September 28, 2019
Big Rocket is Big
Actual speechification begins at 16:55
Musk seems a bit off his game in this presentation, though the speech itself is mostly a recap and celebration of Space-X's accomplishments to this point.
There is an overview of the current second stage of the rocket which has undergone a considerable redesign just in the last few months...loosing the tail fin for one thing.
Musk does point out the advantages of stainless steel pointing out how much easier it is to work with in comparison to the more exotic materials his company has been using. He notes that this rocket which is set to fly in a few weeks has been welded in the open on a concrete slab on a barrier island surrounded by beach sand and boonie by a team of welders who he takes the time to thank. This is important when considering field repairs on the Moon, Mars or Ceres.
His answer to the inquiry about living space seems to indicate he hasn't given much thought to artificial gravity.
There's a bit where he mentions taking this type of rocket to the Saturnian system. While this might be ballistically possible, Solar power isn't really practical beyond Jupiter, and very challenging beyond the asteroid belt. It's unclear if Musk has some nuclear power plant in mind.
The big news however is that he expects to reach orbit with this rocket or one of its sisters in 6 months, with a manned flight shortly after that!
And good grief that rocket is big!
Actual speechification begins at 16:55
Musk seems a bit off his game in this presentation, though the speech itself is mostly a recap and celebration of Space-X's accomplishments to this point.
There is an overview of the current second stage of the rocket which has undergone a considerable redesign just in the last few months...loosing the tail fin for one thing.
Musk notes a typo in this slide, Dry mass is actually ~120tons.
Musk does point out the advantages of stainless steel pointing out how much easier it is to work with in comparison to the more exotic materials his company has been using. He notes that this rocket which is set to fly in a few weeks has been welded in the open on a concrete slab on a barrier island surrounded by beach sand and boonie by a team of welders who he takes the time to thank. This is important when considering field repairs on the Moon, Mars or Ceres.
His answer to the inquiry about living space seems to indicate he hasn't given much thought to artificial gravity.
There's a bit where he mentions taking this type of rocket to the Saturnian system. While this might be ballistically possible, Solar power isn't really practical beyond Jupiter, and very challenging beyond the asteroid belt. It's unclear if Musk has some nuclear power plant in mind.
The big news however is that he expects to reach orbit with this rocket or one of its sisters in 6 months, with a manned flight shortly after that!
And good grief that rocket is big!
This is just the second stage...about a third of the whole thing.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
10:40 PM
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1
I'm getting serious Heinlein vibes from that thing... DD Harriman should be along any moment now.
Posted by: Wonderduck at Sun Sep 29 04:13:15 2019 (+qGjD)
2
Yeah, the stainless steel skin and the fins at the top are pure Heinlein cover art.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Sun Sep 29 07:26:50 2019 (PiXy!)
3
I'm pretty sure Musk IS Delos Harriman.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sun Sep 29 10:39:34 2019 (YUAc9)
4
I have an acquaintance who is very down on Musk, convinced he is a scammer, and that eventually all of his enterprises will come crashing down.
So maybe he IS Harriman.
So maybe he IS Harriman.
Posted by: Mauser at Mon Sep 30 23:00:29 2019 (Ix1l6)
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