Re:SpaceX Rocket Struggled to Self-Destruct as It Spun Out o...
by Zigurd on Sunday April 30, 2023 @09:00AM
(#35762141)
He's got many reasons. Some of them are probably not good reasons. If the project fails, it's a good bet some of the reasons are in conflict. Also, some reasons drive bad decision making as the project proceeds. This is just a big, vivid example of how many projects die:
1. Not giving up project goals or specs when they start to look dubious
2. Sticking with cheap (in time, money, or both) solutions when more-reliable solutions might be called for
3. Letting sunk costs drive bad decisions about the above and other project related decisions
In this case there are unpleasant downstream effects of making safer decisions: Starship might not be the Moon lander Artemis 3 should rely on. All changes made in Boca Chica will have to be retrofitted to Kennedy Space Center.
Lastly, Musk has made pronouncements about Starlink's viability resting on Starship. That could be hyperbole, but Starlink needs 30-100X more subscribers to become a first tier telecom provider, and it can't support that many without the planned constellation of tens of thousands of full-size second-generation satellites.
1. Not giving up project goals or specs when they start to look dubious
2. Sticking with cheap (in time, money, or both) solutions when more-reliable solutions might be called for
3. Letting sunk costs drive bad decisions about the above and other project related decisions
In this case there are unpleasant downstream effects of making safer decisions: Starship might not be the Moon lander Artemis 3 should rely on. All changes made in Boca Chica will have to be retrofitted to Kennedy Space Center.
Lastly, Musk has made pronouncements about Starlink's viability resting on Starship. That could be hyperbole, but Starlink needs 30-100X more subscribers to become a first tier telecom provider, and it can't support that many without the planned constellation of tens of thousands of full-size second-generation satellites.