The slap fight between Donald Trump and Elon Musk has highlighted the absurdity of keeping so much of our space program and satellite internet infrastructure in the hands of a single oligarch.
The author wants the capabilities of SpaceX “brought into the sphere of democracy.” That sounds less like nationalisation and more like selling it to a functioning government. I wouldn’t trust Trump or his cronies to run things any more than I would Elon. Fortunately, Gwynne Shotwell is the functioning adult running the company and (mostly) managing Elon’s interference.
Also
Any story about SpaceX as a font of private innovation because it’s free from state interference would be hard to square with the economic reality of the many billions it’s reaped from its numerous contracts, some public and some classified, with NASA and the Department of Defense. Without that, SpaceX in anything like its current form would be unthinkable.
Without “that” - meaning contracts to deliver services. Should they have not taken any government jobs? Does “build a new vehicle to deliver people to ISS” or “deliver satellites to orbit” count as state interference? This paragraph is idiocy.
As far as I know, the only government money granted to SpaceX was ~25M from Texas to lure Starbase and Starlink production. Everything else was a contract or other performance-based funding.
SpaceX - with reusability - has undeniably changed the space industry on a global scale, and the decrease in $/kg to orbit is the main factor in our ability to access space and the solar system. The cost hadn’t gotten meaningfully under $5,000/kg ever, with the Shuttle at $65k/kg, until Falcon 9 brought it to ~2500 and Heavy down to 1500. Starship (which has been performing successful tests with some explosive secondary goals) should get it to $200/kg.
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/cost-space-launches-low-earth-orbit
Fuck Trump. Fuck Musk and his drug-fueled slide into shitbaggery. Let SpaceX cook.
The author wants the capabilities of SpaceX “brought into the sphere of democracy.” That sounds less like nationalisation and more like selling it to a functioning government. I wouldn’t trust Trump or his cronies to run things any more than I would Elon. Fortunately, Gwynne Shotwell is the functioning adult running the company and (mostly) managing Elon’s interference.
Also
Without “that” - meaning contracts to deliver services. Should they have not taken any government jobs? Does “build a new vehicle to deliver people to ISS” or “deliver satellites to orbit” count as state interference? This paragraph is idiocy. As far as I know, the only government money granted to SpaceX was ~25M from Texas to lure Starbase and Starlink production. Everything else was a contract or other performance-based funding.
SpaceX - with reusability - has undeniably changed the space industry on a global scale, and the decrease in $/kg to orbit is the main factor in our ability to access space and the solar system. The cost hadn’t gotten meaningfully under $5,000/kg ever, with the Shuttle at $65k/kg, until Falcon 9 brought it to ~2500 and Heavy down to 1500. Starship (which has been performing successful tests with some explosive secondary goals) should get it to $200/kg. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/cost-space-launches-low-earth-orbit
Fuck Trump. Fuck Musk and his drug-fueled slide into shitbaggery. Let SpaceX cook.
https://futurism.com/spacex-failing-starship
Sure, there’s plenty of reporting, mostly with agendas. https://www.inc.com/kit-eaton/why-everyones-wrong-about-spacexs-starship-rocket-and-musk-is-probably-right/91195626
Perfect? No. Meeting more primary goals than not? Yes.
Flight 1 – Apr 20, 2023 Primary Goals: ❌ Integrated launch ❌ Stage separation Secondary Goals: ❌ Booster splashdown ❌ Starship reentry Flight 2 – Nov 18, 2023 Primary Goals: ✅ Hot staging ✅ Near-orbital trajectory Secondary Goals: ❌ Booster recovery ❌ Starship reentry Flight 3 – Mar 14, 2024 Primary Goals: ✅ Orbital velocity ✅ Propellant transfer demo Secondary Goals: ❌ Payload deployment ❌ Raptor engine relight Flight 4 – Jun 6, 2024 Primary Goals: ✅ Booster splashdown ✅ Starship reentry Secondary Goals: ✅ Hot-stage ring jettison ✅ Landing flip maneuver Flight 5 – Oct 13, 2024 Primary Goals: ✅ Booster catch with launch tower ✅ Starship splashdown Secondary Goals: ✅ High-altitude flight ✅ Flap durability test Flight 6 – Nov 19, 2024 Primary Goals: ✅ Booster recovery ✅ Starship reentry Secondary Goals: ✅ Raptor relight in space ✅ Daylight splashdown Flight 7 – Jan 16, 2025 Primary Goals: ✅ Booster catch ✅ Starship splashdown Secondary Goals: ❌ Payload deployment ❌ Harmonic resonance test Flight 8 – Mar 6, 2025 Primary Goals: ❌ Booster recovery ❌ Starship reentry Secondary Goals: ❌ Payload deployment ❌ Thermal protection system test Flight 9 – May 27, 2025 Primary Goals: ✅ Booster reuse ✅ Starship reentry (reached, failed in execution) Secondary Goals: ❌ Payload deployment ❌ Raptor relight ❌ Heat shield tile test (data collected, vehicle lost)