4 ms·
They've been saying (Elon at a minimum) multiple times that they expect the first flight to end in a giant ball of flames. That there's a "if everything goes ex
by AYBABTME 3y ago
They've been saying (Elon at a minimum) multiple times that they expect the first flight to end in a giant ball of flames. That there's a "if everything goes extremelly well" plan that reaches quasi-orbit and lands back nicely... doesn't make this the expected goal. It's not like they can submit a flight plan to the FAA that's "we'll launch and explode somewhere along the way". They need to draw up a nominal plan, with the full understanding (by reasonable people) that the flight really isn't expected to actually fulfill that entire plan.
It's pretty amazing that the rocket went past the launch pad, yet alone survived past max-Q to begin with!
- rad88 3y agoWhy is it amazing that it left the pad?
- stetrain 3y agoIt’s the first time this rocket has had all 33 engines attempt to light and fully throttle up. SpaceX has no test facility capable of withstanding a full thrust booster test on the ground. Also SpaceX has more boosters and ships complete and in various stages of assembly. A complete loss of the pad would have been much more damaging to the program.
- AYBABTME 3y agoIt's a giant shaking and trembling structure built in a fail-fast iterative manner using unexpected materials (stainless steel) and processes (regular welding). Assemble all this in history's largest rocket ever, and expect everything to go perfect the first time? I wouldn't have been surprised if the whole thing shook itself apart on the lift pad and blew up. I don't know about you, but when I rapidly build and assemble large complex structures like a cowboy, I certainly expect a ton of failures on my first trials. When stuff goes much further than I expected, I'm in awe and disbelief.