The SLS being a government funded competitor to SpaceX has little hope...
That said I am unsure if that is that much of a blow. The government is very good at some things, it looks to me (I am a casual observer) that SpaceX has eaten their lunch in terms of a space programme.
But the James Webb was exactly the sort of incredibly difficult, high risk project that NASA (and Government labs generally) excel at. No private company would ever do something like that. It is a huge achievement and is changing our view, again, of the Universe.
So I guess it will be doomed now too. Noting so dangerous as a good example.
The SLS being a government funded competitor to SpaceX has little hope
SLS was never about being the most practical and/or efficient launcher. It is a pork barrel project, but one with an important role. In particular, it is maintaining vital aerospace industrial capacity. If the US wants things like ICBMs then programs like SLS are a necessary evil.
If the US wants ICBMs they'll leverage existing designs. The SLS has nothing to do with them, not in the slightest, aside from the fact that they're all cylindrical in shape.
I find people like you fascinating. Like it's so obvious that the guy is actually legitimately obsessed with going to Mars. You can question whether that's a good idea and everything else about him, but it's so obvious that this is legitimate.
So I'm seriously so, so curious, because you are far from the only person to think this, why do you think Mars is actually a facade to funnel money to his companies?
SLS has been around the moon and back; that mission was equivalent to an unmanned Apollo VIII. Going around the moon is much easier than landing on it and coming back.
Sure. And not-quite-getting-into-orbit is easier -- significantly easier -- than going around the moon.
What's your point, really, aside from nitpicking, when "orbiting the moon" is a perfectly reasonable interpretation of the statement "been to the moon and back"?
To be pedantic, Starship has made orbital velocity several times. It didn't circularize enough to be a full orbit. A full orbit would have been irresponsible. Blue Origin has left a massive trail of space junk from their last test mission because they went for an ambitious orbit rather than one that would passively deorbit immediately.
Kinda. They demonstrated orbital delta-v, but the perigee was always low enough to guarantee re-enter atmosphere after just half an orbit from launch, because of SpaceX's unreadiness to confidently perform a controlled de-orbit otherwise.
The SLS being a government funded competitor to SpaceX has little hope...
That said I am unsure if that is that much of a blow. The government is very good at some things, it looks to me (I am a casual observer) that SpaceX has eaten their lunch in terms of a space programme.
But the James Webb was exactly the sort of incredibly difficult, high risk project that NASA (and Government labs generally) excel at. No private company would ever do something like that. It is a huge achievement and is changing our view, again, of the Universe.
So I guess it will be doomed now too. Noting so dangerous as a good example.
The SLS being a government funded competitor to SpaceX has little hope
SLS was never about being the most practical and/or efficient launcher. It is a pork barrel project, but one with an important role. In particular, it is maintaining vital aerospace industrial capacity. If the US wants things like ICBMs then programs like SLS are a necessary evil.
If the US wants ICBMs they'll leverage existing designs. The SLS has nothing to do with them, not in the slightest, aside from the fact that they're all cylindrical in shape.
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Oh man, Elon is going to propose a Falcon-9 based ICBM isn't he? Might as well go full Bond villain at this point.
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lol the Mars project is a prestige project for Musk now, no way that gets defunded.
It's a distraction and likely a way to fund money to his companies.
I find people like you fascinating. Like it's so obvious that the guy is actually legitimately obsessed with going to Mars. You can question whether that's a good idea and everything else about him, but it's so obvious that this is legitimate.
So I'm seriously so, so curious, because you are far from the only person to think this, why do you think Mars is actually a facade to funnel money to his companies?
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SLS has been to the moon and back. Starship hasn't yet made it to orbit.
SLS has been around the moon and back; that mission was equivalent to an unmanned Apollo VIII. Going around the moon is much easier than landing on it and coming back.
Sure. And not-quite-getting-into-orbit is easier -- significantly easier -- than going around the moon.
What's your point, really, aside from nitpicking, when "orbiting the moon" is a perfectly reasonable interpretation of the statement "been to the moon and back"?
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Starship has made orbit several times.
To be pedantic, Starship has made orbital velocity several times. It didn't circularize enough to be a full orbit. A full orbit would have been irresponsible. Blue Origin has left a massive trail of space junk from their last test mission because they went for an ambitious orbit rather than one that would passively deorbit immediately.
https://x.com/shell_jim/status/1891842756500222212
Kinda. They demonstrated orbital delta-v, but the perigee was always low enough to guarantee re-enter atmosphere after just half an orbit from launch, because of SpaceX's unreadiness to confidently perform a controlled de-orbit otherwise.
No it has not. Cite a source please.