I have to say watching the gantry catch the returning rocket the 1st time was surreal. It was like watching something in a modern science fiction movie.
Musk and his team gave me something I have not had for a very long time. Humanity does have a future.
Ditto — everything about this gives me hope. In an article some years ago it was recounted how he contacted an old-line aerospace company that had experience building the pumps they needed for the propellant and oxidizer, and was told they’d be glad to take five years and X-millions to do something that they’d done before. No go.
A few years went by. The overall gubmint biz for rocket / missile components was winding down because of the Space Shuttle having sucked up most of the cash and was itself heading to mothballs.
The company thought, what about that guy that tried to hire us? So they called back.
“We just did it ourselves.”
Ha ha ha ha ha ha...
The decision to switch from carbon fiber to stainless steel for the Starship led to locating a company with experience building cylindrical structures out of stainless. They wound up hiring a water tower maker. Oh, btw, “we’re building a reusable spacecraft to colonize Mars.” “Uh, uh-huh...”
30 seconds. Whoops, hold at 41.
I think a sensor’s bad, or flakey wiring. SOCK IT TO THE FIREWALL!!!