Engineering:Mr. Steven

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History
Name: Mr. Steven
Operator: Sea Tran Marine
Builder: Gulf Craft
Yard number: home port Berth 240, Port of Los Angeles
Christened: November 2014
Identification:
  • Call sign WDH8234
  • IMO 9744465
  • MMSI 338358000
  • USCG doc no. 1249191
General characteristics
Type: platform supply vessel
Tonnage:
  • 496 cargo
  • 96 gross
  • 65 net
Length: 205 ft
Beam: 34 ft
Draft: 5 ft
Depth: 13 ft
Installed power: 10,300 hp
Propulsion: 4 × Cat 3516C DH
Speed: 32 kts
Capacity: 84 (maximum)
Notes: [1][2][3]

Mr. Steven is a ship intended as a landing platform for SpaceX's reusable rocket payload fairings. The ship is fitted with four large arms, which support an elevated horizontal net, similar to a giant trampoline, or trapeze net. The ship is named after the father of Sea Tran's CEO, Steven Miguez.[4]

Fairing reuse

In March 2017, as part of the SES-10 mission, SpaceX performed a controlled landing of the payload fairing for the first time and successfully recovered a fairing half, aided by attitude-control thrusters and a steerable parachute, helping it glide towards a gentle touchdown on water.[5][6] The company announced intent to eventually land the fairings on a dry flexible structure, jokingly described by Elon Musk as a "floating bouncy-castle", with the aim of full fairing reuse.[7]

The "bouncy castle" idea superseded a net strung between large arms of a fast platform supply vessel named Mr. Steven. The recovery vessel is equipped with dynamic positioning systems and was first tested after the launch of the Paz satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in February 2017.[8][9] This recovery attempt was not fully successful. The fairing missed the boat by a few hundred meters and landed intact in the water[10] before being recovered and taken back to port.[9] (As of August 2018), all four attempts by SpaceX to land a fairing on the recovery ship have failed, despite fitting Mr. Steven with larger nets before the July 2018 attempt.[11][12]

In October 2018, SpaceX started to perform drop tests of a fairing-half from a helicopter into the net, to practice recovery outside mission situations.[13]

The cost of the fairing is about $6 million each, which accounts for 10 percent of the overall launch costs.[14]

Modifications

In July 2018, the ship was upgraded to fit a broader net with an area of 3,700 m2 (0.91 acres), 4x more extensive than the original size.[15] The upgrade included fitting four large arms, which are each supported and positioned by two extendable shock-absorbing booms.[16] Each arm can be removed and disassembled into six major subsections.[17] These four shock-absorbing arms replaced the previous rigid arms that supported the smaller net.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Mr. Steven". http://www.seatranmarine.com/vessels-1/mr-steven. Retrieved 3 October 2018. 
  2. ↑ "Mr. Steven". https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:3439091/mmsi:338358000/imo:9744465/vessel:MR_STEVEN. Retrieved 3 October 2018. 
  3. ↑ "Vessel Documentation Query". https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/pls/webpls/cgv_pkg.vessel_id_list?vessel_id_in=1249191. Retrieved 3 October 2018. 
  4. ↑ Wattles, Jackie (31 March 2018). "SpaceX's latest launch and recovery attempt: We explain it all". https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/31/technology/spacex-fairing-recovery-explained/index.html. Retrieved 3 October 2018. 
  5. ↑ Henry, Caleb (March 30, 2017). "SpaceX demonstrates reusability". SpaceNews. http://spacenews.com/spacex-demonstrates-rocket-reusability-with-ses-10-launch-and-booster-landing/. Retrieved 13 September 2017. 
  6. ↑ Lopatto, Elizabeth (30 March 2017). "SpaceX even landed the nose cone from its historic used Falcon 9 rocket launch". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/30/15132314/spacex-launch-fairing-landing-falcon-9-thruster-parachutes. Retrieved 31 March 2017. 
  7. ↑ Kelly, Emre (2017-03-31). "Things we learned after SpaceX's historic Falcon 9 relaunch and landing". http://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2017/03/31/things-we-learned-spacex-elon-musk-falcon9-reusability-kennedy-space-center-florida-ses10/99869966/. Retrieved 2017-04-01. 
  8. ↑ Etherington, Darrell (February 20, 2018). "SpaceX to use a net boat called ‘Mr. Steven’ to recover next rocket fairing" (in en). TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/20/spacex-to-use-a-net-boat-called-mr-steven-to-recover-next-rocket-fairing/. Retrieved February 20, 2018. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Baylor, Michael (February 25, 2018). "SpaceX’s Mr. Steven, the FSV fairing catcher – NASASpaceFlight.com". NASASpaceFlight.com. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/02/spacexs-mr-steven-fsv-fairing-catcher/. Retrieved February 26, 2018. 
  10. ↑ @elonmusk (22 Feb 2018). "Missed by a few hundred meters, but fairing landed intact in water. Should be able catch it with slightly bigger chutes to slow down descent.". https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/966692641533390848. 
  11. ↑ Bartels, Meghan (July 25, 2018). "SpaceX Lands Rocket in Harshest Conditions to Date and Attempts to Catch Fairing". Purch. https://www.space.com/41273-spacex-launch-iridium-satellites-harsh-weather.html. Retrieved 7 August 2018. 
  12. ↑ Wall, Mike (July 13, 2018). "SpaceX Gives Nose-Cone-Catching Boat 'Mr. Steven' a Bigger Net". Purch. https://www.space.com/41168-spacex-boat-mr-steven-bigger-net.html. Retrieved 7 August 2018. 
  13. ↑ "SpaceX's Mr. Steven returns with Falcon fairing half in net after drop test practice" (in en-US). https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-mr-steven-helicopter-drop-test-practice/. 
  14. ↑ Clark, Stephen (June 1, 2018). "New photos illustrate progress in SpaceX’s fairing recovery attempts – Spaceflight Now". Pole Star Publications Ltd. https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/06/01/new-photos-illustrate-progress-in-spacexs-fairing-recovery-attempts/. Retrieved 7 August 2018. 
  15. ↑ Miley, Jessica (18 July 2018). "SpaceX's Recovery Vessel 'Mr. Steven' Gets a Massive Net Upgrade". https://interestingengineering.com/spacexs-recovery-vessel-mr-steven-gets-a-massive-net-upgrade. Retrieved 3 October 2018. 
  16. ↑ "SpaceX fairing catcher Mr Steven armless once more for maintenance and upgrades". 27 August 2018. https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-fairing-catcher-mr-steven-armless-maintenance-upgrades/. Retrieved 3 October 2018. 
  17. ↑ Ralph, Eric (1 October 2018). "SpaceX's Falcon 9 fairing catcher Mr Steven preps for October recovery attempt". https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-mr-steven-arm-reattachment-falcon-fairing-catch/amp/. Retrieved 3 October 2018. 




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