2019-09-22

@Erdayastronaut @CptnCrutch5373 @Kalzsom Super Heavy rocket will be much like Falcon 9, but the Ship is a strange combination of Dragon, F9 & a skydiver.

@happych19952208 😉

@CptnCrutch5373 @Erdayastronaut @Kalzsom Approximately correct. We also fire the ACS thrusters to rotate the vehicle & ignite Raptors at full gimbal angle to complete the turn.

@Kalzsom @Erdayastronaut For aero control, it comes down to % of cross-sectional area moving vs not. Flexible as to whether front or rear, so long as within bounds of center of mass & pressure.

@Erdayastronaut Current analysis, which I’m not fully bought into, suggests that 2 rear fins with separate airframe-mounted legs will be lighter, so this is the plan for Mk1/Mk2

@Erdayastronaut Stability is controlled by (very) rapid movement of rear & fwd fins during entry & landing, as well as ACS thrusters. The smaller leeward “fin” would simply be used as a leg.

@Erdayastronaut Stability is not an issue with 3

@SpaceXFan97 Nose tip has forward movable fins, cold gas attitude control thrusters, header tanks for landing, composite pressure vessels, several large batteries, etc. Placed up there to balance high mass of Raptors & rear fins at the bottom.

@SpaceXFan97 Yes. There’s a huge amount of hardware in the tip of the faring that being integrated on the ground, which is why we haven’t closed it out.

Adding the rear moving fins to Starship Mk1 in Boca Chica, Texas https://t.co/HWLihqihph

@teslaownersSV Thanks!

Either way, sustainable energy wins!!

@cleantechnica srsly