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It wasn't really from scratch though was it, he hired out people who had already worked with space projects. None of the tech is really new (yet). We used to ha

It wasn't really from scratch though was it, he hired out people who had already worked with space projects. None of the tech is really new (yet). We used to have the same types of rockets in the past. Amongst Model 3 fiasco Solarcity too currently has issues.

owlmirror 9y ago
The entire reusability thing was not really a thing before spacex
- akhatri_aus 9y ago
  There was already a working program that had their funding axed: Here's a video from 1995: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv9n9Casp1o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv9n9Casp1o. There were others too.
  - aerovistae 9y ago
    To answer your deleted question, there would be no point in listing their achievements for you because you're obviously determined to ignore them, and having them listed for you won't change that.
  - wellboy 9y ago
    Yes, because it is incredibly hard to bring reusable rockets from concept to full execution. The idea has been arouns for a long time and there have ben dozens of attempts of course, just as flying cars, autonomous cars, real A.I, space elevators. Concept an execution are vastly different animals, it is at least 1000 times more difficult to achieve resuable rockets than to have the idea and at least 100 times more difficult than to try it.
  - JulianMorrison 9y ago
    It really isn't a working program if it's never going to have enough payload capacity to lift its own fuel to orbit. It's a shiny prototype of computer controlled autonomous stabilized flight, like SpaceX Grasshopper. But that's about it.
- bduerst 9y ago
  Wasn't the space shuttle and it's SRBs reusable?
  - eric_the_read 9y ago
    In the sense that both were effectively rebuilt from almost-but-not-quite-scratch for each launch, yes.
    - bduerst 9y ago
      Despite claims about the future, doesn't SpaceX also refurbish their SRBs between flights?
      - greglindahl 9y ago
        SpaceX's rockets are all-liquid fueled. SRB = solid rocket booster.
        bduerst 9y ago
        So they don't refurbish the liquid fuel engines?
        greglindahl 9y ago
        Not significantly. And they've re-flown a bunch of them.
aerovistae 9y ago
"None of the tech is really new"? Lol? Could you tell me about the old re-usable rockets from before?
- stuartloxton 9y ago
  This isn't an agreement with the parents comment about Tesla but re-usable rockets weren't invented by SpaceX. The idea existed for a while and various projects got to different stages. Including a functional 'McDonnell_Douglas_DC-X'. The project got taken over by NASA and the budget cut before being axed. You really do sound a bit too fanatical and should probably question more instead of accepting companies as entirely revolutionary.
  - aerovistae 9y ago
    "The idea existed for awhile" Yep, SpaceX has barely innovated at all. Their contributions to space flight are not really of note.
  - mortehu 9y ago
    To be clear, the DC-X was not capable of reaching orbital velocity.
thachmai 9y ago
It's incredible how you trivialize SpaceX achievements. I get it that you probably hate Elon Musk for whatever reason. But you should really calibrate your bias filter.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- akhatri_aus 9y ago
  I love some of his other achievements with Tesla and with solar roofing tiles, but SpaceX has a lot of hype surrounding it.
  - nickik 9y ago
    You are totally wrong about SpaceX. SpaceX is totally revolutionary and they have already achieved a huge amount of remarkable stuff that most people did not think was possible. Lots of stuff has been test or tried before, but bringing things from idea to production ready with the efficiency required and cheap production is fantastically impressive. You can claim 'it is not basic research' or whatever, but the reality is that they are pushing the envelop on so many topics at the same time that they are leafing all competition in the dust.
  - mft_ 9y ago
    I think you've got this totally back-to-front. Tesla makes cars. We've known how to make cars for a while now - even electric cars. What was critical for Tesla was the vision: to see that we were approaching a tipping point where battery technology and cost would make a fully- (and only-) electric car feasible, and the strength of mind and purpose to ignore and/or out-think peoples' legacy objections and misgivings - e.g. with the Supercharger network. There are some Musk-ian details that are advances, such as the single integrated computer system, but that's a relatively small part of the whole. In contrast, yes, SpaceX (just!) makes rockets, and yes, we've known how to make rockets for a long time. But they have done some things that the rest of the rocket industry haven't even got close to. Firstly, they've revolutionised the process and cost of producing a rocket in this class, by insourcing so much of it, and rethinking the necessary components and technology. Secondly, they've taken the concept of re-use and made it orders of magnitude cheaper (versus, what, the Shuttle?) than before, to the extent that it has/will completely turn the industry on its head. And the techniques and technology they've pioneered to facilitate this --not least the ability to land a 70m rocket upright on a robot barge floating out at sea-- are genuinely, truly revolutionary.
JulianMorrison 9y ago
Private spaceflight has a long history of pretty computer graphics, small scale prototypes and broke millionaires. Musk made it happen, and made it pay. Also, nobody at all before them, and nobody else even now can land the boosters on orbital-class spacecraft intact.

owlmirror 9y ago

The entire reusability thing was not really a thing before spacex

akhatri_aus 9y ago
There was already a working program that had their funding axed: Here's a video from 1995: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv9n9Casp1o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv9n9Casp1o. There were others too.
- aerovistae 9y ago
  To answer your deleted question, there would be no point in listing their achievements for you because you're obviously determined to ignore them, and having them listed for you won't change that.
- wellboy 9y ago
  Yes, because it is incredibly hard to bring reusable rockets from concept to full execution. The idea has been arouns for a long time and there have ben dozens of attempts of course, just as flying cars, autonomous cars, real A.I, space elevators. Concept an execution are vastly different animals, it is at least 1000 times more difficult to achieve resuable rockets than to have the idea and at least 100 times more difficult than to try it.
- JulianMorrison 9y ago
  It really isn't a working program if it's never going to have enough payload capacity to lift its own fuel to orbit. It's a shiny prototype of computer controlled autonomous stabilized flight, like SpaceX Grasshopper. But that's about it.
bduerst 9y ago
Wasn't the space shuttle and it's SRBs reusable?
- eric_the_read 9y ago
  In the sense that both were effectively rebuilt from almost-but-not-quite-scratch for each launch, yes.
  - bduerst 9y ago
    Despite claims about the future, doesn't SpaceX also refurbish their SRBs between flights?
    - greglindahl 9y ago
      SpaceX's rockets are all-liquid fueled. SRB = solid rocket booster.
      - bduerst 9y ago
        So they don't refurbish the liquid fuel engines?
        greglindahl 9y ago
        Not significantly. And they've re-flown a bunch of them.

aerovistae 9y ago

"None of the tech is really new"? Lol? Could you tell me about the old re-usable rockets from before?

stuartloxton 9y ago
This isn't an agreement with the parents comment about Tesla but re-usable rockets weren't invented by SpaceX. The idea existed for a while and various projects got to different stages. Including a functional 'McDonnell_Douglas_DC-X'. The project got taken over by NASA and the budget cut before being axed. You really do sound a bit too fanatical and should probably question more instead of accepting companies as entirely revolutionary.
- aerovistae 9y ago
  "The idea existed for awhile" Yep, SpaceX has barely innovated at all. Their contributions to space flight are not really of note.
- mortehu 9y ago
  To be clear, the DC-X was not capable of reaching orbital velocity.

thachmai 9y ago

It's incredible how you trivialize SpaceX achievements. I get it that you probably hate Elon Musk for whatever reason. But you should really calibrate your bias filter.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
akhatri_aus 9y ago
I love some of his other achievements with Tesla and with solar roofing tiles, but SpaceX has a lot of hype surrounding it.
- nickik 9y ago
  You are totally wrong about SpaceX. SpaceX is totally revolutionary and they have already achieved a huge amount of remarkable stuff that most people did not think was possible. Lots of stuff has been test or tried before, but bringing things from idea to production ready with the efficiency required and cheap production is fantastically impressive. You can claim 'it is not basic research' or whatever, but the reality is that they are pushing the envelop on so many topics at the same time that they are leafing all competition in the dust.
- mft_ 9y ago
  I think you've got this totally back-to-front. Tesla makes cars. We've known how to make cars for a while now - even electric cars. What was critical for Tesla was the vision: to see that we were approaching a tipping point where battery technology and cost would make a fully- (and only-) electric car feasible, and the strength of mind and purpose to ignore and/or out-think peoples' legacy objections and misgivings - e.g. with the Supercharger network. There are some Musk-ian details that are advances, such as the single integrated computer system, but that's a relatively small part of the whole. In contrast, yes, SpaceX (just!) makes rockets, and yes, we've known how to make rockets for a long time. But they have done some things that the rest of the rocket industry haven't even got close to. Firstly, they've revolutionised the process and cost of producing a rocket in this class, by insourcing so much of it, and rethinking the necessary components and technology. Secondly, they've taken the concept of re-use and made it orders of magnitude cheaper (versus, what, the Shuttle?) than before, to the extent that it has/will completely turn the industry on its head. And the techniques and technology they've pioneered to facilitate this --not least the ability to land a 70m rocket upright on a robot barge floating out at sea-- are genuinely, truly revolutionary.

JulianMorrison 9y ago

Private spaceflight has a long history of pretty computer graphics, small scale prototypes and broke millionaires. Musk made it happen, and made it pay. Also, nobody at all before them, and nobody else even now can land the boosters on orbital-class spacecraft intact.