31–40 of 70 posts
SpaceX's biggest advantage is that they iterate quickly. Hopefully next iteration fixes whatever problem they had today. Those boosters aren't cheap.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In a press conference an hour or so ago, I think Elon mentioned that, if he had to pick one core that would experience “rapid unscheduled dissassembly”, it would have been the center one. I think he mentioned it was due to the boosters having the expensive titanium grid fins and also being reusable for future flights. Regardless, it was absolutely wonderful to watch! I think the Youtube stream had 2,500,000 viewers a…
The unspoken point in Musk's comment is that SpaceX doesn't actually care if they get these particular rockets back. They want to prove reusability, of course, but no matter the outcome they never plan to re-fly these cores. They will focus on the not-yet-flown Block 5 cores, and standardize on that going forward. In this flight, the side boosters and center core were Blocks 3 and 4. So SpaceX definitely wants to rec…
Why are rocket versions specified with the word "Block"? The Saturn launchers did the same thing, but it seems like a strange word to use.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The booster's trajectory points to water until pretty shortly before landing. Precisely so that when things go wrong the expected result is to miss the drone ship (or landing pad).
Wonder if it would have been >100m away had all the engines failed. One engine working may have resulted in it attempting an approach?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The unspoken point in Musk's comment is that SpaceX doesn't actually care if they get these particular rockets back. They want to prove reusability, of course, but no matter the outcome they never plan to re-fly these cores. They will focus on the not-yet-flown Block 5 cores, and standardize on that going forward. In this flight, the side boosters and center core were Blocks 3 and 4. So SpaceX definitely wants to rec…
Didn't they say these boosters had already flown before? I'm also a bit surprised the grid find are so pricey, they seem pretty small? Not that I really know how much titanium costs to buy and machine.
I absolutely love the fact that SpaceX is so open and public about their rocket launches, however, I couldn't help but get the feeling that they were in full 'PR backlash' mode [over the core booster] when ending the live stream, and from skimming many of the instantaneous press releases. Does anyone else think that they were overly quiet on the core booster landing on purpose, in order to minimise negative PR on the…
I'm a big fan of SpaceX and of Musk as well, but he's still winning even if he fesses up to the minor setbacks.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The unspoken point in Musk's comment is that SpaceX doesn't actually care if they get these particular rockets back. They want to prove reusability, of course, but no matter the outcome they never plan to re-fly these cores. They will focus on the not-yet-flown Block 5 cores, and standardize on that going forward. In this flight, the side boosters and center core were Blocks 3 and 4. So SpaceX definitely wants to rec…
Didn't they say these boosters had already flown before? I'm also a bit surprised the grid find are so pricey, they seem pretty small? Not that I really know how much titanium costs to buy and machine.
Either that or they were specially made castings, which are similarly expensive in low volume, if not more.
> Eventually, Musk hopes to be able to turn rockets around in less than 24 hours and have reflown boosters go up twice in one day. This will be amazing.
Remember a few short years ago when humans always threw away the rocket after every trip?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The unspoken point in Musk's comment is that SpaceX doesn't actually care if they get these particular rockets back. They want to prove reusability, of course, but no matter the outcome they never plan to re-fly these cores. They will focus on the not-yet-flown Block 5 cores, and standardize on that going forward. In this flight, the side boosters and center core were Blocks 3 and 4. So SpaceX definitely wants to rec…
> Block 5 cores Why are rocket versions specified with the word "Block"? The Saturn launchers did the same thing, but it seems like a strange word to use.
I absolutely love the fact that SpaceX is so open and public about their rocket launches, however, I couldn't help but get the feeling that they were in full 'PR backlash' mode [over the core booster] when ending the live stream, and from skimming many of the instantaneous press releases. Does anyone else think that they were overly quiet on the core booster landing on purpose, in order to minimise negative PR on the…
And considering that the core booster landing on the drone ship was a mere side benefit of the overall launch it was probably the best thing to do.
I absolutely love the fact that SpaceX is so open and public about their rocket launches, however, I couldn't help but get the feeling that they were in full 'PR backlash' mode [over the core booster] when ending the live stream, and from skimming many of the instantaneous press releases. Does anyone else think that they were overly quiet on the core booster landing on purpose, in order to minimise negative PR on the…
Yes. This was a very minor failure in comparison to the overall launch. But this lack of transparency played right into the undercurrent of sleaziness that seems to hang around Elon Musk industries. I'm a big fan of SpaceX and of Musk as well, but he's still winning even if he fesses up to the minor setbacks.