Space Exploration

Are NASA's future missions and budget justified?

  • It's worth the time and expenditures

    Votes: 221 66.0%

  • Complete waste of money

    Votes: 41 12.2%

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

    Votes: 73 21.8%
  • Total voters
    335
#4,826
#4,826
CagleMtnVol said:
Are you talking about losing the rocket? Neither part of this test vehicle was scheduled for recovery. If everything went đź’Ż the booster was to do a partial boost back & landing maneuver into the Gulf of Mexico where it would sink and stage one if it survived reentry was scheduled to land (sink) in the Pacific near Hawaii.

I think internally SpaceX was just hoping for a successful launch and not a "RUD" on the pad that could have set back Test #2 months had it damaged the launch pad/tower.
Click to expand...

Gotcha.
 
#4,828
#4,828
If anyone watched the SpaceX video of the rocket, there were several engines on the outer cluster that shutdown and one on the inner cluster that shutdown. I'm thinking these engines were what caused the lack of control when it came time to separate.
They learn something with every launch.
 
#4,834
#4,834
Does anybody have an idea what the flip maneuver is, and what it is supposed to accomplish? We have been staging rockets for decades. I find it is hard to believe that it is better mousetrap, especially one that causes an enormous vector change at hypersonic speeds.
 
#4,837
#4,837
Pretty amazing the thing stayed together through multiple loops. That is some serious structural integrity.
My theory is debris from the ground damaged some raptors at liftoff. Elon is going to have to build a flame trench IMHO. But what an incredible day.
E9A02C66-D3E6-4B1D-AEAB-924F34FC0FC7.gif
 
  • Like
Reactions: CagleMtnVol
#4,843
#4,843
SpaceCoastVol said:
Does anybody have an idea what the flip maneuver is, and what it is supposed to accomplish? We have been staging rockets for decades. I find it is hard to believe that it is better mousetrap, especially one that causes an enormous vector change at hypersonic speeds.
Click to expand...
i was assuming it was part of testing. can it survive those maneuvers? can it actually make them, being so large? they are trying to get data, maybe its helpful somehow

or it could be an eff up, thrust was unbalanced, too many died on one side..

i thought it was amazing it didn't rip itself apart doing those.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rocky_Top_Vol13
#4,844
#4,844
SpaceCoastVol said:
You mean us. You don't really think this is all done with private money do you?
Click to expand...

The development was started long before the government awarded them the bid. I've actually looked up the financials on SpaceX. Roughly 40% of their income comes from the government. And the contracts they do have are doing it way, way, way cheaper than their rivals.

Face facts here, they've already put up how many people to the ISS on Dragon before Boeing even got their first successful test flight at nearly double the cost.
 
#4,845
#4,845
SpaceCoastVol said:
You mean us. You don't really think this is all done with private money do you?
Click to expand...
SpaceX Never would have existed had Elon not put his entire PERSONAL wealth on the line. NASA did come along eventually and invest under the commercial spaceflight program. You cannot argue that NASA’s investment hasn’t been repaid in incredible fashion. SpaceX is still currently the only way America can send people into Space without purchasing seats from the Russians. And Starship was almost all Elon’s money until NASA selected it for the HLS under Artemis.
So yes, it isn’t all private money; but private money is what was used everytime an unproven risk was attempted.
 
  • Like
Reactions: InVOLuntary and 865er
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top