Elon Musk's SpaceX Super Heavy Booster Launch and Catch Tower Appears in FAA Filing, Getting Ready for July's Full-Stack

Elon Musk just confirmed how SpaceX's Super Heavy Booster rocket would depart and land from the planet to bring the Starship to orbit, and that is through a Launch and Catch Tower which appeared in an FAA filing. Musk revealed that it would have load points on its grid fins for the tower to attach on, and is getting ready for its July Full Stack flight.

Elon Musk Reveals Launch and Catch Tower for SpaceX Super Heavy

It was earlier revealed by the SpaceX CEO how the Super Heavy Booster rocket would depart and land on the planet as it falls back to the surface after doing its job of providing a push to the Starship bound for Mars. Musk said that it would have a tower with arms to catch it, and that very Launch and Catch tower has now appeared in a Federal Aviation Association (FAA) filing for its construction.

The world is nearly less than four months to witnessing the promised test flight of Starship atop a Super Heavy Booster that would tower on SpaceX's Boca Chica launch facility in Texas. The launch and catch tower is essential for the Super Heavy because unlike the other spacecraft in SpaceX's lineup, it would only provide a cluster of engines to support another vehicle's mission.

Moreover, it would not have legs to support its landing, as the only legs its got are for standing and not for supporting the rocket booster's entire body as it returns. The rocket would still need to perform a landing maneuver as it returns, lining itself up with the launch and catch tower, before lowering itself and positioning for a secure return.

SpaceX Super Heavy Load Points under Grid Fins

Musk then explains that instead of the Super Heavy having integrated legs and body with shock absorption technology, the Launch and Catch tower arms would have that instead. The SpaceX CEO further explains that this is essential for the tower since it is implanted on the ground, providing more "mass to arrest the booster" as it descends with momentum.

The load points of the Super Heavy Booster rocket would be placed strategically under the spacecraft's grid fin, and Musk said that it would specifically there for the company's reasons. This maneuver will be different from the other rocket booster of the company, the Falcon 9, which has its landing maneuver and lands in the drone ships of SpaceX.

SpaceX: Full Stack Flight on July with Starship

SpaceX's Full Stack flight promise for July is nearing, and Elon Musk aims to deliver by that date as the test flight for Starships continues. The recent explosion of SN11 Starship draws back the company, especially as the previous SN10 has stuck the landing maneuver, only to fail as it exploded moments after it returned to the ground.

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Written by Isaiah Alonzo