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I think it's fairly commonly known that Gwynne Shotwell is the one actually running SpaceX. https://www.nasa.gov/content/national-space-council-users-advisory-

I think it's fairly commonly known that Gwynne Shotwell is the one actually running SpaceX. https://www.nasa.gov/content/national-space-council-users-advisory-group/membership_roster_g_shotwell/ https://www.nasa.gov/content/national-space-council-users-ad...

sebzim4500 4y ago
It is 'common knowledge' in that people say it a lot on HN/reddit. In this case, Shotwell is responsible for overseeing integration at Starbase, so it at least makes some sense to give her credit for the test flight. In general though, Musk is the CEO and lead engineer and it really feels like people talk up Shotwell's contribution as a childish way of downplaying Musk's.
- belter 4y ago
  Lead Engineer in title you mean? "Elon Musk: The Fake Engineer" - https://www.processindustryinformer.com/elon-musk-the-fake-engineer/ https://www.processindustryinformer.com/elon-musk-the-fake-e...
  - 93po 4y ago
    Written by the great Gavin Smith, a project manager at some consultancy no one has ever heard of, with no mechanical engineering or software experience, and writer of hard-hitting pieces that sound like they were written by a high schooler.
    - belter 4y ago
      If you are going to argue for Elon Musk engineering credentials, you have a steep climb ahead of you: https://twitter.com/capitolhunters/status/1593307541932474368?s=46&t=OkRi-a2oWi7XvjEyQeU3SA https://twitter.com/capitolhunters/status/159330754193247436...
      - 93po 4y ago
        i don't understand using that as a source, there's literally a giant banner on it showing that the tweet you linked is wrong poorly sourced hit pieces aside, go watch an interview where elon walks a journalist engineer through a tesla plant or spacex facility. he clearly knows the engineering that's happening there and there's even videos of him using autocad/solidworks/whatever in a manner that clearly demonstrates he's familiar with the software. Does he sit there designing some small piece of hardware in autocad for months at a time? No, but that also doesn't mean he's not an engineer.
        belter 4y ago
        What is wrong about it? Here is what Snopes, a site who does fact checking found about it. Please talk specifics instead of making generic judgement statements. - "...Another area of controversy concerns the appearance and nature of the physics degree, specifically. Certificates of both a Penn economics degree and an alleged physics degree are included in documents filed as part of the O'Reilly and Eberhard lawsuits. While the economics diploma filed as evidence specifically indicates the academic discipline, name, and other details involved in the degree, the physics diploma appears to be a largely blank diploma and indicates no specific concentration..." - "...The University of Pennsylvania Department of Physics and Astronomy does describe Musk as an alumnus. In 2009 — the same year the dispute with Eberhard was litigated — Musk gave Penn's Center for Particle Cosmology a "generous endowment" allowing for an annual "Elon Musk Public Lecture"..." - " Musk's past statements about his educational background, however, have been, at best, imprecise. He has claimed on several occasions to have received a physics degree in 1995 — a claim that was never fully true but which may have aided Musk's early business career..."
- ForHackernews 4y ago
  Musk is not an engineer, let alone a "lead" one. If anyone doubts: https://twitter.com/pwnsdx/status/1605442608603463680 https://twitter.com/pwnsdx/status/1605442608603463680 Musk suggests rewriting all of Twitter, can't answer any basic questions about the tech stack, gets angry when challenged on technical specifics.
  - whoisthemachine 4y ago
    Engineers aren't immune from making poor judgment calls, but the second part - having no clue what you're talking about and not knowing when to just shut up and learn - is certainly a marker for a poor engineer in my experience.
- mynameisvlad 4y ago
  Do you actually think Musk engineered any part of SpaceX? In this case, it literally is rocket science, you can’t just hop in and pick it up as you go.
  - sebzim4500 4y ago
    >Do you actually think Musk engineered any part of SpaceX? Yes, especially after watching his extremely in depth interviews with Tim Dodd abou the Starship program. Do you have some reason to think he didn't, other than the fact that you don't like him? I am already aware that he, like most engineers in the US, does not have an engineering degree.
    - 93po 4y ago
      [flagged]
    - mynameisvlad 4y ago
      > Do you have some reason to think he didn't Aerospace engineering actually requires you to do years of study for a reason. This isn't engineering a cute little website for your company, this is, as I said, literally rocket science. Your measurements and calculations have to be extremely precise and that knowledge doesn't magically sprout out of nowhere. > I am already aware that he, like most engineers in the US, does not have an engineering degree. Bold claim. I'm sure you have a source. And even if you did, I'm pretty sure aerospace engineering would be an exception rather than the rule. But I highly doubt this claim in the first place.

sebzim4500 4y ago

It is 'common knowledge' in that people say it a lot on HN/reddit. In this case, Shotwell is responsible for overseeing integration at Starbase, so it at least makes some sense to give her credit for the test flight. In general though, Musk is the CEO and lead engineer and it really feels like people talk up Shotwell's contribution as a childish way of downplaying Musk's.

belter 4y ago
Lead Engineer in title you mean? "Elon Musk: The Fake Engineer" - https://www.processindustryinformer.com/elon-musk-the-fake-engineer/ https://www.processindustryinformer.com/elon-musk-the-fake-e...
- 93po 4y ago
  Written by the great Gavin Smith, a project manager at some consultancy no one has ever heard of, with no mechanical engineering or software experience, and writer of hard-hitting pieces that sound like they were written by a high schooler.
  - belter 4y ago
    If you are going to argue for Elon Musk engineering credentials, you have a steep climb ahead of you: https://twitter.com/capitolhunters/status/1593307541932474368?s=46&t=OkRi-a2oWi7XvjEyQeU3SA https://twitter.com/capitolhunters/status/159330754193247436...
    - 93po 4y ago
      i don't understand using that as a source, there's literally a giant banner on it showing that the tweet you linked is wrong poorly sourced hit pieces aside, go watch an interview where elon walks a journalist engineer through a tesla plant or spacex facility. he clearly knows the engineering that's happening there and there's even videos of him using autocad/solidworks/whatever in a manner that clearly demonstrates he's familiar with the software. Does he sit there designing some small piece of hardware in autocad for months at a time? No, but that also doesn't mean he's not an engineer.
      - belter 4y ago
        What is wrong about it? Here is what Snopes, a site who does fact checking found about it. Please talk specifics instead of making generic judgement statements. - "...Another area of controversy concerns the appearance and nature of the physics degree, specifically. Certificates of both a Penn economics degree and an alleged physics degree are included in documents filed as part of the O'Reilly and Eberhard lawsuits. While the economics diploma filed as evidence specifically indicates the academic discipline, name, and other details involved in the degree, the physics diploma appears to be a largely blank diploma and indicates no specific concentration..." - "...The University of Pennsylvania Department of Physics and Astronomy does describe Musk as an alumnus. In 2009 — the same year the dispute with Eberhard was litigated — Musk gave Penn's Center for Particle Cosmology a "generous endowment" allowing for an annual "Elon Musk Public Lecture"..." - " Musk's past statements about his educational background, however, have been, at best, imprecise. He has claimed on several occasions to have received a physics degree in 1995 — a claim that was never fully true but which may have aided Musk's early business career..."
ForHackernews 4y ago
Musk is not an engineer, let alone a "lead" one. If anyone doubts: https://twitter.com/pwnsdx/status/1605442608603463680 https://twitter.com/pwnsdx/status/1605442608603463680 Musk suggests rewriting all of Twitter, can't answer any basic questions about the tech stack, gets angry when challenged on technical specifics.
- whoisthemachine 4y ago
  Engineers aren't immune from making poor judgment calls, but the second part - having no clue what you're talking about and not knowing when to just shut up and learn - is certainly a marker for a poor engineer in my experience.
mynameisvlad 4y ago
Do you actually think Musk engineered any part of SpaceX? In this case, it literally is rocket science, you can’t just hop in and pick it up as you go.
- sebzim4500 4y ago
  >Do you actually think Musk engineered any part of SpaceX? Yes, especially after watching his extremely in depth interviews with Tim Dodd abou the Starship program. Do you have some reason to think he didn't, other than the fact that you don't like him? I am already aware that he, like most engineers in the US, does not have an engineering degree.
  - 93po 4y ago
    [flagged]
  - mynameisvlad 4y ago
    > Do you have some reason to think he didn't Aerospace engineering actually requires you to do years of study for a reason. This isn't engineering a cute little website for your company, this is, as I said, literally rocket science. Your measurements and calculations have to be extremely precise and that knowledge doesn't magically sprout out of nowhere. > I am already aware that he, like most engineers in the US, does not have an engineering degree. Bold claim. I'm sure you have a source. And even if you did, I'm pretty sure aerospace engineering would be an exception rather than the rule. But I highly doubt this claim in the first place.