So I’ve heard and seen the newest launch, and I thought for a private firm it seemed cool they were able to do it on their own, but I’m scratching my head that people are gushing about this as some hail mary.

I get the engineering required is staggering when it comes to these rocket tests, but NASA and other big space agencies have already done rocket tests and exploring bits of the moon which still astounds me to this day.

Is it because it’s not a multi billion government institution? When I tell colleagues about NASA doing stuff like this yeaaaars ago they’re like “Yea yea but this is different it’s crazy bro”

Can anyone help me understand? Any SpaceX or Tesla fans here?

  • OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml
    702·
    16 days ago

    If you ignore Musk for a moment, it is impressive. Maybe not every launch (I wasn’t even aware of another one), but a company that’s actually pushing for more space exploration. That’s cool beans.

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
      774·
      16 days ago

      even if you don’t ignore musk…

      They’ve achieved all that despite musk. musk is an idiot and a fool, and he’s far from an engineer. Imagine what they could do if his coke-and-ketamine fueled dipshitery decided to take up a different hobby.

      • seaQueue@lemmy.world
        241·
        16 days ago

        SpaceX has a very robust management system that manages musk and keeps him out of the day to day. That’s the most impressive thing about them IMO. Tesla used to be better about this as well, but with the whole eDumpster (aka cybertruck) fiasco that system seems to have largely fallen apart.

      • takeda@lemmy.world
        191·
        16 days ago

        Imagine what they could do if his coke-and-ketamine fueled dipshitery decided to take up a different hobby.

        Didn’t he just do that with Xitter?

        Seems like he is quite isolated in SpaceX and COO is running everything.

        • breadsmasher@lemmy.worldEnglish
          281·
          16 days ago

          SpaceX success is based on senior management being able to keep musk away from everything to do with the company. He is solely responsible for funding. Everything else, musk has zero credit.

          he bought twitter to show what a company ran directly by him would be like. If that was SpaceX there would be far more rockets ploughing into the earth or exploding at launch.

      • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        10·
        16 days ago

        For real - by all accounts, Musk has, for years, just introduced speed bumps to the process because he wants one particular part of the system to work one particular way, simply because he had an idea about it.

        • oatscoop@midwest.social
          21·
          16 days ago

          Don’t forget that starship launch last year. The dumbass blew up a rocket and launched giant chunks of concrete onto people’s property because he’s a impatient child.

    • BruceTwarzen@lemm.ee
      48·
      16 days ago

      Is it cool beans to litter the atmosphere with satellites and spend a metric fuckton on money, energy and garbage into “space exploration” while we treat the planet we live on is on fire and we treat it like shit? Isn’t it weird that they plan to deliver weapons around the planet in a short time? That doesn’t sound like a “space exploration” endeavour, it sounds like a military operation that is dressed up in make up so his fanboys go: whoooo, rockets, science.

      • OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml
        91·
        16 days ago

        The satellites burn up in the atmosphere

        The money is budgeted

        Yes the weapons part is sad

        These trials are obviously the foundations of space exploration, you’re spending mental effort trying to justify it’s not