Personal Project

The catch of the Super Heavy booster by the Mechazilla tower was a groundbreaking achievement for SpaceX, showcasing innovative engineering and precision in rocket recovery.

Inspired by this incredible feat, I modeled the entire landing operation in SolidWorks, creating a detailed video in SolidWorks Visualizer that captures every step of the process.

1st step: Involved modelling the Starship rocket using Solidworks. This design is made of stainless steel to be rapidly reusable in order to propel our species into becoming a multi-planetary one.

To model, you extrude the fuselage and the winds using the dimensions in the SpaceX website. Moreover the heat shield was modeled on the belly of the craft.

Second step: Designed the booster by creating an assembly utilizing components such as: the fuselage, grid fins to steer the booster, fuel tanks inside the rocket, and raptor engines propelling the spacecraft.

Third step: Built the Mechazilla Tower that will stack the starship assembly and then catch the booster upon its return.

Fourth step: To further understand the mechanics behind this operation, I conducted a stress FEA test to analyze the deformation of the catching arms at the moment of impact.

This project not only deepened my appreciation for aerospace engineering but also allowed me to explore advanced modeling techniques in a practical context.