Starship Launch

killbilly said:
Yeah, it started kinda corkscrewing and I was like, "huh....is that supposed to do that?" Then BOOM.

Still, anything past the tower was gravy, I think. Space is hard. Progress made.

"Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly" is going to be my new euphemism for anything that blows up.
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It was impressive either way! I just wish we’d gotten to see a full separation
 
I have some thoughts on this...

NASA and SpaceX must be tickled over the tech available to convey the story and the message. Tara and were watching the launch and seeing the camera angles and footage that were available to us vs. what was available in the 60s and 70s is just mind-blowing. I expect the speed of data collection and cause analysis is similarly impressive.

Musk might be a problematic guy, but there's no denying that he's captured the imaginations of millions.

I posted about it here years ago, but I had the opportunity to climb around the Dragon capsule when they brought it to DC and was able to speak to some very young, very bright engineers from SpaceX and it was refreshing and inspiring to talk to them about what they were doing. There was a quiet confidence in each of them that they would absolutely meet their goals. Seeing that group from Hawthorne on TV - and their enthusiasm - was really inspiring.

Also, somewhere, if I can find it among the bazillion little cloud caches we have, I've got photos of Boca Chica when I rented a 172 down there a few years ago and took pictures of what the locals were calling "Elon's 5 Billion Dollar Pile of Dirt." I expect they're proud now. :)
 
The fact that the center-most engines seem intact (unless there are supposed to be three there) is impressive. The heat at the center is harsh. Maybe the plumbing to the outboard engines is the bigger nightmare.
 
Minuteman said:
The fact that the center-most engines seem intact (unless there are supposed to be three there) is impressive. The heat at the center is harsh. Maybe the plumbing to the outboard engines is the bigger nightmare.
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Looked like a decent amount of FOD got kicked up on the pad too at ignition, possible damage from that to several of the raptors. I saw a pic of the crater left behind and seemingly a solid argument for a better flame diverter. Likely on their to-do list but perhaps deemed not important enough for this first launch.
 
Everything went bad around 1:33 when they turned on the chemical dump. We should get these things flying before we start spraying the “chems”. Impressive trail though!!
 
Elon Musk:


everything-is-fine-dont-look-up.gif
 
Minuteman said:
The fact that the center-most engines seem intact (unless there are supposed to be three there) is impressive. The heat at the center is harsh. Maybe the plumbing to the outboard engines is the bigger nightmare.
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3 in the center.
1 went by by
(along with 3-5 others)
 
bike21 said:
Looked like a decent amount of FOD got kicked up on the pad too at ignition, possible damage from that to several of the raptors. I saw a pic of the crater left behind and seemingly a solid argument for a better flame diverter. Likely on their to-do list but perhaps deemed not important enough for this first launch.
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Reminds me of this video, skip to 1:00 for the carnage.


View: https://youtu.be/gX3_mQZ4gY8
 
This was an absolutely amazing example of PR managing expectations for a launch. Also it's a good example of the difference in styles of project evolution between NASA and SpaceX.
 
derg said:
If NASA blew a rocket up, there'd be some congressman with a flip phone demanding an immediate investigation and cutting of the NASA budget.
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And why not?

NASA is a govt organization, funded by OUR tax dollars.


Frankly, I think it’s outrageous SpaceX is doing this and blowing crap up and end up polluting our oceans. But it’s Elon Musks money, and not from my taxes, so I don’t care as much.
 
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