SpaceX stacks Starship on Superheavy on orbital launchpad
Capitalism in space: SpaceX for the first time used the giant arms on the launch tower at its Boca Chica orbital launchpad to stack Starship on top of Superheavy, with the fully stacked giant rocket to act as a backdrop to Elon Musk’s update on the project scheduled for airing tonight at 8 pm (Central).
You can see a time lapse of the several hour process here.
The use of a launch tower to stack a rocket is apparently a first, and provides solid evidence that SpaceX’s plan to catch Superheavy with that tower and put it on the ground has a chance of success.
SpaceX has not yet announced how Musk’s presentation will be aired, but when this information is available I will embed it on Behind the Black.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
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Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
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Capitalism in space: SpaceX for the first time used the giant arms on the launch tower at its Boca Chica orbital launchpad to stack Starship on top of Superheavy, with the fully stacked giant rocket to act as a backdrop to Elon Musk’s update on the project scheduled for airing tonight at 8 pm (Central).
You can see a time lapse of the several hour process here.
The use of a launch tower to stack a rocket is apparently a first, and provides solid evidence that SpaceX’s plan to catch Superheavy with that tower and put it on the ground has a chance of success.
SpaceX has not yet announced how Musk’s presentation will be aired, but when this information is available I will embed it on Behind the Black.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either. IMPORTANT! If you donate enough to get a book, please email me separately to tell me which book you want and the address to mail it to.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Typo alert: Last sentence: “embedded” should be “embed it.”
Michael McNeil: Typo fixed. Thank you.
I was suprised when I went to the web cam today and saw it. I have been waiting to see this for a while. I know they did it some months past, but took it down right away and I missed it. She’s a beauty…
Ohhh, Nooo, am I allowed to say “She’s” Did I offend someone or make some one have to go to a safe space? (G)
JhonB – It depends on what the rocket identifies as.
Congratulations: I didn’t expect these monster arms to be able to work with this level of precision. It would be interesting to find out how the alignment went in detail with which technical aids. The auxiliary arm seemed to play a role in this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S65P4plylo4
A handful of heat shield tiles were expelled off when Ship 20 was placed on top of the booster 4. Just a little thing.
JhonB
While on a trip overseas I passed a coffee shop with a poster in the window explaining why ships were always referred to as “she”; about eight or nine reasons were given. I went in to see the proprietress – very nice lady (although clearly not Russian). I explained that while I agreed with the poster in general I did have one question. She asked me what the question was and I responded “why is ‘she’ referred to as a ‘Man-o-War’ “?
The whole conversation ended in a few laughs and coffee.
What gets me is how Starship-SuperHeavy looks to be the true heir to the B-36 Peacemaker….with Cena’s Suicide Squad character in the cockpit….saying the rest of aerospace history has now been retconned out of existence
B-36 and Atlas had a baby Starship-and that’s all. SR-seventy-who? Shuttle-what?
There was the Gooney Bird, the B-36, Atlas and SS/SH…and that’s it for the history books!