SpaceX’s monstrous, dirt-cheap Starship may transform space travel
1–10 of 431 posts
Re: SpaceX’s monstrous, dirt-cheap Starship may transform space travel
#2"Precisely when, though, remains unclear"
The subheading says so much
Re: SpaceX’s monstrous, dirt-cheap Starship may transform space travel
#3For size comparison, interesting that they put a SLS block 1 in there, which has never flown or been to orbit, but didn't include the Soviet N1 which at least has flown a few times (in catastrophic, exploding fashion) but also has never been to orbit.
They did include an Energia, which is a defunct program and has zero chances of ever getting manufactured again, same as the N1.
Re: SpaceX’s monstrous, dirt-cheap Starship may transform space travel
#4If only we could lower that peskty 1% chance of exploding each flight down a smidge.
Well, at least this means the rockets will be cheaper to replace!
Re: SpaceX’s monstrous, dirt-cheap Starship may transform space travel
#5If only we could lower that peskty 1% chance of exploding each flight down a smidge. Well, at least this means the rockets will be cheaper to replace!
What's the source for the 1%? It's not even flown into space yet.
Its extremely high flight rate makes it likely that its reliability will be closer to planes than rockets eventually.
Re: SpaceX’s monstrous, dirt-cheap Starship may transform space travel
#6If you're ever in the Houston area, I highly recommend going to see NASA Johnson Space Center. They have a full-size replica (?) Saturn V rocket on its side, you can see.
You simply can't grasp how big these rockets are until you see it up close. It's like a tall building blasting off into space. They're humongous.
I hope to one day see Starship up close in person as it takes off to space.
Re: SpaceX’s monstrous, dirt-cheap Starship may transform space travel
#7For size comparison, interesting that they put a SLS block 1 in there, which has never flown or been to orbit, but didn't include the Soviet N1 which at least has flown a few times (in catastrophic, exploding fashion) but also has never been to orbit. They did include an Energia, which is a defunct program and has zero chances of ever getting manufactured again, same as the N1.
I mean, the SLS is slated for a launch in the next few months and the N1 was a failed program that ended fifty years ago. I can see very well the reasons for including one and not the other.
Re: SpaceX’s monstrous, dirt-cheap Starship may transform space travel
#8If you're ever in the Houston area, I highly recommend going to see NASA Johnson Space Center. They have a full-size replica (?) Saturn V rocket on its side, you can see. You simply can't grasp how big these rockets are until you see it up close. It's like a tall building blasting off into space. They're humongous. I hope to one day see Starship up close in person as it takes off to space.
Not a replica, that one was actually flight certified but never used.
Re: SpaceX’s monstrous, dirt-cheap Starship may transform space travel
#9For size comparison, interesting that they put a SLS block 1 in there, which has never flown or been to orbit, but didn't include the Soviet N1 which at least has flown a few times (in catastrophic, exploding fashion) but also has never been to orbit. They did include an Energia, which is a defunct program and has zero chances of ever getting manufactured again, same as the N1.
Energia could (could...) Fly again according to some recent chatter.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a22515248/rus...
Re: SpaceX’s monstrous, dirt-cheap Starship may transform space travel
#10If you're ever in the Houston area, I highly recommend going to see NASA Johnson Space Center. They have a full-size replica (?) Saturn V rocket on its side, you can see. You simply can't grasp how big these rockets are until you see it up close. It's like a tall building blasting off into space. They're humongous. I hope to one day see Starship up close in person as it takes off to space.
I found it depressing. Ships aren't built to stay in the harbor, and rockets aren't built to lie on their side rusting.
They say we couldn't build another Saturn V if we tried. Apparently that old saw is true enough, at least for the original contractors.