SpaceX test flight of Starship SN-5 [video]

Post by paranoidrobot » Wed, Aug 05, 2020, 4:58 AM UTC

extrapickles wrote: post #68

themgt wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, and in addition to both of these, Starship is also designed: * to be fueled / ignited such that it can be refueled in-situ on Mars & then launched back to Earth, without advanced rocket fuels or the TEA-TEB chemical igniter. * to be able to refuel from another Starship in-orbit The combination of all of this, if they pull it off, will be the ability to send truly massive payloads to Mars, faster and cheaper than…

Also, since its mostly made from steel, it will be fairly simple (as far as rockets go) to conduct repairs, you just need a welding rod or two. This is important for early stage bases where you don't have the equipment/materials to make carbon fiber or exotic aluminum alloy replacement parts.

Post by ColanR » Wed, Aug 05, 2020, 5:04 AM UTC

paranoidrobot wrote: post #81

extrapickles wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, since its mostly made from steel, it will be fairly simple (as far as rockets go) to conduct repairs, you just need a welding rod or two. This is important for early stage bases where you don't have the equipment/materials to make carbon fiber or exotic aluminum alloy replacement parts.

Given how much difficulty they've had with welds and materials to date, is it really feasible to conduct in-situ repairs without a ton of advanced equipment?

Post by rbanffy » Wed, Aug 05, 2020, 5:07 AM UTC

avernon wrote: post #40

doomlaser wrote: post #29

This is the first time I've seen video of a starship test that didn't end in catastrophic explosion, so this is great news! I'm still worried about the overall design, specifically when it comes to landing. The current procedure is for it to fall into the atmosphere flat on its side, then continue to fall for a long time, and then only when it's near the ground it must reorient 90 degrees to upright and then do a fin…

One thing to think about is that the heating/energy is exponential. So doing the belly flop lowers the heating and the energy the rocket is carrying quite a bit. Planes make 90 degree turns all the time! And in actuality this rocket could be less complex than a modern airliner as far as number of parts and processes. They have taken huge leaps in engine technology with Raptor that allow for a lot of simplification ac…

Post by Element_ » Wed, Aug 05, 2020, 5:19 AM UTC

Post by dmix » Wed, Aug 05, 2020, 5:21 AM UTC

xiphias2 wrote: post #79

mulcahey wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would presume it depends on whom you're asking. E.g. Elon's stated multiple times that he believes requirements of degrees on many of Tesla's job postings to be "absurd"[0][1] [0] https://youtu.be/ywPqLCc9zBU?t=2733 [1] https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1208841343440568320?s=20

Having a degree or not is different from having a degree with a low or high GPA. Having a low GPA at a University is a worse signal for hard working person than having no University background.