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So are you saying that landing the lunar lander in 1969 was substantially harder than SpaceX landing its boosters back on Earth?

• weebull 2y ago
  In 1969 they used a pilot, and a very good one too. Surveyor 1 in 1966 is a much better comparison.
• deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
• dreamcompiler 2y ago
  Yes. SpaceX absolutely depends on the v^2 automatic deceleration effect the atmosphere provides. They also depend on GPS which is not available on the moon. SpaceX also takes advantage of 50 years of improvement in orientation sensors, INS, image analysis, thrust vectoring servos, and thrust control. As another post points out, the Apollo landings had real pilots who could look out the window. It's a testament to their skills that they all made it home.
  • sfblah 2y ago
    Thanks for the context. Agreed it's amazing what people can do it such an unforgiving environment.