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SpaceX installs seventh Mechazilla tower section
SpaceX has installed seven of nine Mechazilla tower sections at Cape Canaveral, using the 3,000-tonne Liebherr LR 13000 crane.
Image: iXBT
SpaceX has installed the seventh of nine sections of its first Mechazilla launch tower at Pad 37A in Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The eighth module is ready to be lifted, potentially as soon as the coming weekend if weather conditions allow, according to Julia Bergeron.
Nine-section Mechazilla tower
After the eighth section is installed, only the ninth and uppermost module will remain. It includes the crown block and pulley system used by the tower’s lifting equipment.
The tower is being assembled with a Liebherr LR 13000, a German-built crawler crane described as the world’s most powerful, with a lifting capacity of up to 3,000 tonnes. Its construction is a major step in preparing Pad 37A for future Starship launches.
Once the main tower sections are complete, SpaceX will still need to install the mechanical “chopsticks,” rocket servicing systems, and other equipment required for testing and launches. A high-quality photograph from the Florida construction site appeared online in recent days.
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Frontier Editor
Dan is our resident futurist, covering electric mobility, space exploration, and the smart home. He's interested in atoms just as much as bits. Whether it's a new battery chemistry, a reusable rocket, or a protocol that finally makes IoT devices talk to each other, Dan breaks down the engineering that pushes humanity forward.
via iXBT
