“Was” being the operative word here. SpaceX is now supplying a valuable service to all comers for less than any of the other commercial launch suppliers in the world. “Was” it a vanity project to begin with? Possibly (probably.) However it has evolved to be more than that.

Blue Organ and Socialism X

So the pilots see the warning light... with full knowledge that Branson is on board, ready to make his “historic” flight ahead of Bezos and that if they do things by the book Branson won’t get another chance before Bezos. Let’s say it’s a bit of a borderline warning, the sort of thing where you can most likely adjust…

“Hey, what’s the problem? We made it back OK! And SpaceShipTwo is gonna make the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs!”

Nothing like a science blog using fear instead of basic scientific names for insects. 

CA, you =REALLY= have been paying attention. Kudos. 

Thanks for replying and educating me on this

The ‘CYA/diffusion of responsibility’ is largely due to political considerations. Their funding is contingent on the political whims of congress and the president. Their goals are largely set due to those political whims. Their choice of vendors, etc.

You think they had a “safety culture” during the Apollo Program?

I mean, yeah, kinda. At the very least they should have had sufficient oversight to make sure a docking module had a remote cut off system in case of this exactly situation.

People had similar thoughts regarding a new-fangled invention called ‘computers’ and a quirky offshoot called the ‘mobile phone.’ And there was this other invention that everybody thought was quaint but nothing more than a short-lived fad: airplanes. Oh, and before that, they had the exact same notions about this…

Yeah, that’s definitely easier than doing it the old way or using ADB. Hell, is that still a thing? It would be nice if I could plug my phone into a PC and it’d get all the updated sources and have something other than a command line for an interface.

I expected a serious response to a serious answer to a fair question - I don’t dabble in conspiracy theory or movie fiction. What I wrote is the facts as far as statistics can (or likely will) show.

The return to landing site process may need a few Booster ditches even after the suborbital test, if Falcon 9 is anything to go by. Additionally Musk believes some 20-30 Ships to get the orbital return working all the way, the heat shield may be iffy. That was before the Mechazilla build - so add a couple of more…

Sideloading apps on Android is just as dangerous as installing third-party applications on Windows. Such as Google Chrome. Or Apple Music.

Starship is made of a stainless steel alloy known as 304L, a member of the AISI 3o0 series of alloys. It is “Austenitic,” which means it is non-magnetic. This has to do with its chromium and nickel content which disrupts the iron’s structure on a microscopic level, causing it to lose most of its magnetic qualities.…

To complicated.. much easier to just do what Elon is doing and use some chopsticks to catch it.  Doesnt require developing a net new technology.  

You had me curious what a “more modern” version of Amazon might look like. I don’t agree with your assertion.

Breaking: Man who just built train line to Miami thinks that all commerce and industry should move to Miami.

This is a shockingly fair take.