Comments on: NASA approves SpaceX’s Starship to bid for some launch contracts https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/nasa-approves-spacexs-starship-to-bid-for-some-launch-contracts/ Mon, 31 Mar 2025 22:43:46 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: john hare https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/nasa-approves-spacexs-starship-to-bid-for-some-launch-contracts/#comment-1570740 Mon, 31 Mar 2025 22:43:46 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=113141#comment-1570740 Yeah Jeff, they’ve dropped a couple of hundred engines in the drink. That’s a lot of bucks, almost as much as one of the SSMEs on the SLS..

]]> By: Richard M https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/nasa-approves-spacexs-starship-to-bid-for-some-launch-contracts/#comment-1570612 Mon, 31 Mar 2025 15:33:58 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=113141#comment-1570612

going down a simple expendable route is simply against his religion.

Well, I mean, yeah. Because an expendable rocket is going to be a lot more expensive to operate, Jeff! And even SpaceX’s resources have their limits.

We know what SpaceX has managed to achieve with Falcon 9. Why don’t we give them a little longer on Starship’s development before we start writing epitaphs like this?

]]> By: Jeff Wright https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/nasa-approves-spacexs-starship-to-bid-for-some-launch-contracts/#comment-1570453 Mon, 31 Mar 2025 09:13:59 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=113141#comment-1570453 Musk hated having to have a hot-staging ring—going down a simple expendable route is simply against his religion.

The so-called Senate Launch System looks to have a better engineer in Shelby than Starship has with Rand.
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=57014.msg2673228#msg2673228

The Arty II LV is stacked:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hEHfeyrZIK4

Now I hear scuttlebutt as to there being to SH catch attempt for the next flight.

]]> By: Cloudy https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/nasa-approves-spacexs-starship-to-bid-for-some-launch-contracts/#comment-1570357 Mon, 31 Mar 2025 02:44:16 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=113141#comment-1570357 Starship could be made operational very quickly with an expendable upper stage. This can be tested in the same way Falcon Heavy was. Even as it is now, the only thing really needed is to get Starship version 2 in orbit with a functional means to deploy payloads. They are probably within 6 months of the first operational starlink launch. Version 2 landings are nice, but not required in the near term. The timetable for the moon lander version of starship is much more questionable.

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