Twark_Main: "Simplest Dumbest AG" (two Starships + tether service module, 2022)

Design summary

Concept. Add a nose docking port to Starship. A free-flying Tether Service Module (TSM) has two passive docking ports and is rigid before deployment Twark_Main, 2022-12-24.
Sequence. Two Starships dock to the TSM and spin; the tether deploys under low-g stabilization; full spin-up happens at full length.
6-axis actuators damp tether vibrations; a CMG and torque transfer via a twisting ribbon tether.
If the tether fails, the ports auto-detach, the ships separate, re-dock, and spin at low g. The TSM is discarded after each flight.
Variants from others.
punder's four Starships: a tail-to-tail pair with noses docked to two more; ~2 rpm gives 0.38 g in the outer pair and 0.17 g in the inner pair punder, 2022-12-25.
Twark_Main: 3 Starships at 120° instead of 2 manage moments of inertia Twark_Main, 2023-01-08.
Feasibility notes. Paul451: Starship tank walls can handle the hanging engine section at 1 g with 600 kPa internal pressure; the nose supports crane lifts but not a NASA docking port Paul451, 2022-12-26.
mikelepage: Starship-derived designs are "pre-first-generation"; low spin g could settle propellant for depot transfer mikelepage, 2022-12-29.

Coastal Ron: spinning Starships causes slosh and shear on the docking hardware; use the X testbed instead Coastal Ron, 2023-01-07.