3 ms·

Re-useable rockets predate SpaceX. The boosters of the Space shuttle or its main engines come to mind. Aircraft launched systems is another. It wasn't thought o

Re-useable rockets predate SpaceX. The boosters of the Space shuttle or its main engines come to mind. Aircraft launched systems is another. It wasn't thought of as a pipe dream as such.

sailingparrot 3y ago
Arianespace exec, in 2013, talking about SpaceX before they managed to land a rocket [1]: "reusability is a dream. [...] SpaceX is selling a dream. [...] The market will wake up and realize it's a dream." the word "dream" appears 3 or 4 more times in that single sentence. I cannot find a quote, but I also remember distinctly an exec from ULA claiming reusability was a dream, because even if you could land a rocket successfully you would never be able to reuse it as the stress on the rocket from the flight would make it unable to fly again, with any material you can use to build a rocket. (SpaceX has a falcon 9 booster they have reused 17 times so far). [1]: around 3:00 https://web.archive.org/web/20210723155930oe_/https://r1---sn-4g5e6nzs.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?expire=1627077567&ei=X-f6YKHrEsu21gKE96lg&ip=2a01%3A4f8%3Ac010%3A879b%3A0%3A0%3A0%3A1&id=o-ALpPLhD0uOWHit9R0BY_Yu5g_3qAvYDhjrbi33k84ZiC&itag=18&source=youtube&requiressl=yes&vprv=1&mime=video%2Fmp4&ns=uBhGQS8xyOvB9kxXCgQ39MAG&gir=yes&clen=123551137&ratebypass=yes&dur=2609.365&lmt=1394472127907388&fexp=24001373,24007246&c=WEB&n=s1R2_ryutw8ZO8&sparams=expire%2Cei%2Cip%2Cid%2Citag%2Csource%2Crequiressl%2Cvprv%2Cmime%2Cns%2Cgir%2Cclen%2Cratebypass%2Cdur%2Clmt&sig=AOq0QJ8wRgIhAMQA_WmH78Ymn45sKL3oJnk6CzC3-DMZdMFOM4AazyhMAiEA6W8BWSe49QU_vRBOyzVq4KONFc-g-YQDo675AhL9Icg%3D&video_id=XZ-7nNw-04Q&redirect_counter=1&cm2rm=sn-4g5e6s7e&req_id=963afd5f718a3ee&cms_redirect=yes&mh=s5&mip=2a01:4f8:c010:879b::1&mm=34&mn=sn-4g5e6nzs&ms=ltu&mt=1627055795&mv=m&mvi=1&pl=49&lsparams=mh,mip,mm,mn,ms,mv,mvi,pl&lsig=AG3C_xAwRQIhANYGrZy3uzJ2fpGFjrGwpLYeElLY5HAE7slpanFcLhMKAiAMXaLPI_-jBfJXH57gccjmFAQzNmptCz6Gry1NMuk2Fg%3D%3D https://web.archive.org/web/20210723155930oe_/https://r1---s...
- RandomLensman 3y ago
  Executives talking their book isn't in contrast to what I wrote.

Re-useable rockets predate SpaceX. The boosters of the Space shuttle or its main engines come to mind. Aircraft launched systems is another. It wasn't thought of as a pipe dream as such.

sailingparrot 3y ago

Arianespace exec, in 2013, talking about SpaceX before they managed to land a rocket [1]: "reusability is a dream. [...] SpaceX is selling a dream. [...] The market will wake up and realize it's a dream." the word "dream" appears 3 or 4 more times in that single sentence. I cannot find a quote, but I also remember distinctly an exec from ULA claiming reusability was a dream, because even if you could land a rocket successfully you would never be able to reuse it as the stress on the rocket from the flight would make it unable to fly again, with any material you can use to build a rocket. (SpaceX has a falcon 9 booster they have reused 17 times so far). [1]: around 3:00 https://web.archive.org/web/20210723155930oe_/https://r1---sn-4g5e6nzs.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?expire=1627077567&ei=X-f6YKHrEsu21gKE96lg&ip=2a01%3A4f8%3Ac010%3A879b%3A0%3A0%3A0%3A1&id=o-ALpPLhD0uOWHit9R0BY_Yu5g_3qAvYDhjrbi33k84ZiC&itag=18&source=youtube&requiressl=yes&vprv=1&mime=video%2Fmp4&ns=uBhGQS8xyOvB9kxXCgQ39MAG&gir=yes&clen=123551137&ratebypass=yes&dur=2609.365&lmt=1394472127907388&fexp=24001373,24007246&c=WEB&n=s1R2_ryutw8ZO8&sparams=expire%2Cei%2Cip%2Cid%2Citag%2Csource%2Crequiressl%2Cvprv%2Cmime%2Cns%2Cgir%2Cclen%2Cratebypass%2Cdur%2Clmt&sig=AOq0QJ8wRgIhAMQA_WmH78Ymn45sKL3oJnk6CzC3-DMZdMFOM4AazyhMAiEA6W8BWSe49QU_vRBOyzVq4KONFc-g-YQDo675AhL9Icg%3D&video_id=XZ-7nNw-04Q&redirect_counter=1&cm2rm=sn-4g5e6s7e&req_id=963afd5f718a3ee&cms_redirect=yes&mh=s5&mip=2a01:4f8:c010:879b::1&mm=34&mn=sn-4g5e6nzs&ms=ltu&mt=1627055795&mv=m&mvi=1&pl=49&lsparams=mh,mip,mm,mn,ms,mv,mvi,pl&lsig=AG3C_xAwRQIhANYGrZy3uzJ2fpGFjrGwpLYeElLY5HAE7slpanFcLhMKAiAMXaLPI_-jBfJXH57gccjmFAQzNmptCz6Gry1NMuk2Fg%3D%3D https://web.archive.org/web/20210723155930oe_/https://r1---s...

RandomLensman 3y ago
Executives talking their book isn't in contrast to what I wrote.