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Falcon Heavy does up to ~64 tons to LEO and has been available for a while. New Glenn isn't bringing any new capabilities to the table. It is still a very welco
by wat10000 1y ago
Falcon Heavy does up to ~64 tons to LEO and has been available for a while. New Glenn isn't bringing any new capabilities to the table. It is still a very welcome alternative.
- exomonk 1y ago64 tons is if Falcon Heavy is fully expended (nothing recovered) configuration. Even with smaller payload, the center core is generally a lost cause. Falcony Heavy is extremely difficult to launch as I learned when I worked at SpaceX. It turned out that slapping a bunch of Falcons together was not structurally reasonable design choice.
- Cucco 1y agoAlso falcon heavy use the same fairing as falcon 9 which limits payload size for heavy
- mrtnmcc 1y agoAnd don't forget New Glenn uses Methane which solves the coking problem for reusability. Coke buildup plagues Falcon more than people realize.
- cubefox 1y agoI think some Falcon 9 lower stages have already been reused 30 times, which suggests coking is not a major problem.
- mrtnmcc 1y agoThe individual Falcon turn-around is slow (months of refurb), and the record half-month ones swapped some engines. B1067's 30-reuse is a ship of Theseus rebuilt over 4+ years.
- egberts1 1y agoFeh, swapping engine is not an option for the first few initial Mars trips, unless its payload also contains engines (can't imagine the scissor-lift payload either that needs to go with).
- golden-dome 1y agoDon't take the Mars story at face value, SpaceX has always been for the military industrial complex. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1ga3fjq/comment/ltau83t/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1ga3fjq/comment/...
- wat10000 1y agoThat post really does not make that case. Of course SpaceX will enthusiastically cooperate with a deep-pocketed customer, but that's all it shows.
- gremlin101 1y ago[dead]
- loafofbuns 1y agoDid you miss the 2001 part?
- wat10000 1y agoNo, I just understand that traveling with the former head of SDI does not mean the company’s stated mission is a cover story.
- loafofbuns 1y agoThe head of SDI formed the Mars Society with Zubrin. He was originally going to run SpaceX as Chief Engineer (cite: Liftoff) but he instead got appointed NASA admin and directed the first few $billion to a zero-experience SpaceX. This same SDI head then formed something called SDA in 2017 under Trump which is the platform for Golden Dome, or "the SDI 2.0". This is a multi-trillion dollar program which only Musk has been awarded contracts (as of Nov 2025) and involves the total weaponization of space. That should concern everyone.
- panick21_ 1y agoAs part of DoD contract an extend size fairing for Falcon 9 has been developed. So yes there is a larger fairing, that Falcon Heavy can use.
- computerdork 1y agoSuper interesting. Didn't know this. One question for you since your worked at SpaceX. Starship v4 is supposed to be able to bring 200 metric tons to LEO vs 35 metric tons for v2. Do you have any guesses on the finally amount that New Glenn will be able to bring up when it reaches its version/block 4?
- newZWhoDis 1y ago>200 tons to LEO *In fully reusable first AND second stage configuration. An expendable starship would double the tonnage.
- computerdork 1y agoThanks:)
- philipwhiuk 1y agoThe numbers for payload beyond v3 are aspirational at best.
- computerdork 1y agoInteresting, and sounds like Elon:)
- ChuckMcM 1y agoI'll defer to your experience on this, however Falcon Heavy is the comparable platform so what you're saying is that New Glenn might be able to out compete Falcon Heavy given it was designed from the start for this space? (Not trying to put words in your mouth, just keeping my launch services portfolio up to date :-)).
- antonvs 1y ago> It turned out that slapping a bunch of Falcons together was not structurally reasonable design choice. The design process at SpaceX sounds hilarious.
- potato3732842 1y agoIDK why you're getting downvoted. There's something very endearing about using the Kerbal Space Program workflow in real life and making it work. Physics: exists Engineer: "hehehehe, lets add struts" <object actually goes to space as designed>
- bell-cot 1y ago> slapping a bunch of Falcons together was not structurally reasonable design choice. True. But given the far-lower demand for the Heavy's payload capabilities (vs. Falcon 9), and the costs of the alternatives launch providers for such payloads - slapping a bunch of Falcons together looks like an excellent corporate engineering strategy choice.
- thinkcontext 1y ago> New Glenn isn't bringing any new capabilities to the table Their payload fairing volume is a new capability.