A reddit rendering of what the December SpaceX flight might bring…
From Elon: the autonomous spaceport drone ship has thrusters repurposed from deep sea oil rigs to hold position within 3m even in a storm. Base is 300 ft by 100 ft, with wings that extend width to 170 ft. Will allow refuel & rocket flyback in future.
Hypesonic grid fins (near the top of the booster) are stowed on ascent and then deploy on reentry for “x-wing” style control. Each fin moves independently for pitch/yaw/roll.
Rendering from the community http://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/2n45k5/render_of_f9_on_the_barge/
Leave a Reply