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I can't put into words how excited I am for this launch today. I remember back in 2012 where spacex was still a laughingstock. The idea of landing a rocket fro

I can't put into words how excited I am for this launch today. I remember back in 2012 where spacex was still a laughingstock. The idea of landing a rocket from a private company was a joke. But SpaceX always did one thing right, they made many care about space again. They broadcast their launches, made a bit of a show of it, and they weren't ashamed of their failures. Then they started breaking milestones. They increased their launch cadence in what felt like overnight. They were actually trying (and failing) to land rockets, but they were still broadcasting them! Then they landed the first one on land, then the first one on a barge, then they re-launched rockets (and re-landed them!). Now it's weird when a rocket is launched in "expendable mode"! I wanted to start this comment saying this is the most excited I've been of any launch in a long time, but when I really thought about it, it's not. There have been half a dozen launches in the past few years from SpaceX that were just as exciting, and that's amazing. I hope today's launch goes well, and I hope this is the start of the "new normal"!

pmcollins 9y ago
> I remember back in 2012 where spacex was still a laughingstock I can't help but draw a parallel to how Tesla is considered by the old guard to be a laughingstock today. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16305520 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16305520
- chasd00 9y ago
  an exgf of mine describes Musk as an alien stuck on earth and needs humans to help him develop the technology to get back home. It fits haha
  - pensivemood 9y ago
    An alien won't be this good at human PR.
    - TeMPOraL 9y ago
      He really is an alien. Human PR usually involves making a slick show, and having skilled communicators express vague messages full of bullshit. Musk is an exact opposite of that.
      - treecycle 9y ago
        Well, there is Hyperloop. There there is the idea (or is it a promise) 'to take all of us to mars and save from earth!' The only real things they have done are making Electric cars and Rockets popular. More PR than hard tech if you ask me...
      - somesayso 9y ago
        Well, hyperloop was kind of bullshit that now appears only made up for cheap publicity aka PR stunt. Then there is the promise of taking humanity to "mars", which quite honestly, sounds a bullshit claim at this point. It wold have held more water, if they said it after making real tech breakthroughs (Ie not stunts like landing a rockets, which only guillable people finds magical because they were not tech savvy to know that it was possible with tech that is half a century old).
        TeMPOraL 9y ago
        I addressed Hyperloop elsewhere, but RE Mars: > It wold have held more water, if they said it after making real tech breakthroughs Going to Mars is literally the only reason they're in the rocket business. Like everything behind their breakthroughs, which they had a few - including landing and turnaround times - is meant to enable the Mars mission. They've been explicit about this since day one. > stunts like landing a rockets This is not a stunt. It's the real, practical, working, cost-effective rocket reusability. For the first time ever. Not sure what do you expect; em-drive? Because SpaceX booster landing is exactly how a technological breakthrough looks like (as opposed to fundamental science breakthrough).
        snrplfth 9y ago
        > Like everything behind their breakthroughs, which they had a few - including landing and turnaround times - is meant to enable the Mars mission. They've been explicit about this since day one. It's not so much a rocket company with a Mars objective, it's a Mars cult with a rocketry front operation. Somehow, people get the idea that they're "not really serious" about the one driving goal that they've never deviated from.
  - mwambua 9y ago
    He's basically playing factorio in real-life :)
- justin66 9y ago
  People skeptical regarding that video won't view Tesla as a laughing stock, they'll view them as not living up to the previous standard of quality they set with their higher-priced cars. That is bad enough, really.
TeMPOraL 9y ago
> Now it's weird when a rocket is launched in "expandable mode"! So much this. You just made me realize I don't know when this flipped for me. I remember having fingers crossed for successful landings. But few months back I was checking the launch schedule and found myself completely surprised by no landing plans. Like, "what do you mean you're not landing, because you need to get rid of obsolete reflown boosters?!". The pace of progress they're making is incredible. It feels just like the early days of space race that I only read about.
- chasd00 9y ago
  i watch the video of the first landing and the cheers that erupted as soon as the engines went out whenever i need some inspiration. It's just incredible what they've done. That video could play on repeat in my office all day and I'd be perfectly ok with it.
- Klathmon 9y ago
  The diagram in the article really showed just how quickly they came into the game. I see the little blue lines, a few per year, then all of a sudden there are more than you can easily count!
Medox 9y ago
Speaking of not being ashamed of failures, I've always liked their compilation of them (with sound it's even better): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvim4rsNHkQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvim4rsNHkQ
toomanybeersies 9y ago
Personally I was more excited about the RocketLab launch. This to me feels like a variation on a theme. RocketLab was in may ways a breakthrough. First orbital launch from New Zealand and first orbital launch using electric turbopumps.
- avmich 9y ago
  I was sad when I learned they've launched half as much as Falcon-1 for (rumored?) almost twice more money spent some 15 years later. On the other hand, a good demonstration of composites - and yes, electropumps are a good opportunity which now is on the list of "already done".
  - toomanybeersies 9y ago
    Yes, their cost per kg for launching is higher than SpaceX. But it's their first launch from a new company. It's expected to cost some more to start with. I presume the price is going to come down quite significantly over the next few years. RocketLab will never be as cheap, but the business plan isn't to compete on price. The business model is that with smaller rockets you can have much higher launch cadence, much higher throughput (i.e. you can book a launch and have it launched a week later), and more customisable orbits (since it's cheaper to book out an entire launch).
verytrivial 9y ago
I remember clearly thinking the whole idea of landing the booster as being completely unrealistic, verging on not possible. I'm really pleased to have been utterly wrong. And 2/3rds of the boosters in today's test have already been into space. Mind blowing. Congratulations to all the hard working engineers at SpaceX!
- chasd00 9y ago
  hah i felt the same way. I remember when the Sky Crane was used to put Curiosity down on Mars, I thought there's just no freaking way that's going to work but they pulled it off. When SpaceX started talking about landing boosters I shook my head again but then they did it. The older I get the more blown away (and humbled) I am at what people are capable of achieving. On a lighter note there's a Simpons line when Homer has to land a plane and is talking to someone on the ground Colby: Okay Homer, I don't know anything about planes, but I know about you. You have what made America great: no understanding of the limits of your power and a complete lack of concern for what anyone thinks of you. So you'll land that plane. And do you know why? Because I heard some guy say you couldn't. Homer: What! I'll show him. I'll show that guy! The best way to get something great done is to tell someone it's impossible for them to achieve.
  - angrygoat 9y ago
    nitpick - it was Curiosity that came down on Mars using a sky crane, Odyssey was an earlier mission
    - chasd00 9y ago
      thanks, i updated my post
    - hinkley 9y ago
      I had to look it up. Curiosity was the lander, Odyssey is the relay satellite. Both are the same mission. Before the sky crane we had the bouncy ball, and both had supersonic parachutes which is also a mind bender.
  - 9y ago
yohann305 9y ago
very well said. I also want to add that SpaceX has forced many engineers to rethink their life because they are believing their current job does not matter (for valid reasons), does not make a difference in the world for the sake of GOOD and does not bring actual progress. Many would argue that working for FB, Twitter, IG or other big tech companies merely provide anything good to human existence. Engineers are builders at heart. They want to put their effort to good use. Alrighty, feel free to argue!
- TeMPOraL 9y ago
  Count me as one; the activities of Tesla and SpaceX played a huge role in my personal reflections on the direction of my career.
arnaud12 9y ago
I find the first stage recovery very impressive too, but did they manage to reduce the launch cost since they started reusing the rockets?
- Klathmon 9y ago
  Yes, significantly. I don't have numbers on hand right now, but I believe it has been a large success in that department.
  - arnaud12 9y ago
    I'm pretty sure they save money but I've never seen numbers confirming that information either.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
Tossrock 9y ago
I for one already believed in their vision back in 2012 [1] 1: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/22652180#Comment_22652180 https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/22652180#...
timkpaine 9y ago
I have this thought a lot. Elon Musk is in charge of a rocket ship company. "Rocket Ship Company". And now he has competition! Soon we'll be able to go to the moon or mars and it'll all seem completely normal.
dingaling 9y ago
> The idea of landing a rocket from a private company was a joke. McDonnell Douglas was a private company when they demonstrated the VTOL DC-X launcher in the 1990s. They just had DoD money to help. DC-X didn't make it to orbit before the money ran out, sadly. The DC-Y was planned for that.

pmcollins 9y ago

> I remember back in 2012 where spacex was still a laughingstock I can't help but draw a parallel to how Tesla is considered by the old guard to be a laughingstock today. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16305520 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16305520

chasd00 9y ago
an exgf of mine describes Musk as an alien stuck on earth and needs humans to help him develop the technology to get back home. It fits haha
- pensivemood 9y ago
  An alien won't be this good at human PR.
  - TeMPOraL 9y ago
    He really is an alien. Human PR usually involves making a slick show, and having skilled communicators express vague messages full of bullshit. Musk is an exact opposite of that.
    - treecycle 9y ago
      Well, there is Hyperloop. There there is the idea (or is it a promise) 'to take all of us to mars and save from earth!' The only real things they have done are making Electric cars and Rockets popular. More PR than hard tech if you ask me...
    - somesayso 9y ago
      Well, hyperloop was kind of bullshit that now appears only made up for cheap publicity aka PR stunt. Then there is the promise of taking humanity to "mars", which quite honestly, sounds a bullshit claim at this point. It wold have held more water, if they said it after making real tech breakthroughs (Ie not stunts like landing a rockets, which only guillable people finds magical because they were not tech savvy to know that it was possible with tech that is half a century old).
      - TeMPOraL 9y ago
        I addressed Hyperloop elsewhere, but RE Mars: > It wold have held more water, if they said it after making real tech breakthroughs Going to Mars is literally the only reason they're in the rocket business. Like everything behind their breakthroughs, which they had a few - including landing and turnaround times - is meant to enable the Mars mission. They've been explicit about this since day one. > stunts like landing a rockets This is not a stunt. It's the real, practical, working, cost-effective rocket reusability. For the first time ever. Not sure what do you expect; em-drive? Because SpaceX booster landing is exactly how a technological breakthrough looks like (as opposed to fundamental science breakthrough).
        snrplfth 9y ago
        > Like everything behind their breakthroughs, which they had a few - including landing and turnaround times - is meant to enable the Mars mission. They've been explicit about this since day one. It's not so much a rocket company with a Mars objective, it's a Mars cult with a rocketry front operation. Somehow, people get the idea that they're "not really serious" about the one driving goal that they've never deviated from.
- mwambua 9y ago
  He's basically playing factorio in real-life :)
justin66 9y ago
People skeptical regarding that video won't view Tesla as a laughing stock, they'll view them as not living up to the previous standard of quality they set with their higher-priced cars. That is bad enough, really.

TeMPOraL 9y ago

> Now it's weird when a rocket is launched in "expandable mode"! So much this. You just made me realize I don't know when this flipped for me. I remember having fingers crossed for successful landings. But few months back I was checking the launch schedule and found myself completely surprised by no landing plans. Like, "what do you mean you're not landing, because you need to get rid of obsolete reflown boosters?!". The pace of progress they're making is incredible. It feels just like the early days of space race that I only read about.

chasd00 9y ago
i watch the video of the first landing and the cheers that erupted as soon as the engines went out whenever i need some inspiration. It's just incredible what they've done. That video could play on repeat in my office all day and I'd be perfectly ok with it.
Klathmon 9y ago
The diagram in the article really showed just how quickly they came into the game. I see the little blue lines, a few per year, then all of a sudden there are more than you can easily count!

Medox 9y ago

Speaking of not being ashamed of failures, I've always liked their compilation of them (with sound it's even better): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvim4rsNHkQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvim4rsNHkQ

toomanybeersies 9y ago

Personally I was more excited about the RocketLab launch. This to me feels like a variation on a theme. RocketLab was in may ways a breakthrough. First orbital launch from New Zealand and first orbital launch using electric turbopumps.

avmich 9y ago
I was sad when I learned they've launched half as much as Falcon-1 for (rumored?) almost twice more money spent some 15 years later. On the other hand, a good demonstration of composites - and yes, electropumps are a good opportunity which now is on the list of "already done".
- toomanybeersies 9y ago
  Yes, their cost per kg for launching is higher than SpaceX. But it's their first launch from a new company. It's expected to cost some more to start with. I presume the price is going to come down quite significantly over the next few years. RocketLab will never be as cheap, but the business plan isn't to compete on price. The business model is that with smaller rockets you can have much higher launch cadence, much higher throughput (i.e. you can book a launch and have it launched a week later), and more customisable orbits (since it's cheaper to book out an entire launch).

verytrivial 9y ago

I remember clearly thinking the whole idea of landing the booster as being completely unrealistic, verging on not possible. I'm really pleased to have been utterly wrong. And 2/3rds of the boosters in today's test have already been into space. Mind blowing. Congratulations to all the hard working engineers at SpaceX!

chasd00 9y ago
hah i felt the same way. I remember when the Sky Crane was used to put Curiosity down on Mars, I thought there's just no freaking way that's going to work but they pulled it off. When SpaceX started talking about landing boosters I shook my head again but then they did it. The older I get the more blown away (and humbled) I am at what people are capable of achieving. On a lighter note there's a Simpons line when Homer has to land a plane and is talking to someone on the ground Colby: Okay Homer, I don't know anything about planes, but I know about you. You have what made America great: no understanding of the limits of your power and a complete lack of concern for what anyone thinks of you. So you'll land that plane. And do you know why? Because I heard some guy say you couldn't. Homer: What! I'll show him. I'll show that guy! The best way to get something great done is to tell someone it's impossible for them to achieve.
- angrygoat 9y ago
  nitpick - it was Curiosity that came down on Mars using a sky crane, Odyssey was an earlier mission
  - chasd00 9y ago
    thanks, i updated my post
  - hinkley 9y ago
    I had to look it up. Curiosity was the lander, Odyssey is the relay satellite. Both are the same mission. Before the sky crane we had the bouncy ball, and both had supersonic parachutes which is also a mind bender.
- 9y ago

yohann305 9y ago

very well said. I also want to add that SpaceX has forced many engineers to rethink their life because they are believing their current job does not matter (for valid reasons), does not make a difference in the world for the sake of GOOD and does not bring actual progress. Many would argue that working for FB, Twitter, IG or other big tech companies merely provide anything good to human existence. Engineers are builders at heart. They want to put their effort to good use. Alrighty, feel free to argue!

TeMPOraL 9y ago
Count me as one; the activities of Tesla and SpaceX played a huge role in my personal reflections on the direction of my career.

arnaud12 9y ago

I find the first stage recovery very impressive too, but did they manage to reduce the launch cost since they started reusing the rockets?

Klathmon 9y ago
Yes, significantly. I don't have numbers on hand right now, but I believe it has been a large success in that department.
- arnaud12 9y ago
  I'm pretty sure they save money but I've never seen numbers confirming that information either.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]

Tossrock 9y ago

I for one already believed in their vision back in 2012 [1] 1: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/22652180#Comment_22652180 https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/22652180#...

timkpaine 9y ago

I have this thought a lot. Elon Musk is in charge of a rocket ship company. "Rocket Ship Company". And now he has competition! Soon we'll be able to go to the moon or mars and it'll all seem completely normal.

dingaling 9y ago

> The idea of landing a rocket from a private company was a joke. McDonnell Douglas was a private company when they demonstrated the VTOL DC-X launcher in the 1990s. They just had DoD money to help. DC-X didn't make it to orbit before the money ran out, sadly. The DC-Y was planned for that.