8 ms·
Mate, not everything in the world moves as fast as the Javascript ecosystem. There are some hard laws at hand, called physics, that limit what you can lit under
by ddalex 8y ago
Mate, not everything in the world moves as fast as the Javascript ecosystem. There are some hard laws at hand, called physics, that limit what you can lit under a rocket and get propulsion. Oxygen needs to be there. A combustible needs to be there as well. This is known since the 19th century. It just turns out that RP-1 is a good choice.
Given the same chemical reaction, improving the engine efficiency state-of-art by 50% in 50 years is astounding. With Raptor they are actually getting close to the theoretical limits.
What other expectations do you have for advancements? New chemicals are hard to get by. Nuclear is beyond contemplation. You can't invent new physics. What do you expect?
- rayiner 8y agoI have a degree in aerospace engineering, so I'm quite aware of all these limitations. What irks me about SpaceX is Silicon Valley-style marketing ("pushing the boundaries of spaceflight technology") being imported into what is in reality an extremely mature field where we have hit some pretty hard walls on possible advances. It's also immensely disrespectful to the folks who designed this technology two generations ago (back when it wasn't already proven), to act like you're "pushing the boundaries" when the main thing you're doing is cost-optimizing well-established designs.
- ddalex 8y agoHowever they are pushing the boundaries in terms of cost per pound to LEO, in terms of reusability, and in terms of scale (what classic system launches with 27 engines firing!?!). So while you may not like it, they do all of what they claim. Through aerospace innovation? Perhaps not as much as you would like. But they do it through materials, manufacturing, automation, computers and operations innovations, which are just as important.