Comments by "ke6gwf - Ben Blackburn" (@ke6gwf) on "" video.

@ASBiskey , the previous version aluminum grid fins were 4 feet by 5 feet each, and the current titanium version is larger than that,though I don't have an exact size. Look around for a picture of a human next to the grid fins, and you will realize how large they really are! Lol
5
Don't worry, think about how many times it took to stick a regular landing! This is only the second, and it was bad luck it was in heavy seas. I suspect that because this was pushing the envelope anyway, that they didn't prioritize finishing the custom work on the Octograbber, but that they will have it done by the next Heavy flight, and we will get an intact center core back.
1
Oh, they have multiple options, but when the waves are too big to safely board the ship to secure it because the rocket is sliding around, most of the options are unavailable for safety reasons. And they are working on making a way for the Octograbber robot to be able to grab the Heavy core, but Elon said that the system hasn't been finished yet. The Heavy core has the booster mounting lugs in the place where the Octograbber clamps on to a standard Falcon 9, and so they have to design a different clamp system that allows either style to be grabbed, and it sounds like they are close, but it just hadn't been finalized yet, or this core didn't have a compatible updated lug or something. But I suspect that it will be taken care of before the next FH launch
1
@PassifloraCerulea , yes, seas were too rough for them to safely board and secure it manually.
1
@WoodworkerDon , being able to lay it down without humans there to rig it would be very complex and expensive, add weight to the booster, and add many failure points. The current method of simply using the Octograbber robot works great, except that it wasn't compatible with this particular core, which should be corrected in future launches
1