[MOC] - SpaceX's Starship Stage Zero - "Mechazilla"

[cyberdyne systems]

Well, after the B7+S24 got RUD (Rapid Unplanned Disassembly) I am finally ready to make an article about my own copy of Starship/SuperHeavy Lifting system made out of Lego. And, especially, the most important part of it - stage Zero aka The Mechazilla.

 

It took me almost a year to make this model work properly and be durable enough. You may have seen the progress of me building it in another post here. And now lets examine the result of all this.

Legendary view from under the booster. You may see all 33 Raptor-2 engines and the locks which hold the booster on the launch table.

 

Quick info about the rocket itself - it is made almost entirely out of Saturn V, so it is not in canonical metallic-silver. But all important features are present: folding flaps whicj can hold the weight of starship, 3+3 Raptors on the starship, 33 engines in correct layout on booster, gridfins also durable enough to bear the mass of the booster. 

Also it is not to scale with saturn V, cause 1:110 starship proved to be too heavy for lifting.

 

The tower still measures up to more than a meter.

 

As you could have guessed already - the main fuction of the model is to lift and stack the starship, which it does almost perfectly and without any considerable struggle. 

 

Starship rises to the sky being held by the mighty chopsticks

Even the super heavy Superheavy gets a liftoff.

So, its time to explain how it works. The model uses all 8 ports of 2 C+ smarthubs. One is located at the base of the tower (it operates extra function) and the second one is placed in the carriage inside the tower (it operates all main fuctions of it):

1 SmartHub:

-2 L motors - open and close chopsticks. (If one closes and other opens - chopsticks swing to the left or to the right)

-Xl motor - drives the winch which lifts the carriage (the caariage actually consists of two almost independent ones - one is inside the tower (it holds all motors and hub) and the second is outside the tower (it holds chopsticks)

-M motor - operates the "Elons's treads" carriages on the surface of the chopsticks which move starship closer or further from the tower.

Due to the enourmous height of the tower it was impossible to have all the motors in the base. Some had to be moved with the carriage. Also I wanted the tower to look as close to the original as possible. So, the only option I had is to make the second carriage for the motor and left a vertical opening from top to the bottom of the tower to connect chopsticks to the motors.

Second Hub operates all other functions:

- L motor - swings the QDA (Quick disconnect arm)

- L motor - operates the pump which ww will discuss later

- L motor - locks and unlocks the booster on the launch table

- L motor - moves the transporter to imitate the process of getting the starship or the booster to the launch site

 

Now, about the pump. while the motor is running it drives the pump and turns the pneumatic switch. Depending on the direction you drive it.

The pump opens or closes QDA's claw (which holds fullstack in place) with starship's fuelling arm. And opens or closes booster's fuelling arm alongside with its thermo protection.

 

Launch table's locks are simple levers that can angle to hold a booster. But they are also springloaded, so when you lift booster from the table, all locks automatically fold back making way for hypothetical hot flumes.

QDA itself is just a simple structure driven by a single actuator which swings it from or to the starship.

Finally - the transporter is just a stand with a bunch of small wheels. It can only drive back and forth as it is attached to the tracks under the "road".

 

Now, enough of static fires photos, lets light this candle see it in action!

I hope you liked it. Good luck to Elon on the next launch and good luck to all of you! Fly safe!

Edited April 20, 2023 by cyberdyne systems

[Good old Lego builder]

Well done! Interesting build of something we don’t see that often here!

[cyberdyne systems]

On 4/21/2023 at 8:54 AM, Good old Lego builder said:

Well done! Interesting build of something we don’t see that often here!

Rockets? Or Towers? Or rocket towers? ;)

[Davidz90]

Indeed, pretty unusual and very impressive!