For the third time, SpaceX has installed Super Heavy Booster 4 (B4) on Starbaseâs lone orbital launch mount, kicking off preparations for CEO Elon Muskâs upcoming presentation.
In a decision that is difficult to logically explain, however, SpaceX chose to install Super Heavy on the âorbital launch mountâ with a crane instead of a complex pair of giant arms explicitly designed to lift, stack, and catch Starship hardware that the company has spent the last several months installing and testing.
This does not make a great deal of sense. One obvious explanation would be that those arms â despite completing multiple lift tests with hundreds of tons of water bags in recent weeks â are not ready for lifting and stacking operations. However, Starbase does not have a crane large enough to lift Starship S20 onto Booster 4, meaning that SpaceX almost certainly intends to use the towerâs arms to do so.