SpaceX Starship SN4 launch vehicle prototype explodes after static engine test

Re:SpaceX Starship SN4 launch vehicle prototype explodes aft... by agildehaus on Saturday May 30, 2020 @12:54AM (#23358585)

Falcon 1, flight 4 was the first privately-developed liquid-fueled rocket to achieve orbit. Not so surprising.

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Re:SpaceX Starship SN4 launch vehicle prototype explodes aft... by ashtonkem on Saturday May 30, 2020 @02:18AM (#23358954)

Is that true though? I think the Delta IV beat the Falcon 1 by about 6 years. And that was created by a Boeing & Lockheed partnership.

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Re:SpaceX Starship SN4 launch vehicle prototype explodes aft... by wolf550e on Saturday May 30, 2020 @02:59AM (#23359120)

Boeing and Lockheed Martin got a billion dollars (together, so half a billion each) from the Air Force to develop Delta IV and Atlas V.

Then ULA got monopolist prices ($400 million for a Delta IV Heavy launch!) for years and a sweet billion dollars per year for maintaining the capability even if no launches happen that year.

Falcon 1 was developed using private money.

Falcon 9 and Dragon 1 were developed using 396 million of government money from NASA COTS program, and about a billion dollars of private money (for upgrades and reusability).

Falcon Heavy was developed using half a billion of private money.

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