11 ms·

There's a lot riding on this launch. Pretty much every component is brand new. This is the first flight of this rocket, which has new engines, a new engine conf

by cryptoz 13y ago

There's a lot riding on this launch. Pretty much every component is brand new. This is the first flight of this rocket, which has new engines, a new engine configuration, the payload fairing, and a much bigger body than their previous F9. Most exciting of course is the attempt to test the re-entry part of the re-usability program to connect with all the grasshopper tests. If this works, they're going to be much closer to building completely and rapidly re-usable spacecraft. I think their end goal is to have about a 1-hour turnaround time. Spaceships will become like airplanes, and we'll have the new frontier on our hands. This type of re-usability is what makes SpaceX's Mars plans so possible in the short term and why everyone else seems to think humans on Mars won't be until the 2030s or 2040s. With this type of technology, shipping supplies and people to Mars will be so much cheaper than anyone has ever really envisioned. I can't wait to move there! I'm quite certain that Elon plans to have a massive ramp-up in trips to Mars over the next 5 years. The software team that did their AMA on reddit a while ago was very clear that we should expect to buy tickets to Mars inside a decade - this certainly means that SpaceX will start ferrying supplies, fuel reactors and everything else necessary to Mars (via Red Dragons?) in about 5 years. Here's hoping.

w1ntermute 13y ago
From the video stream, it looks like it reached orbit (?) without any problems.
- jpgvm 13y ago
  Yes. The mission component reached orbit in a very un-eventful fashion. :) What we are really holding out for is tidbits about the actually fully new component of the rocket.. it's stage 1 recovery system.. if it's as mature as the grasshopper tech looks it probably was 100% successful but it's probably going to be a little bit before they let people in on how it went.
  - w1ntermute 13y ago
    'Partial Success' for Falcon 9 First Stage Re-entry: http://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/1ne36t/partial_success_for_falcon_9_first_stage_reentry/ http://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/1ne36t/partial_succe... Key points: * 1st stage rolled, causing the fuel to centrifuge, shutting down the engine early * 2nd stage couldn't be restarted
icarian 13y ago
I could not find the link to their AMA can you please link that. Thank you.
- skore 13y ago
  "could not find the link"? http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1853ap/we_are_spacex_software_engineers_we_launch/ http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1853ap/we_are_spacex_s... Sorry to say, but that was literally a matter of googling "reddit spacex ama". Come on.
  - asafira 13y ago
    To his credit, he may have tried searching for it with reddit's search feature, which isn't great. I still agree with you though --- a simple google search is really often better than using a given website's search functionality, and I think it's fair to say that a given HN reader should be privy to that knowledge.
avar 13y ago
> With this type of technology, shipping supplies and people to > Mars will be so much cheaper than anyone has ever really > envisioned. I can't wait to move there! I used to be very personally excited about this too, but realistically I can't see habitation on Mars becoming anything more than the equivalent of a glorified trailer park in Antarctica within my lifetime, except with little chance of return, and I'm not even 30 yet. Exciting for humanity, yes! A nice place to go live? Probably not for another 100 years or so. I'm interested in why you'd be so keen to move there.
- baq 13y ago
  > I'm interested in why you'd be so keen to move there. tripadvisor badge. 'you visited 2 worlds!'
  - stcredzero 13y ago
    "Had to bake my own water out of the soil, and there's perchlorate everywhere! No shuffleboard on the trip over and internet was very laggy. Two stars, would not take trip 2nd time."
- jlgreco 13y ago
  > I'm interested in why you'd be so keen to move there. I don't think it is something that can be explained. Either it is something that you get, or it just isn't.
- el_zorro 13y ago
  >I'm interested in why you'd be so keen to move there. I am not the OP, but I'm very interested in moving to Mars at the first chance I get. Why? It certainly isn't about comfort, as you've pointed out. However, to many people, life is about a lot more than creature comforts. The chance to be among the first group of humans to leave our planet and live elsewhere is a unique opportunity that literally only comes once in the history of Earth. It is the first step to securing the universal survival of our species and genesis. It's about meeting new challenges, pushing limits, and proving that we are more than above-average apes beating each other with sticks and sharp objects. This is very much a philosophical journey as well as a physical one. It's about bringing terrestrial life into the greater universe. It's about realizing the best aspects of humanity, while hoping to discard many of our flaws. It's a new beginning, a new chance. Plus, being a founder of a new society is a chance few people will ever have. If having all of this means that I will have to live without as many baths, I am all for it.

by cryptoz 13y ago

w1ntermute 13y ago

From the video stream, it looks like it reached orbit (?) without any problems.

jpgvm 13y ago
Yes. The mission component reached orbit in a very un-eventful fashion. :) What we are really holding out for is tidbits about the actually fully new component of the rocket.. it's stage 1 recovery system.. if it's as mature as the grasshopper tech looks it probably was 100% successful but it's probably going to be a little bit before they let people in on how it went.
- w1ntermute 13y ago
  'Partial Success' for Falcon 9 First Stage Re-entry: http://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/1ne36t/partial_success_for_falcon_9_first_stage_reentry/ http://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/1ne36t/partial_succe... Key points: * 1st stage rolled, causing the fuel to centrifuge, shutting down the engine early * 2nd stage couldn't be restarted

icarian 13y ago

I could not find the link to their AMA can you please link that. Thank you.

skore 13y ago
"could not find the link"? http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1853ap/we_are_spacex_software_engineers_we_launch/ http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1853ap/we_are_spacex_s... Sorry to say, but that was literally a matter of googling "reddit spacex ama". Come on.
- asafira 13y ago
  To his credit, he may have tried searching for it with reddit's search feature, which isn't great. I still agree with you though --- a simple google search is really often better than using a given website's search functionality, and I think it's fair to say that a given HN reader should be privy to that knowledge.

avar 13y ago

> With this type of technology, shipping supplies and people to > Mars will be so much cheaper than anyone has ever really > envisioned. I can't wait to move there! I used to be very personally excited about this too, but realistically I can't see habitation on Mars becoming anything more than the equivalent of a glorified trailer park in Antarctica within my lifetime, except with little chance of return, and I'm not even 30 yet. Exciting for humanity, yes! A nice place to go live? Probably not for another 100 years or so. I'm interested in why you'd be so keen to move there.

baq 13y ago
> I'm interested in why you'd be so keen to move there. tripadvisor badge. 'you visited 2 worlds!'
- stcredzero 13y ago
  "Had to bake my own water out of the soil, and there's perchlorate everywhere! No shuffleboard on the trip over and internet was very laggy. Two stars, would not take trip 2nd time."
jlgreco 13y ago
> I'm interested in why you'd be so keen to move there. I don't think it is something that can be explained. Either it is something that you get, or it just isn't.
el_zorro 13y ago
>I'm interested in why you'd be so keen to move there. I am not the OP, but I'm very interested in moving to Mars at the first chance I get. Why? It certainly isn't about comfort, as you've pointed out. However, to many people, life is about a lot more than creature comforts. The chance to be among the first group of humans to leave our planet and live elsewhere is a unique opportunity that literally only comes once in the history of Earth. It is the first step to securing the universal survival of our species and genesis. It's about meeting new challenges, pushing limits, and proving that we are more than above-average apes beating each other with sticks and sharp objects. This is very much a philosophical journey as well as a physical one. It's about bringing terrestrial life into the greater universe. It's about realizing the best aspects of humanity, while hoping to discard many of our flaws. It's a new beginning, a new chance. Plus, being a founder of a new society is a chance few people will ever have. If having all of this means that I will have to live without as many baths, I am all for it.