darthgently Posted 11 hours ago Share Posted 11 hours ago 1 hour ago, JoeSchmuckatelli said: I've said this before - but I remain impressed that they are practice landing that close to a prepositioned camera. Indicating that the reentry is pretty much on target. That said - there is not much lateral transition. Basically if you just go off the above video and imagine a tower - they'd pretty much have to scrape by it. Suggests that when they go for the tower catch things could get interesting. It can hover and translate. But, but yes, will be nice to see it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeSchmuckatelli Posted 9 hours ago Share Posted 9 hours ago 1 hour ago, darthgently said: It can hover and translate. But, but yes, will be nice to see it I get that - but... ...at least in that video I'm not seeing much in the way of "pretending there's a tower". I do see a neat, controlled landing on the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GluttonyReaper Posted 3 hours ago Share Posted 3 hours ago I'm still not super clear what the utility of catching the upper stage with a tower is - presumably for an actual mission you'd catch the lower and upper stages separately, so you'd have to mount them back together either way. Is it just about saving the weight of the landing legs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elthy Posted 2 hours ago Share Posted 2 hours ago 37 minutes ago, GluttonyReaper said: Is it just about saving the weight of the landing legs? And about the volume/complexity. There is no easy place to stick them: The engine bay is cramped (at least when they go for six vacuum raptors) and would only allow tinylegs (like on the non orbital versions). And on the outside (like Falcon 9) the legs would require extra shielding for reenty... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AckSed Posted 1 hour ago Share Posted 1 hour ago The final stage of any rocket is really mass-sensitive. Heat-shield tiles and flaps and actuators and batteries suck up a lot of payload on a heavy structure, which is partly why Raptor 3 is a miracle of lightness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthgently Posted 1 hour ago Share Posted 1 hour ago 8 hours ago, JoeSchmuckatelli said: I get that - but... ...at least in that video I'm not seeing much in the way of "pretending there's a tower". I do see a neat, controlled landing on the water. They know the engines can gimbal. They’ve translated hundreds of landings (the final moments in an F9 landing involves translation even without the ability to hover), and they know Starship can hover. I’m just putting the pieces together and they fit fine in my imagination. They’ve earned any confidence they are displaying imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.