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About landing the Super Heavy booster, Wiki[1] says: > [S]hortly before landing,[67] it ignites its engines to slow sufficiently to be caught by two mechan
by throwaway2037 2y ago
About landing the Super Heavy booster, Wiki[1] says:
> [S]hortly before landing,[67] it ignites its engines to slow sufficiently to be caught by two mechanical arms attached to the tower.
Does anyone know the reason to choose "two mechanical arms", instead of landing like the Falcon 9? And has SpaceX announced any plans to test these arms? In my mind, it sounds more wild to try to "catch" the landing booster with arms, rather than land on a pan. Anyone else?
- hahn-kev 2y agoIIRC the plan is for rapid reuse, the idea being that it can land on the launch pad.
- synecdoche 2y agoWeight savings and less complicated rocket without the legs makes for higher payload capacity.
- yetihehe 2y agoThey were originally trying to land on pad, but they couldn't get legs light enough and strong enough not to bend while landing, there were also problems with maintaining structure around those legs. It was simpler to have two hardpoints and legs be more massive but on the ground.