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It always amazes me how people see this video and immediately think "I need to redesign this for them" rather than "wow, that prototype is amazingly close to wo
by DavidSJ 11y ago
It always amazes me how people see this video and immediately think "I need to redesign this for them" rather than "wow, that prototype is amazingly close to working beautifully".
It's as if a complex software system is being tested for the first time, a couple bugs are found, and onlookers think the right answer is to redesign everything from scratch.
- grkvlt 11y agoI am also amazed that people seem to want to replace the SpaceX system where the rocket would land itself at an arbitrary location on land, ready for re-fuelling and re-use, automatically, with the existing launch engines and no extra technology required beyond somewhere flat - with a complex system of tracking radars to find the rocket, extra aerodynamic drag devices such as parachutes or balloons to slow it down, and a fleet of manned vehicles to retrieve it, using a dangerous mid air rendeszvous. It's pretty obvious that these systems have none of the useful properties of the SpaceX solution, so it's hard to understand why anyone would think they are superior....
- stcredzero 11y agoJust relax, man. I'm not claiming that I have "the answer." Seeing the landing 1st stage just makes me wonder about all the other possible schemes. (Probably the same thing happened when the Wright Flyer was first seen.)
- krschultz 11y agoHacker News is harsh to people suffering from the Dunning-Kruger effect, and doubly harsh for those critical of SpaceX. That said, your first comment really comes across about as aloof as some non-technical guy saying "how long will it take to build Facebook? It's a website right?"
- stcredzero 11y agoHacker News is harsh to people suffering from the Dunning-Kruger effect, and doubly harsh for those critical of SpaceX. The 1st doesn't apply, and the last one is only in the imaginations of knee-jerkers. That said, your first comment really comes across about as aloof Again, this has everything to do with some "tone" in your imagination.
- grkvlt 11y ago> The [Dunning-Kruger effect] doesn't apply But how could you tell?
- lutorm 11y agoYou would come across more like you "just wondered about possible schemes" rather than claiming to have the answer if you had said "would it be possible to replace the landing legs with a parachute?" instead of "it seems like they could replace the landing legs with a parachute." The way you formulated yourself clearly sounded like second-guessing.
- pbreit 11y agoWell, that's pretty much the precise way that Elon thinks and thank goodness such people exist.
- oh_sigh 11y agoThe difference being Elon has actually studied the problem...
- jsight 11y agoYour scenario with complex software is a scenario that I have seen played out dozens of times in my career. It's always a bit bizarre when it happens.
- mmcconnell1618 11y agoI'm picturing footage of early NASA rocket failures if the internet had existed with real time feeds. NASA would have been portrayed as an agency that couldn't accomplish anything. Keep in mind that while SpaceX is building on the previous hard work of rocket scientists around the globe they are also pushing the boundaries of what's possible. Very impressive to watch.
- stcredzero 11y agoI'm picturing footage of early NASA rocket failures if the internet had existed with real time feeds. NASA would have been portrayed as an agency that couldn't accomplish anything. Such portrayals were present in old media, and this is way far off from anything I'm trying to express.
- dba7dba 11y agoNot the same. In 1960s people couldn't send around links to videos of exploding NASA rockets. Following will have vastly different effects 1) Seeing a video footage once a life time 2) Seeing a footage (even edited for added entertainment) over and over again whenever you want I'm glad NASA wasn't trying to develop rockets in the age of Facebook and youtube.