SpaceX Starship: NASA Confirms Risky Orbital Maneuver!
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- čas přidán 14. 05. 2024
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SpaceX Starship Mechazilla receives more upgrades! What is this? New details regarding the Starship propellant transfer demo! The construction of the second tower continues! Astroscale reveals first pictures of space debris, and the Ariane 6 inaugural flight is getting closer.
#SpaceX #starship #elonmusk #starbase
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Editing: John Young, Alex Potvin, Stefanie Schlang
Photography: John Cargile, John Winkopp & Stefanie Schlang
3D Animation: Voop3D
Script & Research: Eryk Gawron, Oskar Wrobel, Felix Schlang
LIVE Production: Astro Roadie
Host: TJ Cooney
Production: Stefanie & Felix Schlang
Graphics & Media Processing: Jonathan Heuer, Felix Schlang
Credit:
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⭐NASA
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📄Links for this Episode:
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www.spacex.com/starship - Věda a technologie
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\What are your thoughts? Could simulating the landing ahead of time really help the actual event? Should they consider building a catch only tower?
Arm movements should be force calculated (to move them) in the same way an F9 suicide landing burn uses. No more extra energy added than you need to get to exactly where you want to go. Fortunately, SpaceX seems to have this understood well. Should be pretty easy. haha
by "them" I mean the chopsticks.
I was hoping/thinking that they'd use tower 2 to test catching as it's a little removed from the working tower/fuel farm. How long are we expecting between Launch 4 and 5?
That virtual capture will serve as an AI lesson if anything. X will meticulously record all dynamic mission telemetrics and SpaceX AI will be able to learn and intelligently generate it's own real-time landing stage go/no-go thresholds based on remaining fuel for hover stabilization and other critical parameters.
That virtual final hover and oblique retarded descent trial data is essential for not having to repeat the test and waste resources.
This guy's English is too good. I want Felix back! 😂
I REALLY hope that I live long enough to see this stuff get past the testing stage and actually come to fruition. I'm 2 years in to a battle of life and death against cancer. I feel like my prospects are getting less, but am 4 doses in on a Clinical Trial that may prove to be just what I needed to get me past this terrible disease.
There is so much cool technology going on here and to be able to watch the various pieces coming together, is extremely rewarding and just leaves me on pins and needles!
I'm rooting for your success SpaceX just as hard as I'm rooting for my success! You guys are awesome and keep up the great work. Mankind belongs in space discovering the stars!
I wish you well. And I hope one day you could actually fly on passenger Starship. Best wishes from Poland
A desire to see the future which SpaceX is giving you will be of immense help to you and your battle good luck friend
Cheers
Good luck my man! 😁👍 Wishing you well.
Rooting for you, brother. See you in Boca some day! X
Maybe just be happy with attaining low earth orbit. Then how about re-entry?
For now they need a catch only tower. If there is an issue during landing it would not affect launches. Also a damaged catch only tower could be repaired more rapidly since the GSE would be minimaly affected
Agreed.
Yeah, this is an important issue, but the amount of space they have available to them at Boca Chica is too limited to have separated launch tower and a separate landing tower. This is the same space limitation that prevented SpaceX from building a proper flame diverter and flame trench. The mention of damage to the vertical tanks from the shockwaves during launch highlights the problem of not having a proper flame diverter and flame trench and also points a finger at how damage to the rockets have happened. Those dangerous shockwaves are not limited to effecting the vertical tanks and that the rockets are also vulnerable to the damage from the shockwaves. In every launch of the Starship/SuperHeavy it has been obvious that a substantial amount of gas is being vented and it is quite likely that the cause of this heavy venting is due to damage to the plumbing caused by those shockwaves.
Nothing is minimally affected if that booster can't light its engines and roars through chopsticks 😂😂
Agreed completely, but they don't want to waste time, which will inevitably waste more time while they have to rebuild a whole new launch pad and chopsticks after it crashes through and explodes after failing to light and perfectly aim itself due to its super huge massive size, weight and height.
Seems logical to me.
I doubt they will try it by the 5th launch... imma guess 12th or so flight.
Hopefully, I'm wrong, and it happens sooner and works.
A catch only tower makes more sense than ruining the OLIT with a bad catch. Ships would have to be transferred to Megabay anyway for refurbishment. With OLIT intact, launch another ship.
This is where I have been for a long while. It would surely be move efficient and possibly cheaper to have a separate catch tower/s away from the launch tower/s to achieve the rapid reusability and launch cadence. The risks and the time to make catches with a full launch pad underneath have got to be too big.
Say they build a dedicated catch tower but nothing else, how are they going to make the booster safe and then what will they put it on?
If you can land without it , why complicate it .
@iamaduckquack booster needs to leave the pad to be checked and refurbished after every launch and land so it needs to go back to the megabay for repair. That's what the transporters are for.
@@Tinman_56 Yes, but people can't go near it until it's been made safe, such as fully detanked, depressurised etc
They should REALLY do a hop and catch. REALLY
If I was in charge I would put that off as long as possible, they only have one mechazilla and if they damage it they can’t do any other tests
@@GrunttamerI remember spacex has 2 mechazilla, right?
Stop spamming
@@HOANGNAM-jm6oc I didn’t think they built the second one in Texas I thought they built it at KSC
Yes there is a tower with arms attached at KSC but it's far from finished. The only working launch platform is the one in Boca Chica. @@Grunttamer
I like a catch only tower for the first few catches.
i was thinking the same. perfect the process then move it to the olit
Maybe even just for the foreseeable future.
No. They will need it permanently. Remember the Space Shuttle *only* had a disaster every 100 flights or so. But when they did, it set the program back almost 2 years each time.
Now imagine a Starship being recovered on the Stage 0 during operations WHILE A SUPER HEAVY IS SITTING ON THE PAD. That is how Elon planned this thing. If you destroy Stage 0, your entire fleet of boosters and Starships are out of action until you repair the extremely expensive and complicated Stage 0. A landing pad is much less costly and easier to repair. It could shuttle the vehicles back to the launch pad using a rail system. And you could get the damned Super Heavy out of the way, before your recover the Starship.
TJ, you’re doing great! Getting comfortable and finding your rhythm. Excellent work and we’re all happy you’re part of the team!
With a decent launch cadence they do not really need two towers for this demo. Launch the target into some parking orbit, then take a few days to launch the chaser. They can use a similar process on landing, in any order, if they wanted to catch both.
Comparing the Luna Starship to the original Apollo Luna lander is crazy. It's like going from Wright Bros directly to 747 with no steps in between.
The ducks on the booster LMAO 13:03🤣😆So funny
Yeah, I wasn't ready XD
They don't look real to me. They'd be the world's largest ducks. Compare the sizes of the ducks, to the 19 meter diameter of the booster.
@@walter2990 Well, everything is bigger at Starbase - even the ducks. 😆
@@walter2990 It is a photoshop joke
Petition for felix to go skinhead when they catch the first booster
or... have him shave off half his beard... just the left side!!
Copy n paste
Or they copied you
@@dillonbledsoe7680 yep they copied me so original of them
@@dillonbledsoe7680 and it’s a porn account which is even worse
Why do they need two towers to do a ship-to-ship prop transfer? So they could easily launch it first, then days or weeks later, they can launch the "chaser." The name also implies it is intended to be launched after the "target" ship.
A future prop depot would be expected to stay in orbit long-term, so launching the "chaser" later is consistent with this concept.
Also, leaving the first ship on orbit for a while gives them a chance to evaluate their ability to store cryogenic propellants over time.
I'd like to see a minimum of 3 successful 'simulated' soft landings in the water before moving to the tower. If the catch fails, I can just see the agency in charge of the beach demanding that the entire program end.
nah to much at stake here though pencil lickers would love to feel important for once in their lives and that would mean a delay wich is also a bad idea with the china men wanting to go to the moon as well!
They have crashed and exploded Starship on the SpaceX launch site TWICE without the "agency in charge" wanting to shut the program down so I can't see how a third time with the booster would be any different.
I'd like to see 78 landings in Ocean first. How about that. Checkmate.
Even if not, destroying Stage 0 thoroughly, as in a huge RUD, would take a lot longer to repair than that first test flight damage. (And money too.)
I still think separating launch pad from recovery pad permanently is the safest thing and the best in the long run. The reason SpaceX iterates is that Elon never thinks far enough ahead to anticipate real disaster. God save us from "optimists". They can never see disasters that normal people see as obvious. Elon has to give the pessimists more authority to challenge him without losing their positions.
@@i-love-space390 Although a booster RUD would indeed be very energetic, I think a lot of people fail to take into account that the booster's tanks would be almost empty.
Second tower seems prudent, mostly so if the launching tower is damaged from the launch, the catching tower is still functional.
Not prudent.. they need 2 launch towers to launch 2 rockets minutes or seconds apart to do fuel transfers in space. So both towers need to catch both boosters or this ain't gonna work.... from what SpaceX has done the last few years I have no doubt they will do just that! Catch 2!
@@peteehrlich1472while that is definitely the plan for when the plan for the original artimus 3 rolls around, the current plan for next year's ship to ship transfer will be both launched from the one tower were the first ship will stay in orbit while waiting for the refule ship to come up.
That has always been my contention. SpaceX should separate launch of Super Heavy from the recovery operation. The separate landing tower could have a rail transport system to move the boosters and Starships back to the Launch tower for Mechazilla to grab them and remount them for the next launch attempt when the faster turnaround operations begin. At present, the launch cadence is still very slow, so no need to build the rail transporter, just the catching system. The catching tower should be sufficiently separated from the launch area so as to prevent a catching "mishap" and subsequent RUD from damaging the extremely valuable Stage 0 machinery. The catching tower would be cheaper and simpler since it likely does not need the fueling system, and the water protection system could be much less powerful, since only one engine would be firing during recovery. Also, the Super Heavy would come down first and be removed before Starship is recovered. (The other stupid thing about the single Stage 0 doing the recovery is that you would have a Starship being recovered while a Super Heavy is already sitting there on the launch mount.)
That entire original plan is a huge recipe for disaster.) The stakes are just too great. The launch tower and infrastructure is so expensive and difficult to repair that damaging it is too costly in money and time. If Stage 0 gets damaged or destroyed, it makes an entire fleet of Super Heavies and Starships unable to launch.
2:10 Engineers don't do the refurbishment. Workers do. Show respect!
Soo mechanical engineers don’t count?!
@@King_Trigg , they were mentioned. The larger portion was not
At 10:20, a quick correction TJ -
The CFA piling technique is the concrete is pumped in, under pressure, as the auger is slowly lifted out. THEN the huge rebar cage is lowered into the liquid concrete.
(This is so the shaft doesn't collapse in on itself)
id assume they would use grout then displace the grout with concrete after the rebar cage is lowered into the grout. would the act of lowering the rebar disturb or displace the aggregate in the concrete making the pour not as homogenous. i also didn't stay at a holiday inn last night.
@@michaelotoole1807 every batch of concrete is given a Slump Test immediately before pumping. It's a fast setting mix, so there's real time pressure on getting the rebar cage in swiftly .
It's amazing watching a 20m /60ft cage just disappear into seemingly level ground. The amount of sloppy concrete displaced is minimal, and in 45 minutes it's certainly solid/cured enough that nothing is moving.
(If slump test is not right, or too much time has passed, the whole mixer load is dumped)
They should use a Crain to simulate a booster landing and have the tower catch the hanging booster. They could do this several times to iron out the kinks
I love the role reversal! You both make this channel incredible and everything it should be. Thank you!!
It makes a lot of sense to have a tower designed only for catching. Its easy to hand the spacecraft over to a transporter that brings them to the OLM.
Great update WAI, thank you!!
I love the essential of what you do, but your vids these days feel so clogged up with sponsorship and self-promotion. It's tiresome. I know you have to do what you have to do, but I am putting in my tiny vote for more content, less guff, if possible.
Also I wish this bloke would stop twisting his neck around so much it's really off putting.
They must be bleeding cash. Their metrics are pretty good but I seriously doubt they can sustain their overhead unless they can get to 1 or 2 million subs.
Indeed it really looks like they’re taking some me-time when they start promoting the sponsor, the helicopter guys and their patreons mid-video. The most unprofessional thing they’re doing by far
@@andreapinaroli974 I know they've angered other space photographers by essentially stealing prime spots at Boca Chica without consideration of protocol and acting like they own the place. The Twitter exchanges were quite entertaining.
@@sablephilips9327 Proof or it didn't happen
I just loved how the ducks loved booster for skyscraper pond
Excellent Job TJ!! Looking forward to more of your videos!
A catch-only tower seems the way to go to not risk major damage to launch facilities from a catch failure.
Hey WAI, do you know how the extended ship wil be lifted on top of the extended booster? Would it still suit the current tower height... 🤔
Great updates on SpaceX and whatnot!
Well done!
As for refueling in orbit, they need to build a dedicated refueling depot, it would be safer and more effective. They could put a robot arm that would connect to and stabilize starship for refueling
I agree that a Catch Only tower is a great idea! No risk to launch apparatus and modifications can occur without regard to damaging surrounding equipment. What about having two opposed sets of Mega Arms? That way any slight inaccuracies could be nullified when both sets of arms converge on the First Stage!
That red stuff is high temp RTV. The same adhesive they used on the space shuttle tiles.
Good episode TJ. Another great episode. Maybe we'll get a TJ and Felix show. Or would that be Felix and TJ?
A catch only tower would actually be better than making a second full tower in my opinion since it wouldn’t need to have any propellant infrastructure or launch pads and would still keep the main tower out of harm
Why (hasn't) SpaceX replaced both large chopstick actuators? It doesn't makes sense to replace only one if it's actually about making the system faster for booster catches.
Glad to finally see a rendering of the second launch tower and OLM that has them facing towards empty land instead of facing in the same direction as the original tower and OLM.
By building them facing empty land the infrastructure will be far better protected from possible damage. In that case the second tower even acts as a protective barrier. So hopefully that's SpaceX plan.
I’m really liking your coverage WAI. Thanks guys.
Great Job TJ! Keep it UP!
great video TJ.
When they were working on the barges originally I thought that was what they were going to use to try and catch the booster and ship in middle of ocean in case anything went wrong during the attempts. This way they keep their ability to launch. Once ocean landing become routine then start landing like falcons on land.
They still need to do the simulated landing on the sea to test slow speed manoeuvring, speed and positioning. They also should have the second launch tower and system in place before they potentially damage the current one in the first attempt at a catch.
Agree, 2 "catch only" towers would be the smart move. If there is a mishap, they would still have launch capability.
Great channel/segment...can't wait for next launch!
I, too, would like to see a "Catch only tower" for the first few attempts...or at least a 2nd tower.
From what I had previously heard, the second tower is not required for the fuel transfer test; there is sufficient time to stack and launch another combo within the test window. Did some changes get announced?
Question . . . if they plan on using the original QD configurations won’t one of them have to be mirrored? and if so how will they fuel it
All fascinating theatre.
Have you ever heard of the Battle cruiser "Helencotter"?
Not many have .
Linda Moultin Howe has.
It's big.
Love your presentation TJ.
The landings look so easy in the animations.
Falcon 9 landings look so easy now.
Why isn’t that enough? Way more sensible.
Thanks for a comprehensive detailed report. So, so good.
That actually makes perfect sense, with the chaser being "stationary" during the transfer. At first, the refueling starships will be heavier, making them take more fuel for the same delta-V as the lighter craft. Can't wait to see this test!
In the future the fuel depot StarShip will vary in weight from the exact same as the launching refueling StarShip to substantially more as it becomes full. After the Depot has been used to refuel say a moon ship, the depot then becomes the lightest object again. So I imagine you want both the depot and the refueling chasers to be able to be the maneuvering ones.
When a StarShip visits a depot to collect fuel, that StarShip is definitely going to be much lighter than the full depot and so yes the chaser should maneuver.
Love the Ground News ! Super Cool ! Wow Love It Dude !
Catch only tower makes perfect sense. Safer for the launch infrastructure and you don't have to worry about burning up components on stage 0. Would also speed up the launch process in the future to be able to PM stage 0 without having to worry about the recovery phase.
Personally, I love the exuberance of the SpaceX team and continual striving to excel and advance. I believe that any attempted "catch" of the booster should ne happen until the new OLM has been bult and tested, as the last thing needed is a catch go awry and then be left with the repair scenario. Go SpaceX and Starship !!! Wish I could afford to actually join, but a job layoff precludes that, unfortunately. I have been a space watcher since Mercury missions and thoroughly love all things space related. Keep up the great work WIA!!!
They should have a giant catchers mitt to catch it !
TJ's "remember to gently tap that like button ..." is in very much contrast to Felix' bold "REMEMBER TO SMASH THAT LIKE-BUTTON !!!" ... 🤓... To both of you - and the team behind: You are doing an excellent job ! You rock !!!
On the Ariane 6: If I'm not too wrong it was the Ariane 5 with a picture-perfect launch bringing JWST into a trajectory which preserved a lot of fuel to possibly extend the operation duration of JWST. So: Why sort of kidding on ESA launch vehicles ... ? SCNR.
TJ, it’s nice to see your personality, mannerisms and style develop. I enjoyed this video, keep up the good work! ❤
So, there will probably be “tanker” versions of Starship as well as the cargo and crewed, both lunar and Martian. Maybe the tanker version needs 2 or 4 mini Canada arms to grapple the receiver Starship and pull it in for precise alignment. They could perhaps stow, folded, into small fairings on the dorsal side (docking side) of the tanker. The grappling targets could be stainless steel balls like a ball hitch on a pickup truck.
Maybe every Starship could carry two arms and two hitches: arm left and hitch right toward the top of the ship and hitch left and arm right near the bottom. This way, any two Starships could come together and have arms grapple ball-hitch in 4 places, pulling the ships together with precision and holding steady without using so much thruster propellant. The whole docking could be automated.
WAI is so underrated. Keep up the great work guys ❤
i do wish WAI would hold their images for a little longer, i'm constantly having to backtrack and freeze frame -- like when they showed the chops closing (i totally missed firest time), and the changes to the raceway.
Maneuvering the recipient tank makes sense because it will have substantially less weight/inertia so it would be energy efficient.
For this demo yes, and probably for the first one or maybe two refuels of a depot. But after that it's easier to manoeuvre the tanker.
So if you're doing say a dozen refuels, it's probably simpler to just forgo manoeuvring the depot at all and just always do it with the tanker.
Want the location of the second orbital pad mean that launches from it will overfly the first orbital pad and its tank farm?
I originally thought when they acquired Massey's that it would be used for a catch only tower.
It blows my mind that there's so many reoccurring viewers that aren't subscribed yet. They put a _ton_ of work into the production, reliably crank out content like clockwork and haven't even hit the 500,000 subscriber mark yet. What gives? If you _still_ haven't just click the damn button already, folks. You don't even have to turn on those annoying notifications or anything just hook 'em up with a sub. The more subscribers they get, the more money they make and the better their content is gonna be. It's a win win situation for all so if you haven't done it, hook 'em up, already. To the stars!
Hi to all from sunny Cyprus EU, I luv all your vid's, the team is doing an amazing job. Ok regarding the legs and surrounding steel of the launch table, why don't SpaceX just cover them with the same heat tiles that's used for the starship? as they can withstand the temperature of a re-entry, then they would surely protect all the steel work and should cutdown on the amount of repair work needed after a launch, just a thought & maybe a stupid suggestion ;) Thanks and keep up the great work.
I would build sensors at the catching points of both the arms and the rocket.
I think that it would be very advantageous to just build a catch tower. It would decrease complexity and in the event that something catastrophic happened there would be no damage to the OLM.
The OLM is strong enough to take a hit from the booster. And the blast wouldn't be that bad. It'll be mostly empty by that point. Very little shrapnel too since Super Heavy isn't designed to release shrapnel
6:24 It is the target for the fuel. Makes perfect sense.
Exactly. The prop depot would be the target for the tanker ships. I would also expect the prop depot to have the QD, so it has a way to refill standard ships. It also prevents the QD from going through a lot of re-entry cycles.
4:43 lol duct tape in space! Engineering genius.
I dont think a catching "Tower" but a Catching cart makes the most sense, it can straddle a trench and after catch rolls over the and sets on transport vehicle of even to stationary stand that is where boosters and ships are lifted by launch tower.
I would like to see a "hot gas thruster in the end" also.
Thanks!
Big no for catch only tower. The drama and potential catastrophe induced failure is sweet sweet gravy for The spectator. It's what makes all this fun
Ok here’s the scoop.
Once the Starship gets stuff up to orbit, do we need that same body to land on the moon?
We (they) can deliver full light fuel tanks and modules to orbit that can be configured there into a moon mission. (Refer to Lego for technical info).
A heatshield doesn’t need to be lifted and managed to the moon and can be left in a convenient earth orbit for meetup later.
A lighter and a more lunar landing appropriate configuration (wider, shorter, with skis) going to the moon.
I still think catching is a crazy idea... it just seems so risky compared to landing like F9 does, but obviously I don't know all the risks and benefits to use superheavy this way
YES, to a catch only tower, on a barge in the ocean for booster and starship. When perfected, like after a year or two, then booster and ship can land on OLM. I think we risk huge explosion with the booster and or ship on the existing OLM.
cant wait for the ship to ship orbital transfer test and the orbital trash removal will be interesting.
Build a tower that is meant for catch, but can be a backup launch pad
ya catch-only tower for the first catches then install the mount pad assy
They should definitely build a super robust but simple catch only test tower with heaps of clearance. It is going to require multiple iterations to iron out catching so a simpler robust tower with as few moving parts as possible that can take a smashing would be a tremendous asset. They cant afford to risk the launch towers.
TJ is getting better and better 🎉
They should build a new catch tower just for retrieving the Starship or booster so that there is no damage to the orbital launchpad
I still want to know how they're going to catch the upper stages. No grid fins on those.
They don't get caught on the grid fins. There are small pins that hold the weight of the ship and booster. That's what gets caught
Not seeing any damper mechanism on mechazilla considering that a perfect catch will essentially cancel out any stress on the catch arms? That's not much difference to what they already do with falcon9
no they should finish building the second launch tower and pad before trying catching
if they fail catching it will damage the tower significantly
then they have to delay everything for months
Omg is that a real picture? 13:03
LOL, no.
There is no reason to not have a separate catch arm that is separate from a launch tower with Stage 0 GSE.
Planes only land at one end of a runway and take off from the other end.
There is no reason not to have one catch tower for landing and simply move it to the other tower for relaunch.
I think a separate catch tower is a really good idea, so they can practice without jeopardizing future launches.
5:50 except that’s not true at all. They’ll launch the target, then launch the chaser about a month later, which is all they need for full stack testing. Only one tower is needed. They said that at the presentation…
B13 is unlikely to do a static fire before flight 4.
Its so powerful
Recent moon landing spacecrafts have tipped over on landing , it would be interesting to see how a Starship (almost 5x in size) overcomes this challenge
Those recent landers had significant sideways velocity at touch-down. Literally dragged their legs over the surface at 2 mph, tripped, and tumbled. The horizontal velocity needs to be totally eliminated next time.
The wide leg baseline is great for stability with fixed leg length on gentle slopes, but can't cope with tripping hazards.
SpaceX has no need for a wide leg baseline *_if_* the legs can extend straight down to various lengths and accommodate boulders, crater rims, and slopes. The rocket thrusters must keep it plumb while descending, and the self-adjusting legs must retract to fit the surface and support the weight.
Of course an AI visual landing system needs to identify and select an appropriate landing point and navigate there.
I envision each leg being hydraulic pistons with wide feet. All connected in a parallel hydraulic circuit with a common accumulator/air spring. Each leg piston has its own shut-off valve and clamp.
Since Star Ship + booster will grow to 150 M , has anyone calculated the height of the 2nd tower by adding up the height of each section?
I am 13 and when a new WAI video drops it get me so excited
As someone who has been subscribed to I Need More Space for years now, it's great to see TJ on camera!
TJ doing a great job!!
IMHO the soil they are piling on the site for OLIT2 may not just be to squeeze water out of the soil to create a solid foundation. It may be to raise the entire OLIT higher above the water table. The damage caused during IFT1 was largely because the heat of the exhaust *boiled* the underground water, causing it to, in essence, explode! Lifting the entire OLIT 6m/20' farther from the water table provides a lot of more efficient design options for hydraulic sound management. For example it may be desirable to deflect as much of the unavoidable noise of the booster out to sea and away from terrestrial neighbours, including the wildlife of the nature preserve. At LC39A SpaceX has dismantled the original OLM and presumably intends to implement the same design at LC39A and at BC OLIT2. Note that LC39A at KSC is *already* on top of a thick mound.
I think really the contact point is too nearly to the body of the booster. May be if use two "foldable attached arm" to the booster, locked between the hard weight point and the below stabilization point (that uses by the stabilization arms of the platform). When the booster aproximate to chop sticks, this are realesed and in this way there not need to aprouch too much to the body. Additionaly its could has sliders in the bottom side to permit the closing movement of the chops stick..
The lifting hard points Have to be built into the propellant tank walls. But the further these stick out, the more massive the hard points must be. That is why the catch arms must get intimately close to the Booster/Ship.
Many precautions are taken to cope with collisions between Booster/Ship and the catch arms during "landing".
Just imagine how many cool big payloads could disposable 2nd stage starship bring to orbit.🥺
Cant wait to see more huge spacestations projects pop up in to reality!😫
Maybe in 20 years
What about putting a vacuum plunger system in place on the tanks
If that makes sense as it does 2 me
I think a catch only tower would be a good idea.
Perhaps a catch only tower makes sense until they have booster catching down. In the plan that Space-X has for rappid reusability, however, adding a step to move the booster from the catch tower back to the launch tower, is counter-productive.
"The best part is no part. The best process is no process."
could ion engines mitigate vibrations ?