Starship Orbital Launch Tower Moves Its Quick Disconnect Arm, Time-Lapse Video Is Amazing

That is so because, after years of trial and error, and countless Starship prototypes blowing up as they descended to their landing pads, SpaceX is finally about to go for the first orbital flight of the thing.

With hopes still running high that the launch could be achieved by the end of the year, the Starship is undergoing final testing. It was only last week when we saw bits and pieces of its heat shield being blown off during an ambient pressure test, for instance, and up next is the static fire test.

But it’s not only the Starship that is being put through its paces, but the other technologies involved in supporting it as well.

What we can see in the video attached below is the launch tower for the rocket, and we’re also witnessing the first time the tower’s Quick Disconnect (QD) Arm moving. The video was put together by the guys over at Cosmic Perspective, and it shows the movement of the arm in time-lapse, because the entire operation was incredibly slow, in order to test for any problems.

The piece of technology will be used for a variety of tasks. First, it will be in charge of providing a link for loading the ship with fuel and whatever else it needs for the trip. Then, they will be tasked with stabilizing the spacecraft on the launch pad. When the rocket launches, the arms will have to move out of the way, of course, faster than we see it doing it here.