Space Exploration

Are NASA's future missions and budget justified?

  • It's worth the time and expenditures

    Votes: 222 66.1%

  • Complete waste of money

    Votes: 41 12.2%

  • We need to explore, but not at the current cost

    Votes: 73 21.7%
  • Total voters
    336
#3,278
#3,278
Well, got the landing down at least.

Now just to fix the gear and slow just a tad more. Though I did see the 3 engines lighting up this time and immediately went to two. Smart.

I'd say they have this licked by SN 12
 
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#3,279
#3,279
Elon has hinted at a landing leg redesign. Based on the video from LabPadre, it looks like 3 of the landing legs didn’t deploy properly and were just dangling there, effectively reducing the amount of crush core crumple zone they had to work with.

NGL, when the smoke cleared after the initial landing and saw it still standing, I got chills.
 
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#3,280
#3,280
Matt2496 said:
Elon has hinted at a landing leg redesign. Based on the video from LabPadre, it looks like 3 of the landing legs didn’t deploy properly and were just dangling there, effectively reducing the amount of crush core crumple zone they had to work with.

NGL, when the smoke cleared and saw it still standing, I got chills.
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I hope they get it fixed.

"Okay, we're on Mars. You now have less than five minutes to un-ass the ship."

I will say this. That was a pretty impressive explosion to lift it that far into the air.
 
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#3,281
#3,281
Grand Vol said:
I hope they get it fixed.

"Okay, we're on Mars. You now have less than five minutes to un-ass the ship."

I will say this. That was a pretty impressive explosion to lift it that far into the air.
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Like that one spanish dude burning his ship after landing in America.
 
#3,285
#3,285
1%2B%2528127%2529.jpg
 
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#3,286
#3,286
Matt2496 said:
NASA hikes prices for commercial ISS users - SpaceNews

Well this isn't going to help the commercialization of space at all.

I'll take a wild guess as to who was involved with this decision...
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yeah a 7x increase seems reasonable....

I like how they justify it by saying there will be commercial competition soon.....they know they are just speeding up that other commercial enterprises right?
 
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#3,287
#3,287
LouderVol said:
yeah a 7x increase seems reasonable....

I like how they justify it by saying there will be commercial competition soon.....they know they are just speeding up that other commercial enterprises right?
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I was thinking the same thing. Basically, SpaceX has the price per pound (or kilogram, can't remember) down to about $3,000 per launch with a Falcon 9.

And you have companies planning space stations like Nanoracks and Bigelow (though I'm not positive Bigelow will make it back, but the tech works and has been thoroughly tested) that could be up and running in a minimum amount of time.

Combine the two along with every other company out there designing rockets and ships and you have a commercial disaster for NASA. They are taking the Boeing model by being the only game in town and charging what they want. Same kind of thinking brought SpaceX and the others into the mix.
 
#3,288
#3,288
Grand Vol said:
I was thinking the same thing. Basically, SpaceX has the price per pound (or kilogram, can't remember) down to about $3,000 per launch with a Falcon 9.

And you have companies planning space stations like Nanoracks and Bigelow (though I'm not positive Bigelow will make it back, but the tech works and has been thoroughly tested) that could be up and running in a minimum amount of time.

Combine the two along with every other company out there designing rockets and ships and you have a commercial disaster for NASA. They are taking the Boeing model by being the only game in town and charging what they want. Same kind of thinking brought SpaceX and the others into the mix.
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NASA bean counters circling the wagons for Boeing? One last ploy?
 
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#3,289
#3,289
LouderVol said:
NASA bean counters circling the wagons for Boeing? One last ploy?
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I don't know about "circling the wagons" so to speak since they do enough of that on the SLS Boeing has screwed up royally.

I was referring more to the idea that Boeing and ULA being the only games in town for a long time were able to charge what they wanted for launch prices. Being that the ISS is the only game in town for an orbital science platform, they can charge what they want with their station requirements and what their personnel do. Like you said, a 6 and 7x increase will make people pause for thought about sending something up.

Not only that, but think about the universities and whatnot that tend to send up experiments. Though, I'm not sure if that falls under the "commercial" side of things since they are an educational institute and all.

Anyway, it's just crazy that NASA did such a thing without even giving anyone a heads up it was coming. Just raised prices one day. So, I do feel like people will be hesitant to send up such things and, in turn, research will fall off. Until someone else comes along, like Nanoracks, Axiom or Bigelow, and sets up an orbiting lab. And Sierra Nevada and SpaceX start giving rides to said research station and basically tell NASA to go a remote place and perform acts with themselves.
 
#3,290
#3,290
LouderVol said:
yeah a 7x increase seems reasonable....

I like how they justify it by saying there will be commercial competition soon.....they know they are just speeding up that other commercial enterprises right?
Click to expand...
Yep. On the flip side, it will simultaneously cause a lot of newer smallsat companies to go belly up. The move benefits bigger corporations.
 
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