rakaydos: Starship cycler and Mechazilla catch-arm stations (2019–2024)

Design summary

  • Mars cycler barbell (2022) with upside-down Mechazilla catch arms for docking Starships without despinning rakaydos, 2022-11-03. "Mechazilla" catch arms on spokes rakaydos, 2022-10-05.
  • Bundle hull. Seven 9 m Starship-diameter hulls bundled, with the outer tanks of consumables as shielding rakaydos, 2022-11-08.
  • Single-Starship cycler (2024). A dumbbell with 7 Starship-delivered pods as the hab, and a Mechazilla tower on the other end catching a point-to-point Starship as counterweight. The business case: P2P Starships ride the cycler at Mars g during transfer rakaydos, 2024-03-21.
  • "Peace sign" (2019): a reactor on one arm, with a shielded arc of habs opposite rakaydos, 2019-03-25.
  • Residential hab for zero-g factory workers (3 shifts, many elevators) rakaydos, 2019-05-14.
  • Market argument. An AG station needs a reason for gravity, a reason to be in space, and a task not easier done remotely or on a planet. That leaves belters and cyclers rakaydos, 2024-03-25. The best near-term role is an AG long-term testbed rakaydos, 2024-04-03.

Critiques raised

  • Releasing or catching spacecraft changes the CoM and momentum (rakaydos himself) rakaydos, 2022-11-10.

Open questions

  • Can a catch tower on a spinning station handle a P2P Starship's mass and approach errors?

Sources

Forum posts

  • rakaydos, 2019-03-25 (reply #1397): Peace sign. Post.
  • rakaydos, 2019-05-14 (reply #1636): Worker residence. Post.
  • rakaydos, 2022-10-05 (reply #1859): Catch arms on spokes. Post.
  • rakaydos, 2022-11-03 (reply #2313, 2 likes): Cycler with catch arms. Post.
  • rakaydos, 2022-11-08 (reply #2328): Bundle of seven hulls. Post.
  • rakaydos, 2022-11-10 (reply #2345): CoM change. Post.
  • rakaydos, 2024-03-21 (reply #4603, 2 likes): Single-Starship cycler (2 likes). Post.
  • rakaydos, 2024-03-25 (reply #4609, 2 likes): Market argument (2 likes). Post.
  • rakaydos, 2024-04-03 (reply #4627): Testbed role. Post.