It was at the heart of the news during October 2024, when the first stage of the Starship returned to Earth. SpaceX’s launch tower isn’t named Mechazilla by chance. But if the origin of its name is transparent, the initial idea finds its source elsewhere.
Mechazilla. This is a name that you have certainly heard a lot during the month of October 2024. Especially if you are interested in the news of the conquest of space: in fact, it is the nickname of the tower that SpaceX uses for its tests with the Starship rocket. A huge tower, equipped with two mechanical arms at its top.
On the occasion of the fifth test flight of the giant launcher, SpaceX achieved a great first, and this on the first try: catching the first stage of the Starship (called the Super Heavy) in mid-flight, before it hits the ground. This was enabled by tiny brackets on either side of the Super Heavy, which sat on each mechanical arm.
Coming soon, we should soon see the Mechazilla in action again. First during the sixth test campaign, which should strongly resemble the previous one, then during the next, which could be the opportunity to carry out the same maneuver, but this time catching the upper stage . This would then be a new first.
Mechazilla, SpaceX’s mechanical Godzilla
If you have a little sense, you can quite easily guess the meaning of the name given to the launch tower. It is a portmanteau word resulting from the fusion between the English word mechanical (or mechanics) with Godzilla, who no longer really needs an introduction. He is the emblematic monster par excellence of Japanese cinema, a figure of pop culture.
We can understand why Elon Musk nicknamed the tower like that. It is very high – it peaks at 122 meters -, a size which is similar to the mythical reptile (its size varies considerably from one film to another, but in recent films, notably Godzilla x Kong The New Kingdom, it It is established that the beast measures 120 meters).
In short, the tower is a Mechanical Godzilladue to its size and giant claws. in any case, Elon Musk established this parallel for the first time on X (ex-Twitter) on April 21, 2021. “ The launch tower of the ship that catches the giant rocket launcher is actually Mechazilla “, he wrote. And, much later, he claimed this parallel with Godzilla.
As of April 2021, the tower had not yet received its arms. We will have to wait a while before equipping it with these two extensions – Elon Musk shared a photo in 2022 showing the structure fully equipped and carrying out a test to verify the ability to support the Super Heavy. And two years later, the test in real conditions was validated.
At the origin of the idea, the film Karate Kid
However, the idea of using a giant tower to recover a rocket when it returns from a mission, without touching the ground, did not originally come from Japanese cinema. In any case, not from this cinema. This is another pop culture reference that has been a source of inspiration. The story dates back to the end of 2020.
Initially, the Mechazilla’s sole purpose was to serve as a “crane” to stack and unstack the two floors of the Starship. But over the course of the meetings, another idea emerged: why not also use it to recover the floors upon their return? This would take the need to build landing gear out of the equation.
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This is where the film comes in. Karate Kid1984 version. At one point, we see Master Kesuke Miyagi (Pat Morita) trying to catch a fly with chopsticks, all before the eyes of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). Daniel ends up also trying his luck and, after a few tries, succeeds. Which in passing hurts sensei Miyagi’s ego.
Elon Musk made no secret of it. “ We stole the idea from Karate Kid “, he wrote in 2021. “ It’s like Karate Kid, but bigger », he added again. And so on. He was still talking about it like this in October, ahead of D-Day and the highly anticipated test. It’s surprising evidence of how pop culture can shape the mind and guide certain decisions.
This anecdote is also shared in the biography written by Walter Isaacson about the businessman. The author, who also wrote down the lives of personalities like Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein, shared two photos from his book on X telling the story. Since then, the idea has become reality.
