re: SpaceX Starship Full Stack Test Flight Thread | Cleared Tower, Thru MaxQ, then RUD

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Why is everyone patting themselves on the back. This looks like a failure and massive expense.

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It’s called flight testing for a reason.

If people actually picked up a book they would see NASA had many of the same issues in Project Mercury when developing boosters. Hell the SLS had its share of issues. Part of the reason it’s taken so long is nasa doesn’t want to have a “failure” like this in the age of the internet and have to manage PR. Elon doesn’t give a frick. That’s why they’ve progressed so quickly.

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Why is everyone patting themselves on the back. This looks like a failure and massive expense.

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Knew this was coming.

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Why is everyone patting themselves on the back. This looks like a failure and massive expense.

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This is the 1st flight of a test vehicle

The only real goal was definitely clear the tower and MAYBE make it through MaxQ

They got both

Now go through the data and make the necessary improvements before the next test flight

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Why is everyone patting themselves on the back. This looks like a failure and massive expense.

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by AutoYes_Clown

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You should Stick to corny commercials.

thanks for the answer on engines.

and HOLY shite that thing is MASSIVE!!!!

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Why is everyone patting themselves on the back. This looks like a failure and massive expense.

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It would have been icing on the cake had the Spaceship capsule achieved a successful separation. But what was achieved today was a successful launch of the largest and most powerful rocket in the history of mankind. They can work on the capsule separation issue. That is a lot easier problem to resolve than if the rocket itself had failed and they had to start over from scratch.

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They need that thrust otherwise why carry the weight associated?

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There's built in redundancy. I know by design (design flight, not test flight) they could afford to lose 3 engines and make the nominal target orbit, or a few more engines and still make a lower orbit.

But orbit was never the goal today. Even a full burn of all engines would have been suborbital.

It's really hard to grasp the size of these things unless you see one in person. First time I saw the Saturn V in Houston it just blew my mind how massive it was and that we could build such a thing.