How Elon Musk Got SpaceX So Far Ahead



On October 13, SpaceX achieved arguably the most impressive feat of engineering in history. What could catching the Starship booster mean for SpaceX? How will SpaceX push the limits of current spaceflight tech next?

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27 thoughts on “How Elon Musk Got SpaceX So Far Ahead”

  1. We need more unbound geniuses like Mr. Musk.

    The Internet showed us the power of weaponised autism at it's finest and this individual is one of many here to come.

    With so many civilisational setbacks of late there are glimmers of hope here and there which is invigorating.

    Hone your skills and be inspired.

    Reply
  2. so far ahead of what? It's almost the end of 2024 and there isn't even a hint of spaceX lunar lander. The job they got money for… We still don't know if Starship is spaceworthy. Critical parts of the plan like orbital refuelling weren't tested yet. Maybe by the year 2050 they'll have something to show for, but I'm far from optimistic

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  3. Space X is trying to sprint before we've learnt to crawl, we are not close to being ready to colonize mars and at the moment it makes absolutely no sense to even try. You'd be effectively sending people to die to see what happens to them.
    We need long term studies on the effects of low and zero gravity on human health. We need to learn how to terraform a planet which we've not even begun to research… Mars is orders of magnitude more inhospitable everywhere, than the most inhospitable place on earth… Hence it being a barren hellscape.
    Humanity becoming multiplanetary will be important to our survival eventually, we're just not nearly ready for it despite what Elon would have us believe and it will be long after Elon and anyone alive today has perished, before we are ready.

    Yours sincerely,
    Reality

    Reply
  4. And I thought the two boosters landing successfully in tandem within a few seconds of each other on pads was impressive; The Starship heavy booster landing with the accuracy in the chopsticks on the tower was a feat for all time, WOW! I still cannot believe they pulled it off. NASA is the safe old stodgy entity, but young whippersnapper musk and his huge team of young, modern engineers is off the charts. And Boeing, SMH, has become a corporate bureaucracy, with the engineers in the basement to profits.

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  5. When , Magical Musk ….. CAUGHT THE BF ROCKET !! ….. in those BF Chopsticks ! …. NASA , FAA , Pentagon , NWF , Naysayers and Everyone else's … Jaws Dropped !!! ……. Elite Elon put them in their Place … and gained their RESPECT ! … Those Engineers are Geniuses !

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  6. Biden inexplicably didn't invite Tesla to his conference of EV manufacturers and has snubbed both historic all-civilian spaceflight missions and the heavy booster catch. On top of this, Biden's appointees in agencies like the FAA have been unnecessarily hindering SpaceX. This shows a pattern of dislike for Elon Musk most likely for his lack of pay to play with Biden and the Democrat party. Trump's win and the Republicans' win of control of both sides of Congress will eliminate the obstacles.

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  7. Catching booster 1.0 proves nothing…

    If they truly want a "rapidly reusable" rocket, they can't dump the hot staging ring and that will itself add multiple tons to the catch, not to mention that this V.1 can't even carry payload to orbit…

    Extending the booster will add more weight, which will require a bigger tower. Then if anything ever goes wrong, you have to start all over again…

    SpaceX couldn't human-rate the Falcon heavy and y'all think they're gonna launch people on starship, which has zero launch abort capability and has to be caught or everybody aboard dies?

    Will never happen.

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  8. Also worth mentioning the starship HLS has no heat shield so by definition, cannot return to earth. It'll be the largest expendable rocket ever made…

    But, that's what happens when Kathy Lueders abuses her position as the interim administrator of NASA to grant SpaceX the sole contract for the dumb as hell idea, just so she can immediately go to work for them overseeing that very contract…

    Yes, that happened.

    Reply
  9. a bit of a correction…they lit more than 3 engines to slow down super heavy….13 engine initially were lit to slow super heavy down from supersonic decent….once slowed down the middle row of 10 was shut down leaving just the 3 inner raptors ….this allows the super heavy to actually hover….something falcon 9 cannot do…..technically super heavy at this point can hover or go up or down with 3 engines depending on how they are throttled…this is the case as there is very little fuel left and super heavy is drastically lighter than it was at liftoff..

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  10. NASA reached Mars, years ago and flew a helicopter on the surface.
    So what is all the fuss about Musk?
    The answer of course is…..Money and you all are filling his pockets with it.
    Same with his other fancy projects.
    Musk is a genious salesman and you are all paying him to the extent that he is now the wealthiest person on the planet.
    His dream…..Your Money.

    Reply
  11. The booster catch is not as impressive as it first seems. Yes, it's visually stunning but technically an easier feat than Falcon 9 landings and they already had all that knowledge to work with. The real test will be making the ship work and be reliable.

    Reply

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