SpaceX may attempt a risky maneuver – using its launch tower and “chopstick arms” to catch a returning Starship launcher – during its first orbital launch.
Newly updated documents filed with the United States Federal Communications Commission indicate the company was founded by Elon Musk may have changed his plans.
The first plan called for both stages of the rocket to land in the ocean – with the launch vehicle landing in the Gulf of Mexico and high school is approaching Hawaii after completing a partial orbit of the earth.
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Newly updated documents filed with the US Federal Communications Commission suggest the company founded by Elon Musk may have changed plans. Pictured: the spacecraft at the starbase in Boca Chica, Texas
However, the FCC is the company application now states that upon launch from the starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, the Super Heavy Booster will separate from the upper stage and “then make a partial return and land in the Gulf of Mexico or return to the starbase and be captured by the launch tower.”
The change in the documents was first observed by Michael Baylor from NASASpaceFlight.com.
The FCC application covers Starship’s first orbital launch, so it appears that this is planned as an option.
Though SpaceX has successfully launched and landed Falcon 9 rockets a hundred times now, this new maneuver is a different beast.
The starbase’s pair of so-called “chopstick arms” would then guide the mammoth booster to a safe vertical landing, FCC documents said. Pictured is Starship 24 on the starbase’s suborbital launch pad
The Starbship booster itself is 230ft tall and would need to line up perfectly over the 400ft launch mount and then slowly descend.
The starbase’s pair of so-called “chopstick arms” would then guide the mammoth booster to a safe vertical landing.
According to Eric Ralph, such a move would come with several risks TeslaratiWho writes:
“In the event of major anomalies during a landing attempt, Starship or Super Heavy could accidentally impact the launch tower, damaging or even completely destroying the skyscraper-sized structure.
On Monday, Starship’s launch vehicle burst into flames during a ground test — with footage (above) showing a fireball and the camera shaking from the blast
“Ultimately, the immense risk involved in any attempt at capture means that unless SpaceX miraculously got the design of all the elements involved near perfect on the first try, the company must be extremely careful and expend a large number of ships and boosters , to avoid rendering his only starship launch tower unusable.
“At least to some extent, SpaceX likely knows this, and Super Heavy would likely need to be in excellent health and perfectly functioning during the ascent and boostback portions of its launch debut to be cleared for a capture attempt.
“Ultimately, Starship’s first orbital launch could be an even bigger spectacle than is already guaranteed.”
The voyage for Starship – chosen by NASA for the Artemis missions to the moon – faced some hurdles.
On Monday, its launch vehicle burst into flames during a ground test — with footage showing a fireball and the camera shaking from the blast.
The booster stalled during the incident, and Musk later said his team was investigating the damage.
Musk also said the problem has to do with the “spin tests” of the 33 Raptor engines, which run on cryogenic liquid methane and liquid oxygen.
SpaceX had already moved its Starship 24 to the suborbital pad at Starbase last week, with the company saying in a tweet that the move was “in preparation for Starship’s first orbital flight test” — though it’s not clear how powerful that explosion will be could delay the exam.
According to an FAA report, SpaceX had to “take more than 75 actions to mitigate the environmental impact of its proposed plan to launch the Starship/Super Heavy vehicle” before it could launch another rocket for the site.
These include kill plans to build their own natural gas power plant for desalination, as well as natural gas refining and liquefaction at or near the launch site.
However, SpaceX was authorized for up to 500 hours of road closures for operations and up to 300 hours of emergency closures per year.
This is a win given that the company was only granted 180 a year for its 2014 Falcon 9 rocket launches.
SpaceX achieved a milestone last week with the 100th flight of its Falcon 9 rocket; It delivered a batch of 53 Starlink internet satellites.
This week, the company’s Dragon spacecraft — carrying more than 5,800 pounds of critical science, hardware and crew supplies — flew to the International Space Station (ISS) after a successful launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the company’s 25th resupply mission to the orbiting laboratory.
“We’re excited to continue to help move this type of cargo for NASA and also to carry the crew members who are the key component to researching and managing things on the station,” said Benjamin Reed, Senior Director of Human Spaceflight Programs at SpaceX, in one expression.
“Of course, none of this is possible without our partnerships with NASA, with the Space Force and with all of our customers. We cannot thank you enough for the opportunity to be a part of this and be part of this great scientific community.”
The spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at the ISS on July 16.
STARSHIP: ELON MUSK’S “BIG F***ING ROCKET”
The BFR (Big F***ing Rocket), now known as the Starship, will complete all missions and is smaller than those announced by Musk in 2016.
SpaceX’s CEO said the rocket will make its first trip to the red planet in 2024, carrying only cargo, followed by a manned mission in 2026, claiming other SpaceX products would be “cannibalized” to pay for it.
The rocket would be partially reusable and could fly straight from Earth to Mars.
Once built, Musk believes the rocket could be used for travel on Earth – and says passengers could get anywhere in under an hour.
To date, the Starship missile series has undergone 9 test flights – some resulting in successful short-range jumps, while others resulted in explosions or crash landings.
The most recent experimental launch – using the Starship SN15 prototype – took place on May 5, 2021 and saw the vehicle complete a high-altitude test at 33,000 feet into low-lying clouds, complete with successful ascent, engine shutdown and flip maneuvers, flap controls and gentle touchdown.
After landing, a small fire broke out at the bottom of the rocket, but it was later extinguished.
