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A comment on Musk explains why SpaceX prefers clusters of small engines. Parent comment

Re:Musk explains why SpaceX prefers clusters of small engines by marktangotango on Thursday February 08, 2018 @01:03PM (#16334117)
In the post Falcon Heavy press conference, he specifically mentioned scaling up to a Super Heavy with two additional side boosters, four in all. Sounded like they had designed for that, from the way he just threw it out there.

Seems odd to me, since FH is an interim vehicle until BFR comes on line in 5-10 years.

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Re:Musk explains why SpaceX prefers clusters of small engines by philwelch on Thursday February 08, 2018 @01:42PM (#16334459)
It's important not to get too intoxicated with your own success. If BFR is as successful as their Falcon series, it'll be ready in 5-10 years. If there are unanticipated challenges with BFR (after all, this is literally rocket science), having a lower-risk approach mitigates that risk.
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Re:Musk explains why SpaceX prefers clusters of small engines by gizmo385 on Thursday February 08, 2018 @01:29PM (#16334338)
> Seems odd to me, since FH is an interim vehicle until BFR comes on line in 5-10 years.

I thought they were targeting launches much sooner than 5-10 years out for the BFR?

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Re:Musk explains why SpaceX prefers clusters of small engines by Maybestring on Thursday February 08, 2018 @02:08PM (#16334646)
They are, that doesn't mean you should expect them to hit that target.

Musk doesn't seem to set timelines with the expectation that they will be attained. They are always best case, but development never is.

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Re:Musk explains why SpaceX prefers clusters of small engines by jlebrech on Friday February 09, 2018 @03:15AM (#16338699)
yep, they still need to make money.
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