The US space exploration technology company SpaceX has tested the newly installed giant mechanical arm Mechazilla for the first time at its test site in southern Texas. This pair of robotic arms is like an enlarged version of chopsticks, which will be used for soft landing and recovery of the interstellar spacecraft and its boosters.
SpaceX fans claimed via Twitter SpaceX tested Mechazilla for the first time in its history, and it showed that it was swinging its arm to the left side of the interstellar base, which proved’chopsticks’.
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In August of this year, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed on Twitter: “SpaceX will try to use robotic chopsticks to capture the largest flying object in history.” He also teased Mechazilla’s ability to capture interstellar ships, saying It’s like picking up small pieces of sushi with chopsticks.
Soon after, some SpaceX fans posted an animated video on Twitter, guessing how Mechazilla works. Musk affirmed, saying it is “very close” to SpaceX’s vision. This is a very crazy concept. If there is a problem with any link, it is likely to evolve into a huge disaster.
In the past few months, SpaceX has been stepping up the construction of a 440-foot (about 134-meter) launch tower. On October 6, SpaceX began to assemble the three main components of Mechazilla, such as the carriage-like structure, the tower QD arm, and two huge robotic arms. By October 20, SpaceX had basically completed the installation of Mechazilla on the launch tower.
Moreover, Mechazilla is part of SpaceX’s first attempt to launch an interstellar spacecraft for its first orbital test flight. Last week, SpaceX successfully conducted a static ignition test on the first orbital-class interstellar spacecraft prototype S20, which indicates that the company may soon try to use Mechazilla to recover the first interstellar spacecraft and super-heavy rocket booster.
However, given that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is conducting an environmental investigation, it is still uncertain when the SpaceX interstellar spacecraft will launch its first orbital test. But Musk himself predicts that the test will be carried out as soon as next month, although it is still waiting for “regulatory approval.”
