Branson admits Virgin space mission was going the wrong direction
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Re: Branson admits Virgin space mission was going the wrong direction
#2A sensible shift, but comes a bit late. The success india, spacex, ula, are having will lead to kepler syndrome before he gets operational if I had to bet on it. Still, I support every dollar spent on space tech. I only hope the tech developed for dead end projects is released if unused.
Re: Branson admits Virgin space mission was going the wrong direction
#3yes, diagonal not vertical how it should be.
Re: Branson admits Virgin space mission was going the wrong direction
#4A sensible shift, but comes a bit late. The success india, spacex, ula, are having will lead to kepler syndrome before he gets operational if I had to bet on it. Still, I support every dollar spent on space tech. I only hope the tech developed for dead end projects is released if unused.
>Kepler syndrome
Do you mean Kessler Syndrome? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome
Re: Branson admits Virgin space mission was going the wrong direction
#5I must say - both physically compelled by the pun and because that it is a pun makes it no less true - that SpaceX has been a rousing success for the "launch and iterate" mantra so often pushed on HN. Having a product, that works, that people can pay you for, as soon as possible makes a huge difference, even if what you push out first is no where near what you want your finished product to be. The contrast to Virgin Galactic is startling.
Re: Branson admits Virgin space mission was going the wrong direction
#6A sensible shift, but comes a bit late. The success india, spacex, ula, are having will lead to kepler syndrome before he gets operational if I had to bet on it. Still, I support every dollar spent on space tech. I only hope the tech developed for dead end projects is released if unused.
I like "Kepler Syndrome".
The runaway proliferation of humans on nearby habitable planets.
Re: Branson admits Virgin space mission was going the wrong direction
#7Too early for space tourism.
Re: Branson admits Virgin space mission was going the wrong direction
#8I must say - both physically compelled by the pun and because that it is a pun makes it no less true - that SpaceX has been a rousing success for the "launch and iterate" mantra so often pushed on HN. Having a product, that works, that people can pay you for, as soon as possible makes a huge difference, even if what you push out first is no where near what you want your finished product to be. The contrast to Virgin…
SpaceX looks like a software company that has had success with their product so far but is in the process of a major refactoring to a new technology base.
Basically if they want to fly reusable rockets with high reliability and low refurbishment time and cost, they have to redesign and rebuild quite a lot. And they need new philosophies and processes.
You can for example look at their current Merlin gas generator technology engines. The chosen cycle results in high temperatures for the turbine, something which works against reliability and reusability. They have the staged combustion Raptor engine coming up, but they are too big to be used as landing engines, so they have to do that in another way.
Gas generator as a first engine (and pressure fed upper stage) makes a lot of sense though.
On the other hand, Virgin Galactic chose an unconventional and hard to scale technology: hybrid rockets, which has proved even more problematic.
As a fairly technical person, you look at these companies and organizations (NASA) and feel how they just simply can't make technically informed decisions higher up. SpaceX has improved a lot historically though.
Do you know if there are companies with technical leadership?
Re: Branson admits Virgin space mission was going the wrong direction
#9There's no indication that they've figured out that Virgin's real problem is their architecture. They're still trying to use wings to get to space.
The Germans and NASA back in the 50s understood that "mass is mass", and wings compete with fuel for weight. They're dead mass you have to accelerate. The lift they provide isn't worth it.
The Russians put Sputnik and Gegarin in orbit with a rocket.
NASA went to the Moon with a rocket.
ICBMs are rockets.
SpaceX and Blue Origin are making rockets.
Branson's problem is that he founded a company started by Burt Rutan (a brilliant airplane designer), and never hired the right rocket designers, and he doesn't have the technical expertise himself to realize what he's doing wrong.
For an example of a rocket company that understands this, but is trying to square the circle anyway, read about Skylon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylon_(spacecraft)
They at least understand the mass trade-offs being made and are trying to develop new technology that helps skirt around them.
Re: Branson admits Virgin space mission was going the wrong direction
#10A sensible shift, but comes a bit late. The success india, spacex, ula, are having will lead to kepler syndrome before he gets operational if I had to bet on it. Still, I support every dollar spent on space tech. I only hope the tech developed for dead end projects is released if unused.
I like "Kepler Syndrome". The runaway proliferation of humans on nearby habitable planets.
So, Earth?