SpaceX (Vol. 2)
Discussion
Permanently extended is an interesting approach. Presumably they are still articulated, otherwise they are naff all use. So not including the folding mechanism seems like a fairly minimal saving all things considered.
Unless this is part of the catching plan and the attachment points will be reinforced?
I guess if you can rotate 90 degrees in pitch (presenting the narrow cross section to the airflow) then they are probably not all that disruptive? Might even generate some lift from them (aerodynamics of grid fins I am not really sure about!)
Unless this is part of the catching plan and the attachment points will be reinforced?
I guess if you can rotate 90 degrees in pitch (presenting the narrow cross section to the airflow) then they are probably not all that disruptive? Might even generate some lift from them (aerodynamics of grid fins I am not really sure about!)
Yes, perhaps rotating them side on for launch is the way to do it. This may be just for the test launches though. They're learning all the time. Apparently the Starship "wings" can be smaller & thinner than on the ones we've seen fly so far.
We already know the grid fins won't be mounted perpendicular to each other, like on the Falcon 9. They'll be at 60° / 120° instead, in a more of an "X" layout.
They'll also be made from welded stainless steel, not a expensive titanium casting/machining. Stainless steel is heavier, but it'll be much cheaper and easier to manufacture, plus it has great resilience to heat and should easily handle the reentry temperatures.
The hard points for the capture mechanism appear to be mounted to the fuselage between the grid fins. They're not the grid fins themselves.
We already know the grid fins won't be mounted perpendicular to each other, like on the Falcon 9. They'll be at 60° / 120° instead, in a more of an "X" layout.
They'll also be made from welded stainless steel, not a expensive titanium casting/machining. Stainless steel is heavier, but it'll be much cheaper and easier to manufacture, plus it has great resilience to heat and should easily handle the reentry temperatures.
The hard points for the capture mechanism appear to be mounted to the fuselage between the grid fins. They're not the grid fins themselves.
annodomini2 said:
With the hard points that small, the FAA won't need SpaceX to dismantle the launch tower, the booster will do it for them.
Isn’t the idea that the catching is done using the grid fins? Once the booster has stopped moving, I’d guess some arms come out to grab the hard points very precisely.Scottish Wyldcat said:
That's why I don't like concrete!However if it's not the dating item construction duration really doesn't matter.
Looking at the launch tower it's pretty clear to see that with modern CFD they can be a lot less conservative than the designers in the 1960's.
Things seem to be moving VERY fast out there at the moment!
Tim Dodd (Every day astronaut) is due to be releasing a video on youtube soon of him and Elon around Boca Chica which sounds mega! Elon said he hadn't had a shower for 4 days
so sounds like he's pushing this hard on site. They're hoping for Booster 4 to be on the test stand this week too 
Tim Dodd (Every day astronaut) is due to be releasing a video on youtube soon of him and Elon around Boca Chica which sounds mega! Elon said he hadn't had a shower for 4 days
so sounds like he's pushing this hard on site. They're hoping for Booster 4 to be on the test stand this week too 
Beati Dogu said:
It’s staggering! They basically did that overnight. https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/08/spacex-ins...
I’m used to the “normal” way that the likes of ULA do this stuff - that would have taken months, probably days per engine.
This thing is super utilitarian and yet clearly state of the art. Even the engine numbers are just stencilled or hand painted on.
Elon said they aim to get the price of the engines down to about $1,000 per ton of thrust, or $250,000 a piece. That’s less than $10 million to equip each booster (even assuming 33 on the production models).
A single RS-25 engine on the SLS wouldn’t even get out of bed for that kind of money.
Elon said they aim to get the price of the engines down to about $1,000 per ton of thrust, or $250,000 a piece. That’s less than $10 million to equip each booster (even assuming 33 on the production models).
A single RS-25 engine on the SLS wouldn’t even get out of bed for that kind of money.
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