捉到了

2024年10月23日

Caught
Credit & Copyright: SpaceX

Explanation: What if a rocket could return to its launch tower — and be caught? This happened for the first time 10 days ago, after a SpaceX Starship rocket blasted off from its pad in Boca Chica, Texas, USA. Starship then split, as planned, with its upper stage landing in the Pacific Ocean. The big difference was the lower stage, Super Heavy Booster 12, was caught by its launch tower about 7 minutes later. Catching a rocket for reuse is a new and innovative way to help reduce the cost of rocket flight by making rockets more easily reusable. Starship rockets may be used by NASA in the future to send spacecraft to Earth orbit, the Moon, and even other planets.

Tomorrow’s picture: open space

捉到了
影像提供与版权: SpaceX

说明: 要是火箭能返回发射塔，然后被捉住，不是很神奇吗？这种场景在10天前还真的发生了。当时，太空探险公司的星舰火箭，从美国 德州的博卡奇卡村发射。后来，星舰如期分离，上级火箭降落在太平洋，而名为超重载助推器12的下级火箭，则在7分钟后被发射塔捉住。这种捕捉火箭并重复使用的创新技术，可降低火箭再使用的难度，从而压低火箭发射的成本。在未来，美国国家航空航天局可能会使用星舰火箭，把航天器送到地球轨道、月球，甚至其他行星。

明日的图片: open space