SpaceX Grabber Arms

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Jan 9, 2010
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Los Gatos, CA
The arms that grabbed the SpaceX Starship rocket out of midair, with people on top, for scale.

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That catch was extremely impressive. I didn't think I was ever going to see that in my lifetime.
 
It almost doesnt look real. It is kind of funny to watch. We all remember the looney toon style cartoons watching rockets land like that. Ironic that, that is what they are doing.
 
I saw the video and didn't see the arms "grab" the space x rocket. It looked like it set itself into the arms.

I think there were 4 pins on the two arms where the 4 extruding tabs at the top of the rocket set itself onto; makes it even more impressive. I can't find any pictures from the video of the landing tower unfortunately.
 
Does rocket exhaust coat everything in harmful chemicals? These guys are just walking around on the the platform or do they rinse it beforehand?
 
I was wondering about degrading of the catch arms from the heat of the rocket engines. Even if they were not heated enough to melt them, hot metal has less strength than when at room temperature.

Was the way the rocket aproached the catch arms deliberate so as to not damage or weaken the catch arms with heat? Or was it because of ambient wind? If because of ambient wind, is a wind like that required for a safe landing catch?

What are the wind limits for a safe catch?
 
OK. Sweet. Now, lets see him put those on a barge out in the Atlantic ocean and see how they deal with waves. Every time one falls off a barge, it's big bucks in the drink.
Or is the BFR only coming back to terra firma?
 
OK. Sweet. Now, lets see him put those on a barge out in the Atlantic ocean and see how they deal with waves. Every time one falls off a barge, it's big bucks in the drink.
Or is the BFR only coming back to terra firma?

As I understand it, the legs and additional structure add too much weight. The catch method eliminates all that weight as the entire booster is in tension. So the booster either comes back home, or if even more performance is needed, the first stage is not re-used and splashes down in the ocean far from home.
 
Every video I've seen of these SpaceX flights seem hyperrealistic and a bit 'off'.
There is a very good reason for that. Digital imaging does not do well with shock wave vibration coupled with extremely bright flames and dark or reflective surfaces. The correction required adds a strange quality to many of the pics and videos.

Click on this video (I've stopped it at the correct time) for a brief explanation of how the old ways captured better images.

 
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