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Rocket launch technology was at a standstill for 30-40 years until Elon Musk founded SpaceX. 15 years later they built reusable rockets. The cost of putting som
by njarboe 6y ago
Rocket launch technology was at a standstill for 30-40 years until Elon Musk founded SpaceX. 15 years later they built reusable rockets. The cost of putting something into orbit is likely to drop by a factor of 100-1000 when SpaceX's next rocket is up and running sometime in the next few years.
It seems like such a waste of time for people to try and debunk these claims from people who are very competent and have access to the best in people and technology. Do they want a world where people don't try new things and make great improvements? One should really encourage people with a track record of getting people together to do amazing things to continue to do so. Elon Musk has stated that he thought that SpaceX had a 10% chance of success. I'm glad he could look at that chance of failure and tried anyway.
- rovolo 6y agoI don't follow rocket technology closely, but is SpaceX really unique in regard to reusable rockets? Didn't Blue Origin do each milestone (announcement, vertical landing, relaunch) before SpaceX did?
- njarboe 6y agoBlue Origin has a rocket that can go up to 100km and come back down. SpaceX's Falcon 9 is an orbital rocket which is a much, much more difficult achievement. But only the first stage of the Falcon 9 is reusable, with the second stage begin lost on each launch. The Starship rocket under development is being designed to be fully reusable with a quick turn around like an airplane. In fact SpaceX hopes to see Starship used for quick intercontinental trips on Earth. Blue Origin is building a large re-usable rocket like the Starship called the New Glenn, but its first launch date keeps slipping. I would guess that Starship will be launching first but it is really cool that two groups are working on such rockets.