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If you were right then NASA and every other country would be doing it now. But you’re not right. There’s nothing about the computers or engines that couldn’t of

If you were right then NASA and every other country would be doing it now. But you’re not right. There’s nothing about the computers or engines that couldn’t of been done decades ago.

chr1 7y ago
There is a big difference between "the only thing preventing development of better rockets" and "one of things". NASA and every other country would be doing it now if better computers were the only thing needed for reusable rockets. There is no sharp line dividing computers that made spaceX possible and slow ones, and with a little bit worse computers spaceX could develop the rocket after more failed attempts, spending much more money and time. But with the technology of 80's they'd end up with something very expensive and not very reliable similar to shuttle/buran.
- trixie_ 7y ago
  The decade doesn't matter. NASA is making poor decisions today with SLS, just as it did with the shuttle in the 80s. The reality is it was possible to build cheap reliable reusable space vehicles with 70s technology.
  - chr1 7y ago
    Have you worked on any task related to modeling physical processes, based on my short experience modeling parts of airplane, i believe building something comparable to falcon with 70s technology would have been multiple orders of magnitude harder. The fact that NASA makes poor decisions today doesn't prove that SpaceX would have been able to create and implement the good plan 40 years ago.
    - trixie_ 7y ago
      Multiple orders of magnitude? Do the rockets/engines today look anywhere close even to a single order or magnitude better than before? The computers are much better yes, but not good enough yet to obviate the need for real engine testing and wind tunnels for aerodynamics. Computers in the 70s were already capable of landing autonomously on other planets - as demonstrated multiple times.

If you were right then NASA and every other country would be doing it now. But you’re not right. There’s nothing about the computers or engines that couldn’t of been done decades ago.

chr1 7y ago

There is a big difference between "the only thing preventing development of better rockets" and "one of things". NASA and every other country would be doing it now if better computers were the only thing needed for reusable rockets. There is no sharp line dividing computers that made spaceX possible and slow ones, and with a little bit worse computers spaceX could develop the rocket after more failed attempts, spending much more money and time. But with the technology of 80's they'd end up with something very expensive and not very reliable similar to shuttle/buran.

trixie_ 7y ago
The decade doesn't matter. NASA is making poor decisions today with SLS, just as it did with the shuttle in the 80s. The reality is it was possible to build cheap reliable reusable space vehicles with 70s technology.
- chr1 7y ago
  Have you worked on any task related to modeling physical processes, based on my short experience modeling parts of airplane, i believe building something comparable to falcon with 70s technology would have been multiple orders of magnitude harder. The fact that NASA makes poor decisions today doesn't prove that SpaceX would have been able to create and implement the good plan 40 years ago.
  - trixie_ 7y ago
    Multiple orders of magnitude? Do the rockets/engines today look anywhere close even to a single order or magnitude better than before? The computers are much better yes, but not good enough yet to obviate the need for real engine testing and wind tunnels for aerodynamics. Computers in the 70s were already capable of landing autonomously on other planets - as demonstrated multiple times.