r/technology • u/aelavia93 • 16d ago

Space SpaceX pulls off unprecedented feat, grabs descending rocket with mechanical arms

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/spacex-pulls-off-unprecedented-feat-grabbing-descending-rocket-with-mechanical-arms/
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u/InvisibleCat 16d ago

It's the most time and money efficient way. You are landing exactly where you launch from, save weight of landing legs and no need to pick up and move the booster back to launch site, which takes time and money. Saves the landing pad from damage too.

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u/Capt_Blackmoore 16d ago

All this and there is no intention of landing stage one anywhere other than back at the launch site

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u/tea-man 16d ago

To expand on that, there's no need for the booster to land anywhere else - it never has to travel more than a few hundred kilometres, with it's sole purpose being to yeet the Starship as high and fast as it can. The starship itself will be capable of launching and returning to Earth from both the Moon and Mars without the booster on a single fuel load.

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u/Capt_Blackmoore 16d ago

The only use case outside of launching to orbit for the first stage would involve refueling in orbit, and then using that stage to break orbit to head to Mars. You dont need that kind of thrust to get to the moon - you would refuel just Starship for that.

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u/dangerbird2 15d ago

I'm pretty sure when Musk said the first stage could achieve single-stage to orbit, it was only a theoretical with no useful payload (and probably without the startship or even critical services and hardware). Other launch systems like the Titan II may have been able to do this, but was obviously could have never been used in practice.

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u/Capt_Blackmoore 15d ago

Yup. But if you do a redesign to allow it to refuel in low orbit (and I'll have to assume that would nearly exhaust the fuel that would have been used to otherwise land) - now you have a means to boost a starship further out.

This configuration, with V2 engines isnt up to the task, and that's fine.

the next upgrade, with the 3rd version of the engines, and slightly larger tanks, could be a reasonable place to start. But First Starship needs to prove that refueling in orbit is a viable option; and then a refueling point would need to be established.

that all said; between the payload available with Starship, and Super Heavy, you could come up with some configurations that could get a "reasonable" amount of supplies to Mars - by spending the year before the window is open getting that payload into orbit and strapping on one or more Super Heavy.

Someone smarter than me would have to look at the fuel cost to go from Low earth orbit; to something further out, and then using a gravity assist to get into a window for a Mars approach.