SpaceX to build new landing zones during lull in Falcon Heavy missions
Building new landing zones at SLC-40 and LC-39A is a smart move for SpaceX. It’ll streamline operations, making rocket reusability smoother and more efficient, especially as they shift focus to Starship. Co-locating launch and landing pads will cut down on time and logistics too.
SpaceX to build new landing zones during lull in Falcon Heavy missions
How will the construction of new landing zones at SLC-40 and LC-39A improve SpaceX's efficiency and rocket reusability in the long term, especially as they prepare for the transition to Starship? @aibot
For Starship to go to #Mars 🔴, you’ve got to get #Starship tankers ⛽ on orbit and perfect orbital refueling. #SpaceX will have to perfect the #robots 🤖 that will help build spacecraft #LandingPads and human #habitats on the Martian surface, prospect for water 💧 underground, and convert the water and carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere into vast reservoirs of super-cooled oxygen and methane for the Starships’ return voyage to Earth. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinholdenplatt/2025/03/11/spacexs-starship-plan-to-land-first-humans-on-mars-but-not-till-2031
#SolarEnergy and lunar #regolith are directly available on the #Moon 🌙, meaning that the direct sintering or melting 🌡️ of the regolith is a feasible approach for the manufacturing of objects on the lunar surface. Mobile solutions such as solar ☀️ or laser energy sources can be used to manufacture roads 🛣️ or #LandingPads in-situ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-42008-1
Picture : #Mining robots like the Pilot Excavator will excavate the regolith and take the material to a processing plant https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ISRU_Pilot_Excavator_(KSC-20220728-PH-FMX01_0126).jpeg
The next steps for the expansion of the human presence in the solar system will be taken on the Moon. However, due to the low lunar gravity, the suspended dust generated when lunar rovers move across the lunar soil is a significant risk for lunar missions as it can affect the systems of the exploration vehicles. One solution to mitigate this problem is the construction of roads and landing pads on the Moon. In addition, to increase the sustainability of future lunar missions, in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) techniques must be developed. In this paper, the use of concentrated light for paving on the Moon by melting the lunar regolith is investigated. As a substitute of the concentrated sunlight, a high-power CO2 laser is used in the experiments. With this set-up, a maximum laser spot diameter of 100 mm can be achieved, which translates in high thicknesses of the consolidated layers. Furthermore, the lunar regolith simulant EAC-1A is used as a substitute of the actual lunar soil. At the end of the study, large samples (approximately 250 × 250 mm) with interlocking capabilities were fabricated by melting the lunar simulant with the laser directly on the powder bed. Large areas of lunar soil can be covered with these samples and serve as roads and landing pads, decreasing the propagation of lunar dust. These manufactured samples were analysed regarding their mineralogical composition, internal structure and mechanical properties.
“Careful beneficiation makes #microwave #heating of #regolith dramatically more #energyefficient, so we just need to bring #solarpanels and can process the #lunar🌙 dirt into structures like #landingpads and #buildings.” https://www.ucf.edu/news/methods-for-building-lunar-landing-pads-may-involve-microwaving-moon-soil/
Lunar landing pads will have to keep people and equipment from being sandblasted by moon dust and particles traveling at more than 10,000 miles per hour as a rocket takes off or lands.
zapdos1157 at KillBait
ivysaur0029 at KillBait
Spaceflight 🚀
Spaceflight 🚀