SpaceX CEO Elon Musk unveiled the company’s newest launch vehicle on Thursday, confirming the spacecraft is designed specifically to pull past its target trajectory and slowly reverse into a tight slot in low Earth orbit. The next-generation rocket reportedly utilizes a highly calibrated array of maneuvering thrusters to gently tap the bumper of an adjacent communications satellite before straightening out.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk unveiled the company’s newest launch vehicle on Thursday, confirming the spacecraft is designed specifically to pull past its target trajectory and slowly reverse into a tight slot in low Earth orbit. The next-generation rocket reportedly utilizes a highly calibrated array of maneuvering thrusters to gently tap the bumper of an adjacent communications satellite before straightening out and cutting its engines.
Speaking from a developer keynote at the company’s Starbase facility in Texas, Musk explained that returning to first principles meant addressing the severe lack of available space at 400 kilometers above sea level. He noted that the new orbital vehicle will signal its intentions by blinking its starboard navigation lights for several minutes while awkwardly waiting for a defunct 1980s Soviet weather probe to finish pulling out. Once the orbit is clear, the rocket's automated flight stack will execute a sequence of sharp, hesitant diagonal burns.
Aerospace analysts observing the simulation noted that the maneuver requires the multi-million-dollar spacecraft to pull up perfectly parallel to the International Space Station, cut its primary boosters, and feather its cold-gas thrusters while adjusting its side-view telemetry. If the angle of approach is mathematically incorrect on the initial attempt, the vehicle’s onboard computer is programmed to pull forward into a higher orbit, briefly reset its orientation, and try the exact same backing maneuver again while transmitting an automated error code blaming the glare from the sun.
We quickly realized that the hardest part of the roadmap wasn't atmospheric reentry, but rather teaching the autonomous guidance system to ignore the aggressive honking from the Starlink constellation behind it.
In addition to the parallel parking capabilities, internal documents suggest future iterations of the launch vehicle will feature an oversized, reflective foil sunshade automatically deployed across the cockpit window once docked. At press time, SpaceX confirmed that an early prototype had successfully reached a stable orbit but was currently circling the equator a fourth time after realizing the spot it originally wanted was clearly marked as a commercial loading zone.