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The thing for me is that we (humanity that is) already know how to safely land a rocket booster and reuse it. SLS has been in development for quite a while, an
by derekp7 4y ago
The thing for me is that we (humanity that is) already know how to safely land a rocket booster and reuse it. SLS has been in development for quite a while, and lots of funding. So why aren't recovering the boosters part of the program? The most likely answer is that no one on the funding / direction side thought it was worth while, or possible, at a time when that could be engineered into the system. The cynic in me feels that there is more profit to be made in throwing away the boosters. I wonder if the true answer is somewhere in between?
- pfdietz 4y agoThe purpose of SLS was to funnel money to particular contractors and facilities. It's not just that there's more money to be made by inefficiency; it's that the entire purpose of SLS is inefficiency. That it might achieve anything in space is entirely beside the point.
- Throwawayaerlei 4y agoSome people have called the SLS the Senate Launch System.