Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
SpaceX and other space stuff
- Thread starter bholder
- Start date
I was just looking at that article, and I came here for this:
Does anyone in this thread know what capabilities the Artemis SLS and Orion vehicles bring to the table, over what SpaceX already has or is developing? Would love to see a good comparison of technology capabilities.
I can't help but believe that the fastest path back to the moon - is with derivatives of SpaceX technologies.
NASA TV is now broadcasting on SLS. Backgrounder info now, test expected 4ish EST.
So the headlines have been billing SLS as "the largest rocket ever built", but that's going to be eclipsed again as soon as Super Heavy gets its engines (how ever many of them there are now), right? I mean, I believe the full Starship stack dwarfs the biggest SLS config, no? Will have to go find out...
Edit: Ah-yup, by not as much as I thought, though:
Edit: Ah-yup, by not as much as I thought, though:
And of course, Jeff Bezos / Blue Origin have plans for something huge after New Glenn, I forget what it's called, using those BE-4 engines (more powerful per engine than Raptor, but less efficient).
I like all the designs...but I’m a SpaceX fanboui.
New Glenn is their big one. watching this now:
Damn cool, but I have this weird feeling I've seen it before, somehow.
Damn cool, but I have this weird feeling I've seen it before, somehow.
Last edited:
That depends on whether or not the SLS with the Orion and associated lunar modules is bigger that the Block 2 cargo config in that pic. Time will tell. Still not as big as the Nostromo.
The Starship still looks the coolest IMO.
That depends on whether or not the SLS with the Orion and associated lunar modules is bigger that the Block 2 cargo config in that pic. Time will tell. Still not as big as the Nostromo.
The Starship still looks the coolest IMO.
And, among that rocket line up, there is only One Team with clear demonstration of Superior Results over the past decade.
Go Team SpaceX. To the Moon - and Beyond.
Last edited:
Somebody explain to me why I don't have to be disappointed with SLS (lack-of) progress.
On the SpaceX side, we now have a super reliable rocket and capsule doing Routine visits to the space station. With reusability and cost efficiency. Along with verified crew capability. Buh-bye, Soyuz.
On the SLS side, we have design that, the one being qualified, is already obsolete. We have a second version down the road that will offer Marginal increase in heavy capacity. Yet we also have a whole lotta trillions spent - on solid and engine capabilities derived from the Shuttle tech. Yet, many years after the start, we didn't survive 60 seconds.
I am trying to be careful and not nudge this in an inappropriate political direction, but, maybe I can safely say - this whole SLS program is Highly suspect. And I am not the first interested party to utter that.
But, I have an open mind, and I welcome every new technology that moves us along in the space frontier.
Somebody talk me down from the ledge with regard to all the SLS spending to date, and, the corresponding *results*.
On the SpaceX side, we now have a super reliable rocket and capsule doing Routine visits to the space station. With reusability and cost efficiency. Along with verified crew capability. Buh-bye, Soyuz.
On the SLS side, we have design that, the one being qualified, is already obsolete. We have a second version down the road that will offer Marginal increase in heavy capacity. Yet we also have a whole lotta trillions spent - on solid and engine capabilities derived from the Shuttle tech. Yet, many years after the start, we didn't survive 60 seconds.
I am trying to be careful and not nudge this in an inappropriate political direction, but, maybe I can safely say - this whole SLS program is Highly suspect. And I am not the first interested party to utter that.
But, I have an open mind, and I welcome every new technology that moves us along in the space frontier.
Somebody talk me down from the ledge with regard to all the SLS spending to date, and, the corresponding *results*.
I also wish I could spend 15 minutes with Elon, and 15 minutes with a senior NASA member who can answer my questions. I get that the command module and lander designs probably had to be upgraded before we returned to the moon. But - when we launched Artemis, why weren't we able to use the Saturn V design for Phase 1, with this Other Stuff for Later?
Sure seems like our biggest problem is not rocket tech, but - priorities and project management. We had rocket capability in the 60s - supported by humans and slide rules, not AI - that the U.S. government still can't replicate. What am I missing?
I am in my late 50s. I have deep tech experience in manufacturing, engineering, process engineering, logistics, project management, and software design. I have done all of that for 35 years now. And, during all that time, through all those projects, I learned that the complexity always came from the politics, consensus building, priority management, and project management. The tech part - was the Easy part. Always. It sure seems like that is the same situation with the U.S. Space program in 2021.
Sure seems like our biggest problem is not rocket tech, but - priorities and project management. We had rocket capability in the 60s - supported by humans and slide rules, not AI - that the U.S. government still can't replicate. What am I missing?
I am in my late 50s. I have deep tech experience in manufacturing, engineering, process engineering, logistics, project management, and software design. I have done all of that for 35 years now. And, during all that time, through all those projects, I learned that the complexity always came from the politics, consensus building, priority management, and project management. The tech part - was the Easy part. Always. It sure seems like that is the same situation with the U.S. Space program in 2021.
Last edited:
