The development timeline has been so strange.
Falcon 9 was made so quickly compared to Starship.
I would have expected a working rocket would have been quick - especially given they have a wealth of experience making the first one. And then I would have expected a protracted period of nailing down the landing and reuse
And yet.. just getting this thing to orbit has been seemingly as hard as catching it coming down
Does anyone in the know have a good assessment of what's up?
Did they just take bigger risks making the Falcon 9? Is the workforce burnt out?
From the descriptions and how they speak, they don't seem interested in getting to orbit unless it's reusable. But it seems like a giant non-reusable rocket would already be a huge win. It's at least shut down the ridiculous SLS program and freeup a bunch of funding
I would have expected a working rocket would have been quick - especially given they have a wealth of experience making the first one. And then I would have expected a protracted period of nailing down the landing and reuse
And yet.. just getting this thing to orbit has been seemingly as hard as catching it coming down
Does anyone in the know have a good assessment of what's up? Did they just take bigger risks making the Falcon 9? Is the workforce burnt out?
From the descriptions and how they speak, they don't seem interested in getting to orbit unless it's reusable. But it seems like a giant non-reusable rocket would already be a huge win. It's at least shut down the ridiculous SLS program and freeup a bunch of funding