View source for Engineering:Mr. Steven

{{copy edit|date=October 2018}}
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|Ship name=''Mr. Steven''
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'''''Mr. Steven''''' is a ship intended as a landing platform for [[Company:SpaceX|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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wattles |first1=Jackie |title=SpaceX's latest launch and recovery attempt: We explain it all |url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/31/technology/spacex-fairing-recovery-explained/index.html |website=CNNMoney |accessdate=3 October 2018 |date=31 March 2018}}</ref>

== Fairing reuse ==
In March 2017, as part of the [[Engineering:SES-10|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.{{r|sn20170330|verge20170330}} The company announced intent to eventually land the fairings on a dry flexible structure, jokingly described by [[Biography:Elon Musk|Elon Musk]] as a "floating bouncy-castle", with the aim of full fairing reuse.{{r|floridatoday_26216836069515264}}

The "bouncy castle" idea superseded a net strung between large arms of a fast [[Engineering:Platform supply vessel|platform supply vessel]] named ''Mr. Steven''. The recovery vessel is equipped with [[Earth:Dynamic positioning|dynamic positioning]] systems and was first tested after the launch of the [[Engineering:Paz (satellite)|Paz]] satellite from {{wipe|Vandenberg Air Force Base}} in February 2017.<ref name=techcrunch20180220>{{cite news|last1=Etherington|first1=Darrell|title=SpaceX to use a net boat called ‘Mr. Steven’ to recover next rocket&nbsp;fairing|url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/20/spacex-to-use-a-net-boat-called-mr-steven-to-recover-next-rocket-fairing/|accessdate=February 20, 2018|work=TechCrunch|date=February 20, 2018|language=en}}</ref><ref name="nsf-20180225">{{cite news|last1=Baylor|first1=Michael|title=SpaceX’s Mr. Steven, the FSV fairing catcher – NASASpaceFlight.com|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/02/spacexs-mr-steven-fsv-fairing-catcher/|accessdate=February 26, 2018|work=NASASpaceFlight.com|date=February 25, 2018}}</ref> This recovery attempt was not fully successful. The fairing missed the boat by a few hundred meters and landed intact in the water<ref>{{cite tweet |user=elonmusk |number=966692641533390848 |date=22 Feb 2018 |title=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. }}</ref> before being recovered and taken back to port.{{r|nsf-20180225}} {{asof|2018|08}}, 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bartels |first1=Meghan |title=SpaceX Lands Rocket in Harshest Conditions to Date and Attempts to Catch Fairing |url=https://www.space.com/41273-spacex-launch-iridium-satellites-harsh-weather.html |website=Space.com |publisher=Purch |accessdate=7 August 2018 |date=July 25, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Wall |first1=Mike |title=SpaceX Gives Nose-Cone-Catching Boat 'Mr. Steven' a Bigger Net |url=https://www.space.com/41168-spacex-boat-mr-steven-bigger-net.html |website=Space.com |publisher=Purch |accessdate=7 August 2018 |date=July 13, 2018}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-mr-steven-helicopter-drop-test-practice/|title=SpaceX's Mr. Steven returns with Falcon fairing half in net after drop test practice|website=www.teslarati.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-10-12}}</ref>

The cost of the fairing is about $6 million each, which accounts for 10 percent of the overall launch costs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Clark |first1=Stephen |title=New photos illustrate progress in SpaceX’s fairing recovery attempts – Spaceflight Now |url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/06/01/new-photos-illustrate-progress-in-spacexs-fairing-recovery-attempts/ |website=spaceflightnow.com |publisher=Pole Star Publications Ltd |accessdate=7 August 2018 |date=June 1, 2018}}</ref>

==Modifications==
In July 2018, the ship was upgraded to fit a broader net with an area of {{cvt|3700|m2|acres}}, 4x more extensive than the original size.{{r|netSize}} The upgrade included fitting four large arms, which are each supported and positioned by two extendable shock-absorbing booms.{{r|teslaRati2}} Each arm can be removed and disassembled into six major subsections.{{r|TeslaRati}} These four shock-absorbing arms replaced the previous rigid arms that supported the smaller net.

== See also ==
* [[Engineering:Autonomous spaceport drone ship|Autonomous spaceport drone ship]]

==References==

{{Reflist|refs = 
<ref name=sn20170330>
{{cite news |last=Henry |first=Caleb |url=http://spacenews.com/spacex-demonstrates-rocket-reusability-with-ses-10-launch-and-booster-landing/ |title=SpaceX demonstrates reusability |date=March 30, 2017 |work=SpaceNews |accessdate=13 September 2017 }}</ref>

<ref name=floridatoday_26216836069515264>{{cite news|url= 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/ |title= Things we learned after SpaceX's historic Falcon 9 relaunch and landing |website= Florida Today |first= Emre |last= Kelly |date= 2017-03-31 |accessdate= 2017-04-01}}</ref>

<ref name=verge20170330>
{{cite news |last1=Lopatto |first1=Elizabeth |title=SpaceX even landed the nose cone from its historic used Falcon 9 rocket launch |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/30/15132314/spacex-launch-fairing-landing-falcon-9-thruster-parachutes |accessdate=31 March 2017 |work=[[The Verge]] |date=30 March 2017}}</ref>

<ref name="netSize">{{cite web |last1=Miley |first1=Jessica |title=SpaceX's Recovery Vessel 'Mr. Steven' Gets a Massive Net Upgrade |url=https://interestingengineering.com/spacexs-recovery-vessel-mr-steven-gets-a-massive-net-upgrade |website=Interesting Engineering |accessdate=3 October 2018 |date=18 July 2018}}</ref>

<ref name = "spec1">{{cite web |title=Mr. Steven |url=http://www.seatranmarine.com/vessels-1/mr-steven |website=www.seatranmarine.com |accessdate=3 October 2018}}</ref>

<ref name = "spec2">{{cite web |title=Mr. Steven |url=https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:3439091/mmsi:338358000/imo:9744465/vessel:MR_STEVEN |website=MarineTraffic |accessdate=3 October 2018}}</ref>

<ref name="spec3">{{cite web |title=Vessel Documentation Query |url=https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/pls/webpls/cgv_pkg.vessel_id_list?vessel_id_in=1249191 |website=www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov |accessdate=3 October 2018}}</ref>

<ref name="TeslaRati">{{cite web |last1=Ralph |first1=Eric |title=SpaceX's Falcon 9 fairing catcher Mr Steven preps for October recovery attempt |url=https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-mr-steven-arm-reattachment-falcon-fairing-catch/amp/ |website=www.teslarati.com |accessdate=3 October 2018 |date=1 October 2018}}</ref>

<ref name="teslaRati2">{{cite web |title=SpaceX fairing catcher Mr Steven armless once more for maintenance and upgrades |url=https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-fairing-catcher-mr-steven-armless-maintenance-upgrades/ |website=www.teslarati.com |accessdate=3 October 2018 |date=27 August 2018}}</ref>
}}

[[Category:Engineering projects]]
[[Category:Spaceflight technologies]]

{{Sourceattribution|Mr. Steven|1}}