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Disclaimer: I work at SpaceX as a technician. Certainly manned missions have an added element of concern due to the risk to human life, but even unmanned failu

Disclaimer: I work at SpaceX as a technician. Certainly manned missions have an added element of concern due to the risk to human life, but even unmanned failures have consequences beyond bad PR for those involved in the launch. This isn't specific to SpaceX, I'm sure it's the same for anyone involved in the launch industry, and there's no way to sugar coat it, but its an extremely shitty feeling to work on a piece of flight hardware for weeks/months at a time, see it go through build, test, certification, and then see it fail during launch. In many ways it's even worse when you realize that your rocket is carrying a payload that many other people worked just as hard on, often over even longer periods of time, and in the case of some scientific payloads may not have the ability to relaunch due to budget/time constraints, and they have entrusted you to get this payload to orbit and you have failed them. I wish I had a more sophisticated way of describing it, but its overall just a very shitty feeling.

issa 9y ago
Disclaimer: I build web apps that don't really mean much at the end of the day. Not sure if this will help that shitty feeling when things go wrong, but SpaceX has given me an AMAZING feeling that I was a little worried humanity as a whole wouldn't feel again. All the hard work is appreciated!
- Inconel 9y ago
  I'm just a low level cog in the wheel here, but hearing things like that is certainly very nice. I wouldn't sell yourself short though, rocket launches tend to make for good press, and often make the front page of HN, but anyone who works hard at a job is worthy of respect whether they're building web apps, or spaceships, or anything else.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - mikeash 9y ago
    I just want to add that there are a whole lot of us rooting for you and worrying every time you guys launch, and doing our best to share your pain after the failures. Low level cogs are still important and you're doing amazing stuff.
babyrainbow 9y ago
How much refurbishing goes into preparing a previously used rocket before it is reused? What technological breakthrough of recent times has made this sort of quick inspection and reuse possible, that was not possible earlier?
- Inconel 9y ago
  I don't mean to be evasive, but there are a couple of reasons why I'm uncomfortable answering such direct questions that may involve internal procedures: 1. I'm not nearly knowledgable enough about the overall refurb process to give you an in depth answer. The best answer I could probably point you towards is this article[1] quoting our President Gwynne Shotwell. It won't give you the specifics you're looking for, but it will give you an idea of the costs in relation to a new build. Seeing as labor is a fairly large cost component of the rocket overall, this gives you some idea of the potential extent of refurbishment vs building a new rocket. 2. Even if I did have the requisite knowledge to answer your question, those kinds of internal procedures aren't something I could share. My apologies. As to what breakthroughs make this sort of inspection and reuse possible, and I'm not saying this to be pithy, the biggest component is simply that the stage lands on a solid base rather than being dunked, or slammed into to be more accurate, highly corrosive salt water. Reusability isn't so much a function of any huge advancement in inspection so much as the ability to execute a controlled landing of the first stage. Although there are quite a few advancements in metallurgy and materials science, not to mention NDT procedures, that do increase the life span of components. I know this probably does a very poor job of answering your questions but it's the best I can do. [1]http://spacenews.com/spacex-gaining-substantial-cost-savings-from-reused-falcon-9/ http://spacenews.com/spacex-gaining-substantial-cost-savings...
  - babyrainbow 9y ago
    > so much as the ability to execute a controlled landing of the first stage... Pardon me if I am wrong here. But it seems to me that you are suggesting that most of the damage that a rocket sustains, that makes it not fit for reuse, does not happen during the launch and re-entry, but during landing and salt water? But if that is so, why was this the case with space shuttles? > Although the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) were reusable and going to be used on the SLS rocket, NASA doesn't plan to reuse them. The refurbishing and recertification costs make reuse more expensive than manufacturing new engines. https://www.quora.com/Havent-other-space-companies-thought-of-reusable-rockets/answer/Robert-Frost-1 https://www.quora.com/Havent-other-space-companies-thought-o...
TeMPOraL 9y ago
> I wish I had a more sophisticated way of describing it, but its overall just a very shitty feeling. Maybe a song would do? I mean, there is some relatively obscure but otherwise great music praising the dream of space and the work of people involved. See e.g.: - https://youtu.be/6zotaRLROtw https://youtu.be/6zotaRLROtw - A Toast For Unknown Heroes - https://youtu.be/GbL3oNEDvJ0 https://youtu.be/GbL3oNEDvJ0 - The Ballad of Apollo XIII - https://youtu.be/ab_mH8R0KTM https://youtu.be/ab_mH8R0KTM - One Way to Go (possibly the single work of art I ever found that plausibly praises capitalism) (lyrics googlable by song title) Also see pretty much all the work of Leslie Fish and Julia Ecklar. I feel that now might be a time to start developing songs for the coming second Space Age - and hopefully to reinforce the dream this way. If anyone here does music / songwriting (or knows someone who does), I urge you to try (or suggest it). We need it :). -- Also, to lighten the mood: (This verse is dedicated to the management of Morton Thiokol.) So first let's pray to Vulcan, ugly god of forge and flame, And also wise Minerva, now we glorify your name, May you aid our ship's designers now and find it in your hearts To please help the lowest bidders who've constructed all her parts! So pray to great green Mother Earth and the grim old god of Space, And the gods of flame and metal whom we've summoned to this place. Oh you gods of flight and physics, now you have us in your care; We hope that you will listen to a rocket rider's prayer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WLE6FpAcVs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WLE6FpAcVs ;).

issa 9y ago

Disclaimer: I build web apps that don't really mean much at the end of the day. Not sure if this will help that shitty feeling when things go wrong, but SpaceX has given me an AMAZING feeling that I was a little worried humanity as a whole wouldn't feel again. All the hard work is appreciated!

Inconel 9y ago
I'm just a low level cog in the wheel here, but hearing things like that is certainly very nice. I wouldn't sell yourself short though, rocket launches tend to make for good press, and often make the front page of HN, but anyone who works hard at a job is worthy of respect whether they're building web apps, or spaceships, or anything else.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- mikeash 9y ago
  I just want to add that there are a whole lot of us rooting for you and worrying every time you guys launch, and doing our best to share your pain after the failures. Low level cogs are still important and you're doing amazing stuff.

babyrainbow 9y ago

How much refurbishing goes into preparing a previously used rocket before it is reused? What technological breakthrough of recent times has made this sort of quick inspection and reuse possible, that was not possible earlier?

Inconel 9y ago
I don't mean to be evasive, but there are a couple of reasons why I'm uncomfortable answering such direct questions that may involve internal procedures: 1. I'm not nearly knowledgable enough about the overall refurb process to give you an in depth answer. The best answer I could probably point you towards is this article[1] quoting our President Gwynne Shotwell. It won't give you the specifics you're looking for, but it will give you an idea of the costs in relation to a new build. Seeing as labor is a fairly large cost component of the rocket overall, this gives you some idea of the potential extent of refurbishment vs building a new rocket. 2. Even if I did have the requisite knowledge to answer your question, those kinds of internal procedures aren't something I could share. My apologies. As to what breakthroughs make this sort of inspection and reuse possible, and I'm not saying this to be pithy, the biggest component is simply that the stage lands on a solid base rather than being dunked, or slammed into to be more accurate, highly corrosive salt water. Reusability isn't so much a function of any huge advancement in inspection so much as the ability to execute a controlled landing of the first stage. Although there are quite a few advancements in metallurgy and materials science, not to mention NDT procedures, that do increase the life span of components. I know this probably does a very poor job of answering your questions but it's the best I can do. [1]http://spacenews.com/spacex-gaining-substantial-cost-savings-from-reused-falcon-9/ http://spacenews.com/spacex-gaining-substantial-cost-savings...
- babyrainbow 9y ago
  > so much as the ability to execute a controlled landing of the first stage... Pardon me if I am wrong here. But it seems to me that you are suggesting that most of the damage that a rocket sustains, that makes it not fit for reuse, does not happen during the launch and re-entry, but during landing and salt water? But if that is so, why was this the case with space shuttles? > Although the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) were reusable and going to be used on the SLS rocket, NASA doesn't plan to reuse them. The refurbishing and recertification costs make reuse more expensive than manufacturing new engines. https://www.quora.com/Havent-other-space-companies-thought-of-reusable-rockets/answer/Robert-Frost-1 https://www.quora.com/Havent-other-space-companies-thought-o...

TeMPOraL 9y ago

> I wish I had a more sophisticated way of describing it, but its overall just a very shitty feeling. Maybe a song would do? I mean, there is some relatively obscure but otherwise great music praising the dream of space and the work of people involved. See e.g.: - https://youtu.be/6zotaRLROtw https://youtu.be/6zotaRLROtw - A Toast For Unknown Heroes - https://youtu.be/GbL3oNEDvJ0 https://youtu.be/GbL3oNEDvJ0 - The Ballad of Apollo XIII - https://youtu.be/ab_mH8R0KTM https://youtu.be/ab_mH8R0KTM - One Way to Go (possibly the single work of art I ever found that plausibly praises capitalism) (lyrics googlable by song title) Also see pretty much all the work of Leslie Fish and Julia Ecklar. I feel that now might be a time to start developing songs for the coming second Space Age - and hopefully to reinforce the dream this way. If anyone here does music / songwriting (or knows someone who does), I urge you to try (or suggest it). We need it :). -- Also, to lighten the mood: (This verse is dedicated to the management of Morton Thiokol.) So first let's pray to Vulcan, ugly god of forge and flame, And also wise Minerva, now we glorify your name, May you aid our ship's designers now and find it in your hearts To please help the lowest bidders who've constructed all her parts! So pray to great green Mother Earth and the grim old god of Space, And the gods of flame and metal whom we've summoned to this place. Oh you gods of flight and physics, now you have us in your care; We hope that you will listen to a rocket rider's prayer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WLE6FpAcVs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WLE6FpAcVs ;).