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Manned Space Flight......Yippee!!!

MooneyMitch
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afward Community Regular

afward

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51 minutes ago, EricJ said:

That doesn't really jive with the history, though.   NASA funded DC-X (Delta Clipper) and then improved on the technology, in the 1990s.   There were a lot of other, practical barriers, like funding, that were big influences.   When private money got more involved, that was a big enabler.

Well, remember that NASA had only begrudgingly taken the program on (as DC-XA), AFTER Lockheed-Martin's DC-X project flew several successful test flights (which, BTW, only happened because the USAF agreed to foot the entire bill involved).  In short, "Old Space" didn't spend a dime on the possibility, and that NASA dropped it at the first viable opportunity shouldn't surprise anyone.  To add further insult to injury, "Old Space" actively (until SpaceX proved them demonstrably wrong) worked to convince everyone that reusable boosters couldn't be done, once they realized what SpaceX was working toward.  For what it's worth, they still aren't actively working on it (SLS and Vulcan are both fully-expendable)...

I argue the big enabler wasn't private money getting involved, but rather private companies being allowed to treat NASA as a normal launch customer and NASA committing to fund the development and buy the services developed.  Keep in mind, SpaceX scraped-together the 4th Falcon 1 test rocket mostly from spare parts, and had it not worked would've closed shop and been barely a footnote to history.  That flight working is what got them the first NASA contract.  Of course, there certainly was private money involved in the overall development (they did have other launch customers), but the _enabling_ wasn't private money, it was public.

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mike_elliott
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MooneyMitch
MooneyMitch

Congratulations America!!!  We so needed this !!!!!!

EricJ
EricJ

FWIW, rockets have been vertical landing for quite a while, long before Paypal existed or Musk had mastered self-hype PR.    In engineering it's a classic inverted pendulum problem which is often taug

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Hank Grand Master

Hank

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, MooneyMitch said:

..... and that’s what I’m sayin’ :)

Isn't that what the next one will be called?

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EricJ Grand Master

EricJ

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, afward said:

...but the _enabling_ wasn't private money, it was public.

That's semantics, I think.   And I think there are far more sides to the story.

 

tmo Veteran

tmo

Posted
Posted
17 hours ago, MooneyMitch said:

I like this part......

So do I... But the news coverage I see makes me wonder if sending that book to the White House would be considered an act of treason, sabotage or terrorism. Especially if purchased via and delivered by Amazon...

carusoam Grand Master

carusoam

Posted
Posted

Tesla needs an inner-space project...   A plane...

Next gen battery and drive system mounted in an ultra efficient plane...

Aluminum or composite Mooney?

Elon isn’t as busy anymore....

The timing would be perfect...

:)

Best regards,

-a-

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MooneyMitch Grand Master

MooneyMitch

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C-SPAN video/audio link showing Hawthorne control room area is providing a great view of SpaceX rocket facility and just how open and transparent the factory truly is as I discovered during my tour there last year.  

flyboy0681 Grand Master

flyboy0681

Posted
Posted

Right on target. It never ceases to amaze me how the eggheads get the calculation so precise with so many variables. Even back in the day the splashdowns were close to their target:

 

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EricJ Grand Master

EricJ

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, MooneyMitch said:

An incredibly proud and inspirational moment for America!!! 

It seemed more exciting when we did the same thing fifty years ago.

MooneyMitch Grand Master

MooneyMitch

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Posted
46 minutes ago, EricJ said:

It seemed more exciting when we did the same thing fifty years ago.

For myself, this mission was as exciting as were our initial space flights (manned).  I found them all incredibly exciting beginning with the Mercury project on through the Space Shuttle flights.

It’s possible with the overall success of manned space flight, and the more commonplace it has become, the excitement may have dwindled for many.

This mission did offer extra excitement with the United States ability to orbit humans and return them safely to earth.

I believe the success of this mission provides a lift (no pun) to American pride of accomplishment during these times of such vastly touted negativity.

I am a lover of all things that fly! Having spent many years employed at our west coast rocket base, I’m definitely a huge fan of rocket launches and all things associated!

We never got to launch humans from our facility, but we came close!! 

I’d go out in a heartbeat, given the opportunity..... :D

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