To be fair, SLS is space shuttle hardware from the 70s. Even with the existing hardware it took tens of billions of dollars and more than a decade to develop. Nasa is pretty much a government jobs program that occasionally launches rockets. I think eventually nasa will leave the launchers to private industry and stick to probes and rovers (which they do really well).
The cave dwellers have taken over this topic because they don’t like Elon. Everyone reading this thread could see that coming.
OK, read up a little on this. Apparently Texas ecological areas have been upset with Space X debris for a couple years now.
Back to this, if it's been an issue, why do they keep doing launches, especially if there's endangered species that can be impacted and engine failures on the rocket itself.
Because as a private enterprise advancing the mission comes before anything else and the fanboys eat it up. Meanwhile very basic things and lessons that were learned DECADES ago are pushed to the side.
SpaceX's way of doing things definitely comes with some hiccups. It's hard to argue the results though. Rapid progress is the only way forward.
Not disagreeing. But outright disregarding common practice/lessons learned from your grandparents is just idiocy. Not to mention the potential impacts ignoring those lessons will likely have on future approvals due to pressure from various groups.
Whoa there big fella. EM has an incredible knack for monetizing cutting edge science on a grand scale. For that society should be grateful. But you are really undermining a crapton of scientists whose incremental work has brought us to where we are today by giving Musk credit for being more than a grand scale capitalist.
Yeah it is one of the bigger head scratchers. Definitely a cost/time savings gamble that did not payoff. Also worth noting that SpaceX doesn't have much launch pad infrastructure building experience as they lease pads at the Cape and Vandenberg. Including 39A which launched Saturn V and is basically a mountain of concrete and steel.
Yes, I remember people laughing about the falcon 9 and number of crashes. It's strange that these people haven't came back and mentioned how successful this program has become.
Worked both sides of the fence. Private sector=risk=reward. Public sector=take no risks=promotion by not screwing up. Simple to understand why Musk progresses so much more rapidly, but may leave a greater wake.
