One question. Why do they need to catch using the chopsticks? Can't the booster land on the ground like the others?
Anyone know?
Discussion
I think it’s about being able to out the rocket back together, making repairs, and not having to move it for its launch.
Sure they could land it somewhere else, but then how much does it cost to get back to the tower? Also it’s just massive and tall. The more weight and height, the wider and stronger the feet have to be for it not to crunch on landing or get blown over.
Thats what comes immediately to mind. It can literally just launch right back from where it is in a few weeks turn around the way they’ve designed it here.
Yeah i guess. Makes sense. Only the risk of damage to infrastructure is higher I guess as a launch site vs middle of the ocean. But that would have to be an acceptable risk that over time diminishes with each successful launch/catch cycle.
Amazing stuff. Humans aren't all bad after all! In fact we are def good by and large. Just bad examples seem to get amplified in today's media sysyem! 🙏
I would also assume build arms or something to fold down to protect the engines from being crushed would add more weight. Making the booster as light as possible means lifting more cargo. It has to reach 17,500 mph to enter orbit. So the Chopsticks make sense.
Off the top of my head
1) No landing legs so they save the weight that can be used to improve the performance of the rocket
2) No landing legs also means they can save time between refurbishment since they don’t have to go through the whole folding the legs back into position.
3) Landing directly on the pad saves the transportation time and cost of the booster and ship, simplifying logistics
4) In an ideal scenario, they can catch the booster, put it back on the pad using the same chopsticks, stack a starship on top and go again, minimizing time between reflights
5) Simplifying hardware as they need to build the catching mechanism once for each tower and not legs on each rocket and also potentially reducing damage since they catch it higher up
All good points. Yes I guess the legs would need to be very sturdy/heavy for holding such a big thing upright.
I wonder how they ensure integrity of the booster if physical pressure is being applied to the cylinder. I imagine the physical pressure would be quite high to hold a heavy thing like that mid air.
I think they have these sort of mini legs near the top of the booster, so it kind of “lands” on the chopsticks. Still super cool. It never really lands with propellant, so it’s mass is around 200 tons