patrick.net

2 of 3 raptors failed, but it still climbed and bellyflopped/skydived perfectly. Almost landed, but the one engine couldn't slow it down fast enough.

1 year and far ahead of ULA.

Cool Fireworks!

Starship Round 2: We Built This City.

The 1.5 year old Starship program had a prototype rocket leave the pad and do to the bellyflop manuever to land after a 10km flight.

https://rumble.com/vebzsh-starship-sn10-lands-latest-test-flight.html

Note that SDHLV/Ares/SLS has yet to perform a single suborbital flight - not so much as a meter off the ground ending up in a fireball - after 30 years of development and tens of billions of US taxpayer dollars.

Anyone remember "SpaceShipOne?

Back in 2003 or so, kit plane maker Burt Rutan built a plane to fly up and launch a rocket plane (B-52 / X-15 style) which then flew to 62 mile in altitude. The chase planes for the rocket plane's decent for landing were two kit build 3/4 scale P-51 imitations. The fuel for the rocket plane was rubber and laughing gas. Impressive way to hit space on a budget.

He would probably make more money if built a venue that could hold 100K people and charged them a couple hundred bucks a head, to watch him either blow it up on launch or on landing.
Make people disappointed when it doesn't blow up.

It's not nearly as long as I imagined. Nice girth though and that's the important part. There is such a thing as too long.

just_passing_through says

It's not nearly as long as I imagined. Nice girth though and that's the important part. There is such a thing as too long.

That's just the lander you saw. The booster goes under it and is John Holmes Sized.

just_passing_through says

It's not nearly as long as I imagined. Nice girth though and that's the important part. There is such a thing as too long.

That's what she said.

Funny how this rocket looks exactly like the wsbets/$GME rocket [to da moon].

Not surprised given it's Elons.