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FH was done on a shoestring budget for a small market and nearly canceled when it became clear Starship was the better path. But I agree with you that Starship
by valuearb 6y ago
FH was done on a shoestring budget for a small market and nearly canceled when it became clear Starship was the better path.
But I agree with you that Starship has some challenges, specifically proving it can handle re-entry, be easily refurbed between launches, and be easily refueled in low earth orbit.
But Super Heavy is just a bigger Falcon 9, using the same landing technology. Even if a Starship Reusability falls short, it’s very clear that the combo is going to put bigger payloads than the the SLS into orbit at 1/20th the cost.
- thinkcontext 6y agoI agree they should look at putting Super Heavy into service before Starship. They could use a conventionally designed expendable upper stage, imagine how immense its payload capacity would be without having to lug the enormous Starship. It would allow them to fill out Starlink quickly and would open up the market for larger satellites sooner rather than later.