>read NASA's "The Tyranny of the Rocket Equation" This essay by Don Petit? https://web.archive.org/web/20120503175355/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/statio

>read NASA's "The Tyranny of the Rocket Equation" This essay by Don Petit? https://web.archive.org/web/20120503175355/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition30/tryanny.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120503175355/https://www.nasa.... He calls for "new paradigms of operating and new technology," which is what SpaceX delivers. On-orbit refilling gives the advantage of orbital assembly without the cost of separate spaceships. Instead of Petit's "building the pyramids" Shuttle example, SpaceX is cranking out water towers. Certainly that's a new paradigm vs the old NASA way. Don't forget that NASA was forbidden from working on depots due to a certain senator's conflict of interest. https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/296094-nasas-space-launch-system-may-have-set-back-orbital-refueling-by-a-decade https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/296094-nasas-space-launc...