SLS Be Gone

[shellyhe]

space1946 wrote:

"The SLS represents "proven" technology. It also represents pork barrel politics for the congreesmen where boeing, lockheed, and other large companies provide jobs for voters.
Elon Musk's starship is speculation at this point. If it works it should be potentially cheaper than SLS, but it does not exist.
Maintaining the SLS is probably a political necessity. If the SLS is cancelled, likely the entire project would be cancelled. "

This reply is completely flawed. SLS still has not had a maiden flight. Pork barrel politics doesn't mean a program is valid - its just giving money to support greedy congressmen's local yokels for something.

Elon Musk hardly speculates. Who else can land launched rockets anywhere is the world let alone multiple times on land and sea.
Starship is cheaper exponentially (a thousand fold) than SLS. It has been tested many times with new iterations ready to fly constantly. If SLS is cancelled, there will be less politics and more commercial competition which part of this new American (space) industrial revolution.

 

[Ullage1983]

I'll consider your opinion when Starship actually makes it into orbit

 

[shellyhe]

Why has it taken almost 50 years for NASA to change from a liquid hydrogen to a methane fuel source? It has been now proven that the efficiency of the thrust to weight ratio is much better and more than enough for any large rocket to escape earth's gravity.

Repeated delays to the Artemis program has to be lost money on top of everything else. SpaceX knows this and will jump on every opportunity to push forward with their Starship.

Is there a new LCh4 / LOX design rocket coming out soon or will SLS continue to spend billions on existing hardware? What in the world is wrong with Commercial hardware?

 

[Ullage1983]

Maybe instead of being a SpaceX fanboy you should familiarize yourself with the concept of "specific impulse."

 

[Hardcrunchyscience]

I'll consider your opinion when Starship actually makes it into orbit

Old engineer's saying - "Good, fast, or cheap; choose 2". For the SLS, the saying is "Good, fast, cheap; get none"