4 ms·

Weren't there published papers by NASA scientists proving, without a doubt, that it's impossible to construct a booster rocket with the structural stability to

Weren't there published papers by NASA scientists proving, without a doubt, that it's impossible to construct a booster rocket with the structural stability to return to earth? I'm willing to give this guy the benefit of the doubt considering his track record. It's also instructive to read the comments when the original Hyperloop idea was published. Even the people thinking Musk would fail were in the minority, because everyone was certain he had no plans of even trying.

JumpCrisscross 9y ago
> Weren't there published papers by NASA scientists proving, without a doubt, that it's impossible to construct a booster rocket with the structural stability to return to earth? No. Going back to the 1960s, re-usable two-stage configurations were being drafted [1]. [1] http://papers.sae.org/640297/ http://papers.sae.org/640297/
- yahna 9y ago
  But I thought this all came to our god king in a dream.
  - hwillis 9y ago
    oh stop. People are excited about reusable rockets, a mainstay of science fiction since the beginning. Why do you have to be a wet blanket? "Elon Musk didn't think of reusing rockets, and he didn't personally build them, and he doesn't have a degree in rocketry!" You're fighting a Quixotic battle against a strawman.
    - yahna 9y ago
      I think reusable rockets are cool, and I think musk is impressive. I'm just not a member of the cult of Elon. I think he follows a path of aim impossibly high, be happy with getting pretty far. People instead take it as "he's literally going to do everything".
      - hwillis 9y ago
        I see many more people talking about "the cult of Elon" than people who actually think he's literally going to do everything. It reminds me way more of the nickelback is terrible thing. It's more of a meme than the actual subject. It's fun to feel like a member of the enlightened in-group that doesn't follow Elon Musk like sheep. All those dumb people that think GM will go bankrupt next year.

JumpCrisscross 9y ago

> Weren't there published papers by NASA scientists proving, without a doubt, that it's impossible to construct a booster rocket with the structural stability to return to earth? No. Going back to the 1960s, re-usable two-stage configurations were being drafted [1]. [1] http://papers.sae.org/640297/ http://papers.sae.org/640297/

yahna 9y ago
But I thought this all came to our god king in a dream.
- hwillis 9y ago
  oh stop. People are excited about reusable rockets, a mainstay of science fiction since the beginning. Why do you have to be a wet blanket? "Elon Musk didn't think of reusing rockets, and he didn't personally build them, and he doesn't have a degree in rocketry!" You're fighting a Quixotic battle against a strawman.
  - yahna 9y ago
    I think reusable rockets are cool, and I think musk is impressive. I'm just not a member of the cult of Elon. I think he follows a path of aim impossibly high, be happy with getting pretty far. People instead take it as "he's literally going to do everything".
    - hwillis 9y ago
      I see many more people talking about "the cult of Elon" than people who actually think he's literally going to do everything. It reminds me way more of the nickelback is terrible thing. It's more of a meme than the actual subject. It's fun to feel like a member of the enlightened in-group that doesn't follow Elon Musk like sheep. All those dumb people that think GM will go bankrupt next year.