Systems Energy Modulator. Once resolved, SpaceX confirmed readiness for the rescheduled launch and during their two week stay at the ISS, the crew will engage in around 30 experiments encompassing microgravity research, technological administrations and educational activities. The mission, dubbed AX3, saw the crew Dragon spacecraft freedom making its third journey to space.
Leading the crew was Axioms chief astronaut Michael Losav Allegra, accompanied by three international astronauts. Now there's a Turkish astronaut on board, and this mission represents the commencement of an expansive space exploration journey, he said. This Space Flight is not a destination, but it's a journey. This is just the beginning of our journey for a long growing space journey in our future.
And Spacex's collaboration with Axiom Space led to the successful launch of the AX 3 mission to the International Space Station. The Falcon 9's rocket launch from Kennedy Space Center was a key moment in this partnership and the missions delay was partly attributed to issues with parachute strap known as Energy Modulators detected during the CRS 29 Cargo Dragon mission. These were rectified in time for
the AX3 launch. Now following a smooth docking process, the AX3 crew commenced their scientific and technical word inside of the International Space Station and their two week tenure will contribute significantly to ongoing Space Research. AX3 plays a vital role in Axiom Space's long term vision of establishing commercial modules on the ISS, eventually transitioning into a stand alone commercial space station post ISS retirement.
The diverse crew of AXE 3, representing various European governments, highlights the increased international collaboration in space missions as well. This includes astronauts from Italy, Turkey, and Sweden. In alignment with NASA's broader strategy, Private astronauts missions like AX3 are instrumental in the development of commercial space habitats, which is a key focus of NASA as they pivot to lunar and eventually to Mars missions.
The repeated use of these Falcon 9 boosters and the Crew Dragon spacecraft in the AX 3 mission shows that SpaceX is committed to sustainability and reusability in space travel. That's their mantra. They have to reuse every single booster and possibly every single upper stage, and that's what they're working for with the Starship system now. All of the Axiom 3 astronauts successfully docked at the ISS at 5:42 AM Eastern Time on January 20th, 2024.
This is achieved as Dragon seamlessly docked to the space station orbiting approximately 262 miles above the Pacific Ocean West of South Africa, or, sorry, South America. Now, this successful docking is a significant achievement for both SpaceX Axiom Space and for the International Space flight community. The precision and the coordination demonstrating this operation show the advanced capabilities of space XS technology and the growing potential of commercial space missions.
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