Thursday, May 6, 2021

SN15 did it

SpaceX accomplished it at last, launching the new version of Starship (SN15) six miles up and returning it to the ground in a soft landing. All the previous prototypes ended in "rud" - rapid unplanned disassembly, i.e. explosion.


As you know, Starship is being developed by the private corporation SpaceX for NASA to use on its crewed mission to the moon, perhaps by 2024. SpaceX also plans to use this craft for its own commercial flights.

The two other companies that were considered by NASA for the job were Blue Origin and Dynetics. They lost the bid to SpaceX. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has filed a complaint with the government. So, for now, NASA is unable to give SpaceX any money for the job. If it isn't settled quickly, that moon mission goal may well be delayed. In fact, the 2024 goal is expected to slide under the current administration anyway.

from Space website

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