3 ms·
Looks like SpaceX will have some catching up to do. Bezos seems to be getting ahead of Musk.
by 6d6b73 10y ago
Looks like SpaceX will have some catching up to do. Bezos seems to be getting ahead of Musk.
- coob 10y agoThe Dragon Launch Escape System was successfully tested in May last year. It is Blue Origin who are catching up.
- mariusz79 10y agoBut not on a rocket that flew five times.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- sfeng 10y agoThis is a much simpler rocket than the Falcon 9. For one, it's suborbital. Its flights are so much simpler than the full orbital injections and hypersonic reentries the Falcon flies. A quick list of things Blue Origin hasn't done yet: - Sent anything to orbit (much less paying cargo) - Sent anything to geosyncronous orbit - Landed a ship coming back from orbit - Docked with the ISS
- ceejayoz 10y agoDragon hasn't done an in-flight test with a firing booster, though. They're each ahead and behind the other in different ways. What SpaceX is doing is for the most part more challenging, but I don't mind some competitiveness if it gets everyone pushing for greatness.
- api 10y agoThey haven't orbited anything yet, so not exactly. But it looks like the gap is narrower than some thought. Musk said he hoped to ignite a new space race. He might have one.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- babyrainbow 10y agoI am not sure Musk has ignited anything. Weren't these competing companies already on this track?
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- ozzy6009 10y agoNot quite yet, orbital missions are much higher energy than lobbing something to space. Specific energy of New Shepard booster at apogee: ~1000 KJ/kg Specific energy of Falcon 9 booster at MECO: 2500 - 3400 KJ/kg
- raamdev 10y agoYeah, and Falcon 9 is several times the size of New Shepard. There are several nice graphics here that explain the differences between Falcon 9 and New Shepard: http://space.stackexchange.com/a/13188 http://space.stackexchange.com/a/13188