this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2024
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Mechazilla has caught the Super Heavy booster! (threadreaderapp.com)
submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[โ€“] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It looks like some small pieces blew off the booster and there was a little fire at the end, but they recovered it and can work on solving that for the next flight. What a catch.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I wonder how much they'll be able to learn through thoroughly inspecting the flown hardware. That's not a luxury they've had up until now. I would imagine it's way easier to figure out exactly how minor issues manifested when they can go through the booster with a fine toothed comb.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Elon said they've done an initial inspection and it's looking great. Also already found some stuff to improve that they'd never know without the catch

A few outer engine nozzles are warped from heating & some other minor issues, but these are easily addressed.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'm eager to see how they'll address the nozzle warping. I wonder if they would do a short reentry burn after all, or whether changes to the flight profile or engine shielding would be sufficient.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

With the changes in raptor 3 getting rid of the heat shields I'm wondering what this means as well. It warped with a heat shield. Prior to this, they didn't think raptor 3 needed one, but does this change things?

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

They won't have this chance with the starship, although they tried. The splash-down seamed relatively smooth, but the starship exploded soon after.