Falcon Heavy

[Krash]

I got a good picture of the Falcon Heavy that lifted off tonight. It was brilliant. This picture does it no justice.




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[EEpro]

Very cool. I thought this was a thread with a lot of bird pics. Still glad to be here.

[Kinnakeet]

Can see it from my house. And hear the rumble.

[Pw92676]

Every launch I see amazes me, this one was to another level. Poor pics, was trying to capture the launch and the serenity of the ocean but
one hand was trying to lift my jaw up. Great night with 2 launches.

[Pw92676]

[Speedbird-1]

Great photo's!

[Michael1968]

Cool

[Bluside]

I'd bummed I missed it. I usually watch all the launches from my front yard. I really wanted to see this one.

[1st amg]

Cool

[enjoythemusic]

It was totally, thoroughly awesome last night. My Muse and her family were there and watched BOTH launches last night. Elon is doing far more than many others in moving humans forward into the future.

[Maleg]

Originally Posted by enjoythemusic

It was totally, thoroughly awesome last night. My Muse and her family were there and watched BOTH launches last night. Elon is doing far more than many others in moving humans forward into the future.

The US Government pays for every bit of it, plus profit. He’s not leading, he’s executing someone else’s program.

[brandrea]

[nighthawk77]

Cool photos

[ltmgeller]

[Krash]

Originally Posted by Maleg

The US Government pays for every bit of it, plus profit. He’s not leading, he’s executing someone else’s program.

There were 2 launches last night. The Falcon Heavy launch was funded by the government. More specifically, the mission that launched the X-37B space plane for the US Space Force.

The other mission (Falcon 9) was not funded by the government. The purpose of that mission was to launch Starlink satellites, and Elon is doing that on his own. That’s a Space-X initiative.




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[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by Maleg

The US Government pays for every bit of it, plus profit. He’s not leading, he’s executing someone else’s program.

So you're saying NASA is incompetent??? Elon has skin in the game, and he got SpaceX going.

[EEpro]

Originally Posted by enjoythemusic

So you're saying NASA is incompetent??? Elon has skin in the game, and he got SpaceX going.

Most government agencies lack any real technical expertise save for a few corners of test labs. That knowledge left some time ago for commercial jobs when defense took a dive. In Cape Canaveral it left when they shut down the shuttle program. We tried to hire the leftovers but they really didn't have any skills usable in modern space jobs.

Now the contractors have the knowledge and the government has young degreed people who don't use their engineering degree but rather control the purse and the program management mostly writing specs with contractor help and then reviewing documents made by contractors and signing off on purchases etc.

[Kreyzhorse]

Amazing. Seeing a launch is on my list and watch as many as I can on TV. The shuttles were always cool to see, except for the Challenger of course.

[Maleg]

Originally Posted by EEpro

Most government agencies lack any real technical expertise save for a few corners of test labs. That knowledge left some time ago for commercial jobs when defense took a dive. In Cape Canaveral it left when they shut down the shuttle program. We tried to hire the leftovers but they really didn't have any skills usable in modern space jobs.

Now the contractors have the knowledge and the government has young degreed people who don't use their engineering degree but rather control the purse and the program management mostly writing specs with contractor help and then reviewing documents made by contractors and signing off on purchases etc.

The contractors always had the expertise. NASA never built much of anything, it was all contracted out.

The contractors, and Elon, aren’t leading the way though. What NASA still does well is dream up new explorations, set mission requirements, and manage the contractors who build the hardware. If NASA wasn’t dreaming there wouldn’t be anything new. It’s too expensive for anyone but the government to fund blue sky projects like space exploration.

[EEpro]

Originally Posted by Maleg

The contractors always had the expertise. NASA never built much of anything, it was all contracted out.

The contractors, and Elon, aren’t leading the way though. What NASA still does well is dream up new explorations, set mission requirements, and manage the contractors who build the hardware. If NASA wasn’t dreaming there wouldn’t be anything new. It’s too expensive for anyone but the government to fund blue sky projects like space exploration.

I can remember having some really smart govvie customers but most swapped their badge for a NG or Boeing badge.

[Krash]

Originally Posted by Maleg

The contractors always had the expertise. NASA never built much of anything, it was all contracted out.

The contractors, and Elon, aren’t leading the way though. What NASA still does well is dream up new explorations, set mission requirements, and manage the contractors who build the hardware. If NASA wasn’t dreaming there wouldn’t be anything new. It’s too expensive for anyone but the government to fund blue sky projects like space exploration.

No, it’s both. Elon came up with the reusable boosters. People laughed at him for that, including NASA, but they’re a reality now.

Space X is ahead of everyone, including other spacefaring countries. Space X is also driving Starlink by themselves.

But I get it. A lot of folks don’t like Elon because of some of the positions he takes.


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[EEpro]

Originally Posted by krash

no, it’s both. Elon came up with the reusable boosters. People laughed at him for that, including nasa, but they’re a reality now.

Space x is ahead of everyone, including other spacefaring countries. Space x is also driving starlink by themselves.

But i get it. A lot of folks don’t like elon because of some of the positions he takes.


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+1

[Maleg]

Originally Posted by Krash

No, it’s both. Elon came up with the reusable boosters. People laughed at him for that, including NASA, but they’re a reality now.

Space X is ahead of everyone, including other spacefaring countries. Space X is also driving Starlink by themselves.

But I get it. A lot of folks don’t like Elon because of some of the positions he takes.


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Ahh. The Elon hater trope. Finger pointing is not an argument.

Space X has the government contract. The government paid for all the experimental efforts to improve the process. Innovations that lead to cost savings are rewarded with award fee. If someone else had the contract, their innovations would be in the news.

FWIW, the mass of the fuel and equipment to return the booster is mass of payload you can’t put in space. Since the purpose of the endeavor is to efficiently put payload in space, losing payload to save the booster has not been a priority for design teams. The capability will be useful for other projects, but is not a miracle that revolutionizes the industry.

[dk65]

Originally Posted by enjoythemusic

So you're saying NASA is incompetent??? Elon has skin in the game, and he got SpaceX going.

Lol

NASA probably has some of the smartest people in the game... but it's run by bureaucrats, who are smarter.... just ask them

[dk65]

I don't know how much of it is truth and how much is BS... but the book "Elon Musk" by Walter Isaacson was very revealing. Recommended.

[Krash]

Originally Posted by Maleg

Ahh. The Elon hater trope. Finger pointing is not an argument.

Space X has the government contract. The government paid for all the experimental efforts to improve the process. Innovations that lead to cost savings are rewarded with award fee. If someone else had the contract, their innovations would be in the news.

FWIW, the mass of the fuel and equipment to return the booster is mass of payload you can’t put in space. Since the purpose of the endeavor is to efficiently put payload in space, losing payload to save the booster has not been a priority for design teams. The capability will be useful for other projects, but is not a miracle that revolutionizes the industry.

Wrong. Reusable boosters provide significant cost savings per launch. It wasn’t a priority at one point because NASA engineers never thought it was a possibility.

If what space X did was easy, there would be other companies doing the same thing. They’re in a category by themselves.

Boeing gets money from NASA, too. But they still haven’t had any success with their Starliner program.


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[Maleg]

Originally Posted by Krash

Wrong. Reusable boosters provide significant cost savings per launch. It wasn’t a priority at one point because NASA engineers never thought it was a possibility.

If what space X did was easy, there would be other companies doing the same thing. They’re in a category by themselves.

Boeing gets money from NASA, too. But they still haven’t had any success with their Starliner program.


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NASA engineers (and everyone else) always knew it was possible. Space X automated the technique demonstrated by Neil Armstrong when he landed the LEM on the moon in 1969. It’s not a new idea.

Landing a booster upright isn’t a cost savings to put payload in orbit compared to conventional disposable boosters. If it was, everyone would have invested in it decades ago. It will be useful if we ever want to return cargo from the moon or return Mars astronauts to orbit.

[Krash]

Originally Posted by Maleg

NASA engineers (and everyone else) always knew it was possible. Space X automated the technique demonstrated by Neil Armstrong when he landed the LEM on the moon in 1969. It’s not a new idea.

Landing a booster upright isn’t a cost savings to put payload in orbit compared to conventional disposable boosters. If it was, everyone would have invested in it decades ago. It will be useful if we ever want to return cargo from the moon or return Mars astronauts to orbit.

Why are you making things up like this? Nothing you’re saying is true.

Landing the booster doesn’t save money. The fact that they don’t have to build a new booster for every launch is what saves money.

It just seems like you’re trolling now. I’m blocking you.


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[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by dk65

NASA probably has some of the smartest people in the game... but it's run by bureaucrats, who are smarter.... just ask them

10000000% agree.

We all know bureaucrats are <no additional comment added as don't want to be deleted>.

Long live the goals of NASA, as without them we'd be <no additional comment added as don't want to be deleted>.

PS: Wife wore her Ron Jon astronaut tee during the launches, we're huge fans of NASA and Elon Musk.