They've pretty much scrapped their initial plans to use old oil platforms for launches, and the size of a barge needed to launch (and retrieve the first stage) would be tremendous. That idea is a complete non-starter.
They did scrap their initial plans, because they won’t need that capability until they’re launching like 1000 times per year. That might not be until one or two decades from now. Would it make sense to try to maintain that capability starting now and then just let it rest for two decades.
They have mentioned recently that they do still plan to go to barge launching when they get to 1000 flights per year.
The idea is not crazy, at least not any more than anything else related to Starship. But it is not needed right now.
They have mentioned recently that they do still plan to go to barge launching when they get to 1000 flights per year.
The idea is not crazy, at least not any more than anything else related to Starship. But it is not needed right now.