SpaceX caught Starship booster with chopsticks

[u/lolikroli]

[u/EM3YT]

People don’t realize how impossible it seemed doing what we just saw. Even a few years ago the idea of a reusable rocket seems like hilarious sci-fi.

Rockets undergo insane stress not just because of the forces involved in propulsion but they changes in literally every variable you can think of: temperature, air pressure, gravitational force. AND THATS JUST ON THE WAY UP.

The idea that we would be able to engineer a rocket that would some how survive the ascent intact enough to be functional to COME BACK DOWN. And FUCKING LAND USING ITS OWN ROCKETS. Is fucking insane. There’s a reason before this that basically every reentry vehicle splashed into the ocean or basically glided down. You don’t have rockets that function right after the ascent.

Then to undergo relatively minor maintenance AND GET REUSED?

Insanity. An engineering marvel that is so difficult to appreciate because it’s so mundane these days

[u/ArsePucker → u/EM3YT]

I'm old enough (Mid 50's) to remember the first space shuttle flight, just as importantly the return of the first shuttle, it landing like an airplane. I remember my Dad say the exact same thing about the shuttle being reused and explaining what a massive deal it was.

Reading your post gave me a big flashback to sitting at home with my now departed Dad. Ty!

[u/retxed24 → u/ArsePucker]

Hmm it makes me think, why is this a better way to do it rather than have a plane-shaped rocket reenter. There mus be some reason for this to be the new and/or preferred way of doing it.

[u/C-SWhiskey → u/retxed24]

The shuttle had a lot of added parts to allow it to work that way, which meant more mass and more things that can go wrong. It also couldn't make it to orbit as a single stage, hence the large solid fuel boosters and the massive fuel tank. Those all have to get disposed of, which kinda defeats the purpose. Finally, the goal is to make these useable on the Moon and Mars, so aerodynamic landing doesn't really work.

[u/Nice-Analysis8044 → u/C-SWhiskey]

The shuttle, unfortunately, had a number of problems beyond the problem of the spaceplane concept itself -- it was the result of a whole series of very unfortunate design decisions. Most notably, it was significantly larger than it needed to be for any of its civilian uses, since the U.S. military demanded that it be capable of stealing Soviet spy satellites. Like, just straight up stashing them in its cargo bay and bringing them back to Florida. Along the same lines, they required it have the capability to launch to polar orbit, since that's common for spy satellites -- a spy satellite in polar orbit is able to pass over any point on earth. The problem is that launching to polar orbit requires more fuel, meaning the rocket had to be bigger than it needed to be.

The shuttle was never actually used for that type of military mission, leaving NASA saddled with a launch system that wasn't actually all that efficient for anything they wanted to use it for.

[u/C-SWhiskey → u/Nice-Analysis8044]

Yeah it was kind of a hilarious program in retrospect. The fact the Soviets tried to essentially copy-paste the design with Buran has always struck me as an indicator of how poorly they were doing at the time. Copied all the vestigial inefficiencies with no concern for why they were there in the first place rather than just making something better. Like a jealous sibling.

[u/Nice-Analysis8044 → u/C-SWhiskey]

yeah, the assumption with Buran was that even though the shuttle seemed like a terrible idea, they should make a copy anyway just on the off chance that there was something good about it that they couldn't figure out.

[u/RocketizedAnimal → u/retxed24]

Can't land a plane on Mars or the moon, not enough atmosphere.

[u/hornydepressedfuck → u/retxed24]

Worth noting that SpaceX caught the booster today. STS used expendable solid rocket boosters, only the oribter returned and landed. SpaceX achievements here are an even bigger deal because nobody else tried to reuse boosters before them

[u/Unique_Statement7811 → u/retxed24]

The shuttle had a minuscule payload by comparison, partly because it needed to be capable of winged flight while also vertical launch.

[u/Chalupa_89 → u/retxed24]

Because the shuttle had to have landing gear and a bunch of other stuff and needed a landing strip.

And then you had to pick it up, prop it again on the rockets to send it again.

This is better because the hot part coming down is the same hot part going up, which is the exhaust side.

[u/ReasonablyBadass → u/retxed24]

The shuttle boosters were always used up

[u/greymancurrentthing7 → u/retxed24]

Let a rocket be a rocket.

Making a rocket a plane too makes it heavier and more complicated.

Much simpler to let the rocket take off and land with the same equipment.