Starship prototype SN20 has been mated with Super Heavy Booster BN4.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B2_dfvRZ4M
#spacex #starship
@codewiz what was the thing in the last video? Where Musk said, "the pointier the better"
@kai uh? I must have missed this part.
Here he says "minus the lifts", which also seems a bit random:
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1423685209640226817
@kai The grid fin? It's for maneuvering the booster through the airflow at hypersonic speed.
...hypersonic grid fins...
@codewiz hmm! and here I thought they were just big shoe cleaners 😋
@kai Maybe the four giant shoe cleaners were an "in case" requirement, and they forgot to delete the part or the step before optimizing it for hypersonic wind speeds 😂
@codewiz Wikipedia says grid fins are effective at subsonic and supersonic speeds, but not transonic speeds, (based!)
which would explain the need for fin retractors. But I remember Musk saying something about their simulations not reflecting a need for it.
@kai We'll see what happens when reality hits the... fin 😂
@codewiz So cool. And now we know that the pieces actually fit together. :)