this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2024
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So I've heard and seen the newest launch, and I thought for a private firm it seemed cool they were able to do it on their own, but I'm scratching my head that people are gushing about this as some hail mary.

I get the engineering required is staggering when it comes to these rocket tests, but NASA and other big space agencies have already done rocket tests and exploring bits of the moon which still astounds me to this day.

Is it because it's not a multi billion government institution? When I tell colleagues about NASA doing stuff like this yeaaaars ago they're like "Yea yea but this is different it's crazy bro"

Can anyone help me understand? Any SpaceX or Tesla fans here?

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[–] Zer0_F0x 173 points 1 month ago (36 children)

Disclaimer: Fuck Elon Musk and all the shady shit he's been pulling off.

That said, this is one of the most impressive things I've ever seen in terms of the potential it holds to shape the future.

Up until 5 short years ago we had:

  • No main booster recovery
  • No rocket nearly as powerful as this one
  • No successful flight of a full-flow stage engine
  • Nobody even considering the catch with chopsticks thing
  • No private company testing super heavy lift vehicles (BO is about to enter the chat as well)
  • No push for reusability at all

This was all built on top of the incredible engineering of NASA, but this one launch today has all of the above ticked.

This is like making the first aeroplane that's able to land and be flown again. SpaceX uses this example as well, like, imagine how expensive any plane ticket would have to be if you had to build a brand new A380 every single time people wanted to fly and then crashing it into the sea.

Going to space is EXPENSIVE. If this program succeeds it will both massively reduce the cost to space and spin off hundreds of companies looking to do the same in various ways.

Look at any new rocket currently in development, they all include some level of reusability in the design and that's all thanks to the incredible engineers of SpaceX paving the way, first with Falcon 9 and now with Starship.

We're talking industrial revolution levels of progress and new frontiers in our lifetimes, which is very, very exciting.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 month ago (28 children)

I hate Musk and his personal everything, but Like SpaceX. However, when people gush about reusability, they seem to forget the 135 Space Shuttle missions (2 fatal failures , yes.). All done with 5 vehicles. Yes expensive etc, but truly amazing.

Also, I really don’t find anything SpaceX is doing revolutionary. Impressive? Yes, but it’s essentially incremental engineering, made possible by ginormous funding, including NASA money, and a private company doing things that NASA can-t politically afford.

Imagine NASA crashing 4 Shuttles before getting landing right. There’d be no NASA by now.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

The space shuttle was technically reusable, but not in a way that was beneficial to anyone. The time and cost of refurbishing the shuttle after every launch was so much they may as well have built a brand new disposable rocket for each mission.

SpaceX may have built the first reusable rocket that actually saves money

[–] NotMyOldRedditName 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I thought it was the boosters that were in retrospect pointlessly refurbished and would have been cheaper to make new.

Are you sure it was also the shuttle itself being cheaper to make new? The shuttle also took something like 6 months to refurb. Reusable, but not rapid.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Not remake the entire shuttle, but to simply design a disposable rocket and build a hundred of those, instead of a space plane.

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