One way SpaceX works to make satellites and other objects in orbit cheaper is by landing and reusing the Falcon 9 booster rockets. It has a long history of successful landing of the first phase boosters, both on land and on drones in the ocean. SpaceX is now announcing its plan to capture and reuse the Falcon Super Heavy booster that will be used to push Starship and larger payloads into space.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently unveiled plans that differ from the way the Falcon 9 booster is captured. Musk says Super Heavy will be captured by the launch tower arm. Musk said the grid fins would take the load on the point caught by the launch tower.
The company’s CEO announced the plans after someone tweeted him as if an animated video was an accurate Super Heavy descent profile. SpaceX certainly wants to reuse the Super Heavy boosters to save money, but Musk also says that, by using the launch tower arm, can eliminate the need for the booster to have legs to land.
With the technique, the booster can be immediately put back on the launch pad for reuse. Musk says with this technique, the Super Heavy booster can be ready to refill in less than an hour. This would be an impressive achievement, as it is usually longer than SpaceX Falcon 9 boosters have to adjust.
SpaceX experienced a problem with its last Starship test when the rocket exploded after a hard landing. The company is poised to test two prototypes of Super Heavy boosters at the Texas launch facility in the coming months. It will be interesting to see more details on how SpaceX plans to land its massive rocket with so much precision.