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Pretty absurd how much of a step up the Falcon 9 is from previous launch vehicles. Landing a booster seems far harder than just doing a regular launch and dumpi

Pretty absurd how much of a step up the Falcon 9 is from previous launch vehicles. Landing a booster seems far harder than just doing a regular launch and dumping it in the ocean, and SpaceX can land 3 of them at once with the Falcon heavy. And they did all of that without relying on government funding. Blows my mind. Maybe I'm overestimating the difficulty of landing a rocket on a floating platform though.

ravi-delia 5y ago
I mean the Falcon 9 is fantastic and all, but considering the amount of NASA money they get I don't think it's right to say they didn't rely on government funding. Rather, they probably have the advantage of not being under the direct thumbs of government accountants (No offense to any accountants, you're the real heros).
- Swenrekcah 5y ago
  Exactly, SpaceX is a testament to what competition and ambition can bring about and how the government can use their funds more efficiently than siphoning money to senators home states. Competition is good, government is good, corruption is bad.
  - sillyquiet 5y ago
    I think SpaceX's secret sauce was they disrupted all the old, big, heavily corrupted aerospace contractors like Lockheed and Boeing by being agile, relatively cheap, and innovative because they had to be. My worry is that nothing except perhaps their own engineering culture prevents them from going that same route eventually. Once upon a time, the big names were the innovative, nimble players.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - Swenrekcah 5y ago
      That and hopefully competition from the rest of the world
- no-s 5y ago
  > considering the amount of NASA money they get I don't think it's right to say they didn't rely on government funding. Rather, they probably have the advantage of not being under the direct thumbs of government accountants The Great Leap Forward was that SpaceX bid fixed actual price contracts. This was previously unheard of practice. Oh the other players might have bid what looked like fixed price, but any scope creep and it would end up a cost-plus gravy train. They did tons of development on those contracts, but they still bid cheaper than ULA.
bryanlarsen 5y ago
Elon Musk has stated that SpaceX would not have survived without its first NASA contract.

ravi-delia 5y ago

I mean the Falcon 9 is fantastic and all, but considering the amount of NASA money they get I don't think it's right to say they didn't rely on government funding. Rather, they probably have the advantage of not being under the direct thumbs of government accountants (No offense to any accountants, you're the real heros).

Swenrekcah 5y ago
Exactly, SpaceX is a testament to what competition and ambition can bring about and how the government can use their funds more efficiently than siphoning money to senators home states. Competition is good, government is good, corruption is bad.
- sillyquiet 5y ago
  I think SpaceX's secret sauce was they disrupted all the old, big, heavily corrupted aerospace contractors like Lockheed and Boeing by being agile, relatively cheap, and innovative because they had to be. My worry is that nothing except perhaps their own engineering culture prevents them from going that same route eventually. Once upon a time, the big names were the innovative, nimble players.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - Swenrekcah 5y ago
    That and hopefully competition from the rest of the world
no-s 5y ago
> considering the amount of NASA money they get I don't think it's right to say they didn't rely on government funding. Rather, they probably have the advantage of not being under the direct thumbs of government accountants The Great Leap Forward was that SpaceX bid fixed actual price contracts. This was previously unheard of practice. Oh the other players might have bid what looked like fixed price, but any scope creep and it would end up a cost-plus gravy train. They did tons of development on those contracts, but they still bid cheaper than ULA.

bryanlarsen 5y ago

Elon Musk has stated that SpaceX would not have survived without its first NASA contract.