On August 7, SpaceX completed the assembly of the Starship SN20 prototype. The height of the entire rocket reached about 120 meters (including 9-meter-high components on the top and bottom, 70-meter-high super-heavy rocket, and 50-meter-high star. The ship itself) has become the tallest rocket in history.

As the first orbital starship, the S20 must withstand the unprecedented high temperature test of reentry. Therefore, it is necessary to cover the windward side of the entire ship with heat insulation sheets, using thousands or even tens of thousands of hexagonal heat insulation sheets.
The installation of "Starship" insulation tiles is a bit similar to decorating and playing furniture, and a layer of "styrofoam" must be laid inside. The "Styrofoam" of "Starship" is a kind of felt-like silica aerogel. It is light in weight and has good shock absorption performance. The role of heat preservation. And more importantly, when it encounters a heat source, such as the high temperature when it re-enters the atmosphere, it is very viscous and very strong.

If the heat insulation sheet falls off, the stainless steel body of the "Starship" will take effect. As long as it does not touch the solder joints, the heat generated by a small amount of the heat insulation tile can be dispersed, so the risk is low. This is the same as "Colombia". The space shuttle number is different. In addition, the insulation tiles are made into small pieces to reduce the risk of falling off.
In addition to sticking with silica aerogel, "Starship" insulation tiles are also welded with fixed buckles on the outer wall of the arrow body. These buckles are used to fix the insulation tiles to further increase safety. In addition, for the most critical part of the rudder surface winglet, specially customized heat insulation tiles of the opposite sex are used, and it is guaranteed to be tight after installation.

In fact, this is not the first time that the "Starship" has applied heat insulation tiles. Since the first half of last year, the "Starship" has been testing this black honeycomb-shaped heat insulation tile. At the beginning, there were only two or three heat protection tiles, but dozens of pieces have been posted on the later prototypes, indicating that it has passed. Fully verified.aerogel body