2 ms·

Interesting consideration: Starship is monolithic right now, ie it’s unclear how it can unload payload of its own size. There are no bay doors a-la shuttle. I

• cubefox 3y ago
  From the official Starship users guide: > The Starship payload fairing is a clamshell structure in which the payload is integrated. Once integrated, the clamshell fairing remains closed through launch up until the payload is ready to deploy. An example sequence of payload deployment is shown in Figure 3. To deploy the payload, the clamshell fairing door is opened, and the payload adapter and payload are tilted at an angle in preparation for separation. The payload is then separated using the mission-unique payload adapter. If there are multiple payloads on a single mission, a rotating mechanism can be provided to allow each satellite to separate with maximum clearance. Once separation is confirmed and the payload(s) have cleared the fairing, the payload fairing door is closed in preparation for Starship’s return to Earth. Figure 3: https://i.stack.imgur.com/D3MYv.png https://i.stack.imgur.com/D3MYv.png Full PDF: https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf