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>"I find the statement that there's a public desire for a winged spaceship silly." I have to disagree. For all the technological achievements of SpaceX, we sti
by aphextron 6y ago
>"I find the statement that there's a public desire for a winged spaceship silly."
I have to disagree. For all the technological achievements of SpaceX, we still don't have the capabilities lost with the Shuttle. No other spacecraft before or since has had the ability to launch 8 astronauts and return multi-ton cargos from LEO. There was also just something so cool about having a freaking spaceship that capsule designs will never have, and that shouldn't be discounted. I couldn't help but feel somewhat depressed watching the Dragon launch like we have regressed as a society, no longer daring to push the limits and strive for absurdley ambitious things like the Shuttle did.
- maccam94 6y agoUpmass is way more important right now than downmass. If you want more inspiration, know that SpaceX is making a significant profit on these flights despite their price being a small fraction of shuttle flights. And they're pouring it into their next generation rocket, Starship, which they plan to launch around the Moon in a few years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Starship https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Starship
- thePunisher 6y agoWe regressed because we found out that winged spaceships are too hazardous. Dream Chaser too is dangerous since in the event of an explosion it will likely tear the wings off, making a safe return infeasible.