Why does Starship use header tanks?

To enable those acrobatics, Starships need secondary ‘header’ tanks that permit the high-pressure storage of landing propellant. Instead of having to maintain Starship’s building-sized main tanks at high pressures, header tanks make it far easier to safely store and feed propellant to Raptor engines.

How much liquid oxygen is in a Starship?

Its tanks can hold about 3,600 t (7,900,000 lb) of propellant, consisting of about 2,800 t (6,200,000 lb) of liquid oxygen and 800 t (1,800,000 lb) of liquid methane.

How big is the SN9?

So a weekend launch for SN9 seems pretty unlikely. SpaceX is developing Starship to take people and cargo to the moon, Mars and other distant destinations. The architecture consists of a 165-foot-tall (50 meters) spacecraft called Starship and a giant rocket known as Super Heavy.

What caused SN10 failure?

Now, Elon Musk has revealed what went wrong in responses sent to followers on Twitter. The SpaceX chief said the SN10 engine was low on thrust probably due to “partial helium ingestion from [the] fuel header tank” and that the impact crushed the rocket’s legs and part of its skirt.

What caused SN11 failure?

But SN11 didn’t stick its landing, instead exploding in a massive fireball — because of a plumbing problem, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk announced today (April 5). “Ascent phase, transition to horizontal & control during free fall were good.

How is liquid oxygen administered?

Liquid oxygen is a good option for people who need high liter flows of oxygen, usually greater than 6 liters per minute. This type of oxygen therapy uses pure oxygen which is compressed and frozen and then placed into metal cylinders. A liquid oxygen system consists of a stationary unit and a portable device.

What is a header tank aircraft?

Aerobatic airplanes that have fuel tanks in the wing use a small “header tank,” which is connected to the wing tanks. A check valve in the line from the main tank to the header tank stops fuel from draining back into the main tank when the airplane is inverted.

Why should the aircraft allow flow of fuel between interconnected tanks?

(a) Where tank outlets are interconnected and allow fuel to flow between them due to gravity or flight accelerations, it must be impossible for fuel to flow between tanks in quantities great enough to cause overflow from the tank vent in any sustained flight condition.