The key difference is velocity. Exos/Armadillo have never launched an orbital class vehicle, which comes down a lot faster and hotter. I love Carmack and roote

The key difference is velocity. Exos/Armadillo have never launched an orbital class vehicle, which comes down a lot faster and hotter. I love Carmack and rooted for Armadillo. But ballutes are 50 year old tech (Gemini’s escape system had them.) Armadillo’s real innovations were in other areas and doing things faster and cheaper. Carmack would have been an interesting fit at SpaceX if he hadn’t gone to Oculus.