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why does Tesla/SpaceX generate so much sophomoric positivity? Watching those boosters land literally gave me goosebumps. I just thought, holy shit, this guy is

by gaius 8y ago

why does Tesla/SpaceX generate so much sophomoric positivity? Watching those boosters land literally gave me goosebumps. I just thought, holy shit, this guy is the real deal.

rayiner 8y ago
Recovering a booster for reuse, something the Space Shuttle program did literally hundreds of times? That gave you shivers? Really?
- perilunar 8y ago
  Shuttle booster 'reuse' was a misnomer: they were pretty much completely rebuilt each time, and cost more to rebuild than build from scratch. See: https://www.quora.com/Space-Shuttle-How-much-money-was-saved-by-reusing-the-Solid-Rocket-Boosters-SRBs-instead-of-making-them-disposable/answer/Dave-Mohr-1?share=de546920 https://www.quora.com/Space-Shuttle-How-much-money-was-saved...
- gaius 8y ago
  Watch the video of them landing themselves - it was truly unprecedented
  - dingaling 8y ago
    Pioneered by the MDC DC-X in the 1990s, with considerably less computing power available. Space-X have done great work in making landed-recovery practical and reliable but they're again building on top of work originally done by the DoD-contractor model.
tod222 8y ago
Sure, it was cool to see, but it was inevitable that someone would do it. Once Dean Kamen demonstrated self-balancing wheelchairs and Segways, anyone paying attention could foresee subsequent applications such as self-landing boosters. There are a lot of smart people in the world who, with the same backing that Musk received, could lead a company to achieve those goals. Without spreading themselves so thin that they make mistakes affecting thousands of people. Our tendency to elevate and idolize people who are aggressive and self-promoting leaves little room for those blessed by the absence of those traits. It's ridiculous that on a day when thousands face unemployment that there are excited stories about flamethrowers being shipped.

by gaius 8y ago

why does Tesla/SpaceX generate so much sophomoric positivity? Watching those boosters land literally gave me goosebumps. I just thought, holy shit, this guy is the real deal.

rayiner 8y ago

Recovering a booster for reuse, something the Space Shuttle program did literally hundreds of times? That gave you shivers? Really?

perilunar 8y ago
Shuttle booster 'reuse' was a misnomer: they were pretty much completely rebuilt each time, and cost more to rebuild than build from scratch. See: https://www.quora.com/Space-Shuttle-How-much-money-was-saved-by-reusing-the-Solid-Rocket-Boosters-SRBs-instead-of-making-them-disposable/answer/Dave-Mohr-1?share=de546920 https://www.quora.com/Space-Shuttle-How-much-money-was-saved...
gaius 8y ago
Watch the video of them landing themselves - it was truly unprecedented
- dingaling 8y ago
  Pioneered by the MDC DC-X in the 1990s, with considerably less computing power available. Space-X have done great work in making landed-recovery practical and reliable but they're again building on top of work originally done by the DoD-contractor model.

tod222 8y ago

Sure, it was cool to see, but it was inevitable that someone would do it. Once Dean Kamen demonstrated self-balancing wheelchairs and Segways, anyone paying attention could foresee subsequent applications such as self-landing boosters. There are a lot of smart people in the world who, with the same backing that Musk received, could lead a company to achieve those goals. Without spreading themselves so thin that they make mistakes affecting thousands of people. Our tendency to elevate and idolize people who are aggressive and self-promoting leaves little room for those blessed by the absence of those traits. It's ridiculous that on a day when thousands face unemployment that there are excited stories about flamethrowers being shipped.