Maybe, but might depend on what else is on that antenna tower. Could be other sensors required for the capture. May just harden it or put a retractable shield on it.
Genuine question for anyone with the knowledge to answer… So much of the design into Starship and it’s booster seem to be in the Raptor engines…. I saw a breakdown of the evolution from Raptor 1-3 and it’s incredible. So what else could you use it for? What would a fighter jet look like equipped with a pair of Raptors on the back? Like the Blackbird? Could it fly? Or you need a traditional turbofan for takeoff then it could provide additional speed? Or even a long range bomber that can take off from a traditional runway… but has enough power to get into orbit before re-entry to strike?
A rocket needs to carry oxidizer as well as ‘fuel’. Not practical except for short flights. Hence the long ongoing work on scramjets.
The SEVENTH flight test of a new generation Starship is preparing to launch. Read about changes, upgrades and cargo deployments here: https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-7 .
What's really impressive to me is how fast they are able to build the Space X manufacturing/testing infrastructure. The manufacturing procedures seem to be changing faster than the launch vehicles Read awhile ago the Musk's goal is to build a Ship in eight hours and have booster turn around in an hour. Also read that the Boring machine is up to version 5; is it a coincidence that the machine will fit in the Starship cargo bay?
Live updates: https://www.space.com/news/live/spacex-starship-missions-updates Starship Flight 7 launch: Targeting Monday, Jan. 13, at 5 p.m. EST (4 pm Texas) (2200 GMT). .
NEVER MIND ............ Death, Taxes ... and LAUNCH DELAY ! https://x.com/SpaceX Image Unavailable, Please Login .
Starship Flight 7 launch: Targeting Thursday, Jan. 16, at 5 p.m. EST/Florida (4 pm CST/Texas) (2200 GMT). Image Unavailable, Please Login .
STILL ON SpaceX Starship Flight 7 launch: Live updates : https://www.space.com/news/live/spacex-starship-missions-updates https://x.com/SpaceX .
Booster catch complete. Less than 8 minutes for the round trip. That's pretty astounding when you think about it.
Catching the booster again is a huge accomplishment... Not sure what the plan is from here though? Seems like not much progress since the first time they caught the booster.
