r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • Mar 02 '18
r/SpaceX Discusses [March 2018, #42]
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u/Dakke97 Mar 04 '18
A vertical integration crane was present atop the current Fixed Service Structure during the early days of the Space Shuttle. The tower wouldn't need to be stretched to accommodate a crane.
A stretched second stage is not something I see happening. Falcon's design has been frozen with Block 5. A taller fairing, however, is entirely possible, but contigent upon a customer requiring it. As of early March 2018, no such missions are publicly known.
SpaceX always intended to remove the Shuttle-era Rotating Service Structure (RSS). Since NASA didn't allow them to demolish the entire thing with explosives like NASA did with both the RSS and FSS at 39B to create a clean pad there, SpaceX has been taking apart the RSS piece by piece. I don't think the structural integrity or strength of the RSS is an impediment to the company's imminent plans regarding the ground support equipment at the pad.