Musk Finally Revealed how Starship landing on Droneship by Legs... Will Mechazilla Replace?
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Musk Finally Revealed how Starship landing on Droneship by Legs... Will Mechazilla Replace?
No Chopsticks arm! No Catch tower!
SpaceX is working on another landing method for both Starship and Booster: Landing on a drone ship.
So, what is the real reason why SpaceX chose this landing method?
Let’s find out on today’s episode of Alpha Tech:
As SpaceX pushes the boundaries of space exploration with Starship, the challenges of scaling up operations are becoming increasingly evident.
Once Starship successfully achieves consistent launches and landings, the frequency of its missions is expected to ramp up significantly. This aligns with SpaceX's long-term goals and is necessary for a new rocket of this magnitude.
Musk Finally Revealed how Starship landing on Droneship by Legs... Will Mechazilla Replace?
However, the expansion of operations comes with proportional increases in the complexity of Starship missions. With a target of 44 Starship launches from Florida and 25 launches from Starbase, SpaceX cannot afford delays. Of course, in reality, delays are inevitable due to various factors, with weather-related disruptions to planned landings being one of the most urgent issues.
As we know, SpaceX has successfully demonstrated the ability to catch Starship with the Mechazilla arms. However, this engineering marvel has also highlighted limitations in addressing the scale and complexity of Starship landing operations. While the system works well under ideal conditions, early tests have shown that relying solely on Mechazilla introduces significant risks.
Musk Finally Revealed how Starship landing on Droneship by Legs... Will Mechazilla Replace?
The massive size and thrust of Starship, far exceeding that of Falcon 9, demand a more flexible and robust landing solution.
At this point, many suggest that SpaceX should consider a fundamental landing approach they've already perfected with Falcon 9—landing on an autonomous drone ship at sea.
In fact, the idea of landing a Starship at sea isn't new.
About three years ago, SpaceX explored the concept of landing Super Heavy on a droneship, much like the Falcon 9 booster. Back then, it was called the "marine recovery systems for the Starship program."
A typical launch mission aims to use as little fuel as possible by the time the stage detaches to maximize efficiency. However, ensuring enough fuel for a return trip can be quite costly—not just for the fuel itself, but also for the extra fuel required to carry it.
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