Arthur_Foyt
That’s one of the most outstanding engineering feats I’ve ever seen.
That’s one of the most outstanding engineering feats I’ve ever seen.
Not only pulling it off, but doing so on their first attempt - wow!
More like, an 18 wheeler backing down to a loading dock at high speed, then slamming on the brakes at the last moment to time it such that it stops with the back just touching the dock.
The physical engineering feat is one part of outstanding, but consider the software achievements involved. A on board software program that is calculating positional awareness at incredibly short time intervals and controlling not just the throttling of the engines, but gimballing them to drop a few thousand pounds of rocket softly on to the arms. The software that controls the arms to swing in and adjust, also in real time to close at the right moment. That is some serious programming.
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More like, an 18 wheeler backing down to a loading dock at high speed, then slamming on the brakes at the last moment to time it such that it stops with the back just touching the dock.
I reckon the driver on the left in this video could do it:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7FIvfx5J10]
…program that is calculating positional awareness at incredibly short time intervals and controlling not just the throttling of the engines, but gimballing…
I heard (somewhere on the interwebs) that they were seeing “centimeter” accuracy on the drone ships, but it was a casual remark with no further qualifiers or details.
This post is not to bang on Russ or anyone else, just to add a bit of information.
Being an ex space guy (32 years Space Shuttle and Space Station programs), I have to make some clarifications. SpaceX Dragon and Boeing Starliner are capsules. Might be best to describe Starship as an orbiter in this case.
@JHull mentions “few thousand pounds of rocket”. I was not able to locate a definitive empty weight number for the Super Heavy booster, but numbers ranged from 400000# to just over 600000#. If one carefully watches the capture at booster engine shutdown, you will see the chopsticks and tower flex a bit as the structures pick up the load.
And finally “Starshp … allowed to explode and crash”? No. Starship had a well controlled and colorful reentry (video coverage via Starlink the entire way down). One of the forward flaps was experiencing a burn through, but control was maintained. Starship then started I think 3 of its engines, pitched to vertical and came to a low hover over the Indian ocean. At engine shutdown, Starship settled into the water and then slowly fell over. There are hot engine parts and turbo machinery still spinning at that point. Add water and some pretty big bangs will occur.
SpaceX had a buoy with camera(s) and a Starlink terminal near the Starship touchdown target point. Would have been super to have seen the touchdown in daylight. And Starship came down pretty close to the buoy.
Starship was to perform several tests on orbit, such as propellant transfers. We may never hear how those tests went.
Later today, I will have to go back and watch the video of the entire flight again.
Booster recovery and controlled Starship splash are superb accomplishments for the SpaceX team!
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I was able to look it up and Super Heavy booster empty weight is 606000# or 303 tons so I was off on the mass. Since most of the fuel is expended by then it is much lighter then the gross mass of 4051 tons (8,102,000#), but I will concede that at @ 303 tons, that is a decent moment arm to deal with.
General characteristics
Height 71 m (233 ft) (69 m (226 ft) without Vented Interstage.)
Diameter 9 m (30 ft)
Gross mass 3,675,000 kg (8,102,000 lb)
Propellant mass 3,400,000 kg (7,500,000 lb)
Empty mass 275,000 kg (606,000 lb)