SpaceX installs wings on Starship ahead of official update Saturday by Musk

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is scheduled to give an update on the new design for his Starship Mk1 presentation next Saturday, with the company working round the clock so the piece is ready for its big reveal.

Two of Tesla's Starship Mk1's actuating wings were installed on Sunday, revealing a serious departure from the original design unveiled by Musk and SpaceX.

Musk took to Twitter this morning to reveal the installation of the rear wings.

Musk said, in a now removed tweet, that the most recent design will include several legs on the rear of Starship, separating the fin-leg combination shown in previous tripod-fin renders.

However, Musk said that he had not completely "bought into" the updated design, which was motivated by analysis showing that separating the legs would be preferable to combining them. Similar to the 2018 design, the 2019 version of the Starship will have 2 actuating wings or fins near its rear and another two canard-like control surfaces up near the nose of the rocket.

A third non-functional fin could potentially serve as a leg-stand in the new design. The control surfaces will work in concert with "very rapid movements" to ensure stability during reentry and atmospheric missions and also give the spacecraft the ability to land on a variety of surfaces.

Since the actuating fins no longer have to reach the ground and double as landing legs, their size can be significantly reduced and therefore placed further up from the starship's engine.

According to Teslarati, the company appears to be prioritising Starship Mk1 in order to get the prototype as close to complete as possible over the next several days.

Musk is scheduled to present an updated design overview of the spacecraft in Boca Chica, Texas, to be live-streamed by SpaceX on Saturday, September 28. He is likely to place the Starship Mk1 prototype as the centrepiece of the event, which would explain the rush for completion.

Source: Sputnik News

Related Links
SpaceX
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

SES selects SpaceX to launch O3b mPOWER MEO communications system
Luxembourg (SPX) Sep 10, 2019
SES has selected SpaceX as a launch partner to deliver its next-generation Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite constellation into space on board Falcon 9 rockets from Cape Canaveral. The two companies have disrupted the industry in the past when SES became the first to launch a commercial GEO satellite with SpaceX, and later as the first ever payload on a SpaceX reusable rocket. Their next launch, in 2021, will be another one for the records as the revolutionary terabit-scale capabilities of SES's O3b mP ... read more