Re:SpaceX Picks Rocket for First Relaunch
by gpderetta on Monday July 18, 2016 @07:45AM
(#12114491)
Also, every shuttle flight is human-rated. I would guess that SpaceX wouldn't use "refurbished" engines for manned flights, while they could cut down on the thoroughness of checks for lower value payloads.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
That seems likely at first, but it'll be really exciting when that switches around and reused engines are the preferred choice for manned flights since they've been proven.
After all, you never put passengers on the very first flight of a new airliner. You test it out first, and then once it's demonstrated you start using it for real. We'll know that reusable rockets have really made it when the first flight of a new one is done as a test flight without risking any lives, and only afterwards is it put into normal use.