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Fuel is one of the cheapest portions of launching a rocket. There’s much bigger problems to solve on that front until they start launching commonly. Once they d

Fuel is one of the cheapest portions of launching a rocket. There’s much bigger problems to solve on that front until they start launching commonly. Once they do then moving to sustainable methane won’t be an issue. Also what’s the alternative right now? Hydrogen made from the same methane by steam reformation? We don’t even have long range aircraft running on anything but jet fuel, which is more polluting than methane. Nothing about Starship is incompatible with carbon neutral fuels.

cma 4y ago
They are supposed to be operating commercial passenger flights by 2028. There is no way it is carbon neutral in 5 years. They will have to be launching commonly long before they put hundreds of passengers on flights in 2028 (their timeline).
- ben_w 4y ago
  The point of Starship is Mars; Mars cannot be done with Starship in the absence of a box that fits in its own cargo bay, and which takes in sunlight, CO2, and water, and outputs methane and oxygen. Fortunately some French scientists figured that out how to do that 126 years ago.
  - cma 4y ago
    They are spooling up commercial passenger rocket flights (for cross-continent travel) in 5 years and won't likely have renewable sources by then, they have already put in or filed to put it pipelines for petro industry gas sources in Texas.
    - ben_w 4y ago
      "Spooling up"? It's currently an un-launched prototype that isn't yet human-rated let alone passenger rated. Why do you think they can move faster on that than on tech invented prior to the birth of the oldest currently living human?
      - cma 4y ago
        They gave the timeline for entering passenger service competing with long haul aviation back in 2018, sayijg within a decade. Years later they reconfirmed that timeline.
        ben_w 4y ago
        You're willing to buy his estimate for a timeline about a thing you don't like (I've seen him talk, even he knows his timelines are optimistic, and he shows much the same optimism about FSD) while totally ignoring the thing invented before any living human was born and which is already deployed in various places? Why?
- mlindner 4y ago
  Well first off, that's Elon time dates, and secondly even if you take it at face value, 5 years does seem reasonable to me for when substantial carbon neutral methane may start getting made.
  - cma 4y ago
    > , 5 years does seem reasonable to me for when substantial carbon neutral methane may start getting made. Like this? > All Tesla Supercharger stations in regions affected by California power outages will have Tesla Powerpacks within next few weeks. Just waiting on permits. And: > Over time, almost all [superchargers] will disconnect from the electricity grid. > Tesla Supercharger will over time allow you to travel anywhere on pure sunlight for free It really doesn't make sense to disconnect them from the grid if they aren't next to tons of solar, their physical footprint often isn't big enough to capture enough.
    - mlindner 4y ago
      I'm not sure why you changed the topic suddenly. Did you mean to reply to someone else?

cma 4y ago

They are supposed to be operating commercial passenger flights by 2028. There is no way it is carbon neutral in 5 years. They will have to be launching commonly long before they put hundreds of passengers on flights in 2028 (their timeline).

ben_w 4y ago
The point of Starship is Mars; Mars cannot be done with Starship in the absence of a box that fits in its own cargo bay, and which takes in sunlight, CO2, and water, and outputs methane and oxygen. Fortunately some French scientists figured that out how to do that 126 years ago.
- cma 4y ago
  They are spooling up commercial passenger rocket flights (for cross-continent travel) in 5 years and won't likely have renewable sources by then, they have already put in or filed to put it pipelines for petro industry gas sources in Texas.
  - ben_w 4y ago
    "Spooling up"? It's currently an un-launched prototype that isn't yet human-rated let alone passenger rated. Why do you think they can move faster on that than on tech invented prior to the birth of the oldest currently living human?
    - cma 4y ago
      They gave the timeline for entering passenger service competing with long haul aviation back in 2018, sayijg within a decade. Years later they reconfirmed that timeline.
      - ben_w 4y ago
        You're willing to buy his estimate for a timeline about a thing you don't like (I've seen him talk, even he knows his timelines are optimistic, and he shows much the same optimism about FSD) while totally ignoring the thing invented before any living human was born and which is already deployed in various places? Why?
mlindner 4y ago
Well first off, that's Elon time dates, and secondly even if you take it at face value, 5 years does seem reasonable to me for when substantial carbon neutral methane may start getting made.
- cma 4y ago
  > , 5 years does seem reasonable to me for when substantial carbon neutral methane may start getting made. Like this? > All Tesla Supercharger stations in regions affected by California power outages will have Tesla Powerpacks within next few weeks. Just waiting on permits. And: > Over time, almost all [superchargers] will disconnect from the electricity grid. > Tesla Supercharger will over time allow you to travel anywhere on pure sunlight for free It really doesn't make sense to disconnect them from the grid if they aren't next to tons of solar, their physical footprint often isn't big enough to capture enough.
  - mlindner 4y ago
    I'm not sure why you changed the topic suddenly. Did you mean to reply to someone else?