5 ms·
> but lands with 3-6, and three of those are the vacuum variant First stage will likely use more than 3-6, none will be the vacuum variant.
by soperj 4y ago
> but lands with 3-6, and three of those are the vacuum variant
First stage will likely use more than 3-6, none will be the vacuum variant.
- ceejayoz 4y agoThe first stage isn’t going anywhere near lunar regolith. Ever.
- AstralStorm 4y agoAnd second stage has different engines since when? Starship proper is not that different, it has fewer engines, its landing gear provides worse conditions than the launchpad.
- ceejayoz 4y agoSecond stage (Starship) has always had different engines (both in quantity and construction; some are vacuum Raptors) than Super Heavy. Lunar Starship is itself a variant of the regular second stage; it'll need the cargo elevator, for example, which is shown in NASA's announcement graphics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEnz8V97Qck&t=2100 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEnz8V97Qck&t=2100 > for the terminal descent of Starship, a few tens of meters before we touch down on the lunar surface, we actually use a high-thrust RCS system, so that we don't impinge on the surface of the Moon with the high-thrust Raptor engines. ... uses the same methane and oxygen propellants as Raptor. (We'll see if that winds up being the actual final solution, but they've clearly at least thought about this aspect.)
- soperj 4y agoYou were talking about F9 landing, and taking off with 33 engines. Only the first stage lands on the F9. Only the first stage has 33 engines. I guess it's more confusing when Starship is what the whole ship is called, and possibly the second stage.
- ceejayoz 4y agoFalcon 9 is a specific clear example of landing != takeoff. Starship != Super Heavy Lunar Starship != Starship Earth != Moon All of these differences combined make the test not the slightest bit indicative of how things would work for a lunar Starship landing.