Re:NASA chief suggests SpaceX may be booted from moon mission
by postingawayonhn on Wednesday October 22, 2025 @12:09AM
(#45664813)
'Cost a LOT' is relative though.
Expensive compared to a 777 flight? Sure. Expensive compared to every other moon capable rocket? No.
Re:NASA chief suggests SpaceX may be booted from moon mission
by foxyv on Wednesday October 22, 2025 @11:07AM
(#45670301)
But is it going to be cheaper than Falcon Heavy?
Re:NASA chief suggests SpaceX may be booted from moon mission
by terminalshort on Tuesday October 21, 2025 @11:25PM
(#45664628)
When the current industry standard is that the whole 777 is replaced every flight, that's one hell of an improvement.
Re:NASA chief suggests SpaceX may be booted from moon mission
by foxyv on Wednesday October 22, 2025 @11:18AM
(#45670486)
That isn't the industry standard anymore thanks to SpaceX. Starship isn't competing with Saturn 9 and the Space Shuttle, it is competing with Falcon Heavy. If the second stage cannot be re-used then you may as well launch a much cheaper second stage that isn't rated for re-entry like Dragon.
I'm sure SpaceX will eventually fix the problem. They are well funded, the materials exist, and they have amazing engineers. They just haven't reached that point yet.