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It matters and it doesn't. It doesn't affect turn around because you can have a ready to go inventory. But it matters how much an engine can be reused because
by jauntywundrkind 3y ago
It matters and it doesn't. It doesn't affect turn around because you can have a ready to go inventory.
But it matters how much an engine can be reused because it's a significant material and labor effort to produce them. Are the 9 engines from each flight reusable, and to what extent? Does half the motor get replaced each time or is it generally ok?
The Ship of Theseus debate doesn't have a hard answer to it. We can -like the Persian Immortal - respect the continuity of the thing. But so too we should track and follow the churn of the pieces, acknowledge the parts decayed. I for one am very curious how much of the ship and how much of the motor needs replacement, and how often.
- Isamu 3y agoIn the context of rockets, what is important and salient here is reuse, and even if some motors are swapped out, they are still available for refurbishment, rather than destroyed on reentry.
- jauntywundrkind 3y agoUnless they have to be written off cause they are wrecked? Tesla's kept this one close to the chest. We really don't seem to have much data at all on how the rocket engines are doing after re-entry. The rocket engine itself might well be it's own Ship of Theseus, requiring considerable replacement. We just don't know, it's just not clear.
- dylan604 3y agoWould launches be as cheap if they had to keep replacing the most complicated part of the ship? Could they hide the expense of replacing the engines with subsidized pricing like Uber?