Heh... of course, Hughes had an overdeveloped sense of his own ability to fly planes, and crashed a bunch of times. Closed head injuries have been blamed for his later, uh, eccentricity.
Elon Musk: How I Became The Real 'Iron Man' [youtube]
Posted on 02/06/2018 1:11:17 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Watching the two boosters land was like a science fiction movie - impressive stuff.
I agree with your post...it does appear to have been a good investment of tax dollars.
As for the battery...couldn’t they have gotten a small solar panel deployed...:)
The rocket ran out of fuel and fell into the ocean.
I don’t know if it’s salvageable................
I do wonder if the RUD of the core booster will slow things down — I believe only one of these reengineered cores was constructed, and the reason for its failure will still have to be sorted out before another can replace it. That means, the two customers already booked are going to have to wait, and if it means a year’s delay, they won’t wait.
LOL
I think that is where I heard it, Musk’s post-launch presser. The one I listened to was about a half hour long, and he was talking about hopper tests for the BF ship as early as next year, that it is going to be SSTO, other stuff. IOW, we won’t see anything for five to ten years. :^)
I think the fact that what they've been saying (and Elon has said it too) is not about some kind of qualified definition. It has to do with what he and SpaceX has actually said about the rocket. The only things that can be said, truthfully, is, the rocket (which Elon has implied, repeatedly, is a dead-end design) has finally flown and hasn't yet lifted the rated payload into orbit, but probably will eventually. It's about marketing.
The use of two used, oops, flight-proven strap-ons was a great idea -- one was block 3, the other block 4, and both survived the mission.
The core booster did not, and it will be some time before they have a suitably clear answer why that happened. If it turns out to be expendible, the cost reduction thanks to the reuse of the strap-ons will help keep launch costs down. As he said, it's no longer a problem to go to Pluto.
Whatever else he is, Elon Musk is a huckster. I'm not going to cut him slack on that just because I like what he's done thus far.
One thing that is a good guess is, he's probably become a major driver of the antacid and adult diaper market. :^)
SpaceX has also left out the qualification of being liquid-fueled, and that’s the usual way it has been described. I’m not cutting them slack just because I’ve liked what they’ve accomplished.
To keep the cash flow fat, they need to replace the F9 and FH with Raptor-based versions, and it’s clear that they aren’t going to do that. We all need to enjoy this while it lasts, because it isn’t gonna.
Elon Musk: How I Became The Real 'Iron Man' [youtube]
Thanks, that page is great. The loss of the core booster turned out to be irrelevant for getting the mission done — sometimes a little good luck is the best plan. :^)
I heard the core was the same as the two attached units, the main difference being the hardware connecting them...basically, the exact same design, which appears increasingly reliable.
I assume they learn a lot of valuable lessons every time one of them is lost, so they avoid repeating those errors...
As for Musk...I find him creepy, but that is only a superficial impression (to me, at least). But anyone who can do what he does has talent...
ping f l
PFL
Me too. Double booster landing incredible, like synchronized swimming.
I thought the same thing...brilliant marketing!
Thanks ontap...
Thanks ontap...
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