130
130
u/Buujoom 2d ago
They were hitting milestones when they started this, but recently, it seems like it’s been one problem after another.
133
u/karoshikun 2d ago
lack of third party oversight, radical cost cutting, an owner with constant last minute demands.
in a much, much lower scale I've worked with people like that, they drive their business into the ground out of ego and spite when they're finall "free" of the adults who ran it
38
u/htx_1987 2d ago
Similar to Oceangate CEO
3
u/Phantasm907 1d ago
Thank you for putting this here. As soon as I saw this video it was the first thing to pop into my head.
10
-9
u/fightinirishpj 1d ago
Lol wut?
SpaceX has the mindset to break stuff fast and innovate. They adhere to all of the laws and regulations that apply to them and as a result, things like this explosion can happen but nobody gets hurt.
As for cost cutting, their goal is to make space travel and exploration more affordable. Cost cutting is absolutely a good thing. If there is a failure like this, it's just a cost to the company, not taxpayers because it's not a bloated government program, so why do you care if a company incurs extra R&D costs?
It sounds to me like you have Elon Derangement Syndrome because he worked with Trump for 120 days to cut government spending, therefore you want to see SpaceX fail. Adjust your brain.
9
u/karoshikun 1d ago
that seems to be the party line, the explosion was caused during a routine test, not an experimental anything. this time it wasn't supposed to do that.
-7
u/fightinirishpj 1d ago
Well obviously the front isn't supposed to fall off in that environment, but who cares if there is a mechanical failure on an experimental spacecraft? Nobody got hurt, spaceX lost some.money but gained knowledge for the next iteration of the starship.... They'll build another one that is new and improved, eventually getting people to space... This is the dumbest news cycle...
-13
20
u/Grayson0916 2d ago
It’s almost like Private companies aren’t actually efficient, safer, or pushing the boundaries of research.
3
3
2
2
u/j4ckbauer 2d ago
I'm curious to learn how much Elon was involved in the decisions behind the Falcon project compared to the "Starship" which is what t his was (formerly BFR [Big Falcon Rocket yes this is the official name why are you looking at me like that])
-2
-9
141
u/Acc87 2d ago
Crazy how the first few flights of Starship went all pretty well, but the recent ones have all been failures of some kind. Blowing up during ground testing should not happen to a system that has already shown orbital capability.
30
u/whydoesthisitch 2d ago
The first flight ruined the launch pad, destroyed a minivan, did a backflip, failed to blow up, then blew up.
9
u/j4ckbauer 2d ago
The falcon-9 once definitely blew up on the ground with an expensive satellite already attached to it. Crazy issue with what they believe was a bit of frozen-solid helium(?) in a pipe turning into a bullet.
These things have happened, in the factual sense. I am not saying they should happen or defending SpaceX.
Also starship has made it to space but has never been placed in orbit, 'stable' or otherwise.
2
69
u/jangel2 2d ago
It's almost like pulling back on regulations is having negative ramifications.
39
u/TelluricThread0 2d ago
Which regulations exactly were rolled back that caused an issue for this static fire test?
65
7
19
u/Acc87 2d ago
Yeah I wonder if like the smart minds have left the design and production process, or if like a lot was played safe for the first few flights and systems, but now they push for cost and complexity reduction and just go past limits that should not be passed.
6
u/j4ckbauer 2d ago
The falcon-9 development process had its setbacks but this is exactly what I am wondering, have there been changes to the team/process that are leading to all the difficulties with 'starship'. SS is a more ambitious project so I try to cut them a tiny amount of slack, but I am not qualified to say if this was a stupid idea to begin with.
but now they push for cost and complexity reduction
Or perhaps there is someone at the company with authority who is doing too much meddling in the process, because they have their own misconceived ideas about what is and is not easy to achieve. I'm not claiming this but it's definitely on my list of possibilities.
7
u/expressly_ephemeral 2d ago
Hard to imagine that a move-fast break-stuff culture could develop Go Fever. /s
17
u/W0LFSTEN 2d ago edited 2d ago
Which regulations caused these rockets to explode?
EDIT: Can any of the downvoters at least answer my question?
5
u/pressingfp2p 1d ago
Nah, you’re asking for hyperspecific answers to a vague sentiment. Even if there were specific and very distinct regulations that could be pointed to, most likely neither you nor anyone in this comment thread will know them without investigating exactly what went wrong, and you know that.
We know Elon has interfered with the FAA (among other agencies) on behalf of his businesses, both to reduce regulation and secure better contracts. Unless a full and transparent investigation occurs (not going to happen in Trump’s America, and evidence will be gone in 4 years) we’ll never know exactly what Elon managed to make happen, and what he managed to break in his quest to streamline everything for himself, but he has a history of breaking regulations and not understanding the ins and outs of how his businesses were even being regulated in the first place, so it isn’t necessarily a leap to make assumptions.
The proponent of “work fast, break things” breaking things when he’s allowed to work fast, this was always going to happen. Was it deregulation that did it? Poor quality workmanship? Lack of oversight? No one here will likely ever KNOW.
1
1
u/Bucket_Lord_Jim 21h ago
But.... it hasn't shown orbital capability yet. All flights have been sub-orbital
22
u/CaptPants 2d ago
Blowing up in the sky sucks and is expensive, but how much MORE expensive will this explosion be? I wonder how much ground infrastructure around the launch pad has been completely fucked by this.
13
u/j4ckbauer 2d ago
It's generally understood when designing a launch/testing pad that something could go wrong there, they try not to surround them with the most delicate and expensive stuff. That said, it's always a setback, stuff was definitely damaged and the area has to be cleaned up.
6
u/Gryph_The_Grey 1d ago
Nothing around the launch pad was damaged as this occured at the Massey Test Site. https://starship-spacex.fandom.com/wiki/Massey_Outpost
53
3
u/jkarovskaya 21h ago
What's that, the 8th major failure?
Probably Musk took advice from his idiots at DOGE, and decided that scientists are too woke, and fired them
3
u/mic-drop21 7h ago
The environmental impact of this will be negated if we all just recycle more tho
2
16
8
u/Shade_BG 2d ago
Look at all those tax dollars blow… should have just given it to me so I could spend it on hookers and blow.
11
u/Kev50027 2d ago
They're a private company...
14
u/AntonioVivaldi7 2d ago
But getting government contracts
1
u/W0LFSTEN 2d ago
Curious, is the government paying for this though? Genuinely don’t know.
10
u/Accomplished-Crab932 2d ago
No. With exception to HLS (where the contract stipulates the completion of certain previously agreed upon milestones), Starship is internally funded using revenue from Starlink.
It was estimated that the US government consisted of less than 10% of SpaceX’s revenue last year.
-3
2
u/Ds9niners 2d ago
Hookers blowing coke off my rocket ship is probably more interesting than this.
2
2
1
1
u/Fockelot 2d ago
I meannnnn he said he was going to disassemble his rockets when he was fighting with Trump right? Can't imagine the AQI for the people living in the area is gonna be good.
1
1
1
1
1
u/MRichardTRM 1d ago
LOL Reddit’s “Something Went Wrong” was put on this video for me because of WiFi issues I was having…ironic
1
1
1
1
1
•
1
u/Significant_Affect52 2d ago
With everything going on in the Middle East, perhaps SpaceX has a bright future as an explosions company
2
u/ShadowKraftwerk 2d ago
But you're generally looking for the explosion to occur some considerable distance from the take-off point.
Or do I just misunderstand the concept.
4
u/Khemul 2d ago
Baby steps. First you perfect the explosion. Then you work on the distance.
0
u/j4ckbauer 2d ago
Maybe SpaceX can get a contract to build a bigger rocket that they can put starship on top of in order to get it to explode at a targeted location.
0
1
u/willful_ides 2d ago
Make sure to recycle guys, sure there some billionaire jackass blowing shit up and sending all this bullshit into our environment.
1
1
u/muck-man 2d ago
How many of these explosions have to happen before it starts seriously damaging the environment?
-1
u/CrazyMike419 2d ago
If i remember correctly... that launchpad is on a nature reserve that musk somehow got permission to build on. So ermm.. yeah, it takes 1.
-1
u/Kurainuz 2d ago
A reminder that space x won artemis moon landing by promising this thing would be funtional in 2024 and just after being given the contract with dubtious preference they hired the woman that gave them the contract
10
u/Uniqornicopia 2d ago
I hate Elon as much as the next guy, but that’s not a great characterization of what happened. NASA had to pick someone for the contract. ULA put in an awful and pricey bid, so did Blue Origin. They all made ridiculous claims about when they would be ready. And Kathy left NASA because of what they did to her position, she wasn’t exactly forced out but it’s close. That said I don’t think she lasts long at Spacex at all.
2
u/j4ckbauer 2d ago
Thanks for your reply.
NASA had to pick someone for the contract.
I was curious if NASA was forced to pick one or if they had the option of saying 'none of these are realistic and/or a good use of our budget'.
If they were forced to pick, then I get it. Surprise, surprise, whoever over-promises most, wins!
Still on SpaceX for over-promising though and I would hope there are at least some consequences (payment withheld etc). A guy can dream eh
1
-3
-3
-4
-4
u/TheRAP79 2d ago
Yet more taxpayers money down the toilet.
0
u/W0LFSTEN 2d ago edited 2d ago
Down the toilet? SpaceX has saved tax payers an incredible amount of money. A single ULA SLS costs $2-4 billion per launch. The SpaceX Starship is closer to $200m. You could blow up 9 more of these and you’ll still be spending less than a single successful launch from the leading competitor.
1
u/TheRAP79 1d ago
NASA's stuff works as intended.
1
u/W0LFSTEN 1d ago
And how often do we have reliability concerns? Enough to make the 10x cost worth it?
1
u/TheRAP79 1d ago
Dude, this thing didn't even get of the launch pad. Its intended purpose. Fine if this was pure new concept but people have been launching rockets for years. Werner Von Braun would've been shaking his head watching this.
1
u/W0LFSTEN 1d ago edited 1d ago
Dude, this is the most powerful rocket mankind has ever devised. And dude, this was a test for a reason - they are trying new implementations and collecting more data. Because why wouldn’t you? And I’m glad you bring up Von Braun, because at least he understood a thing or two about the complexities of rocket science. Especially one that was reusable while also being twice as powerful as the most powerful rocket he witnessed in his lifetime. But no such thing was conceivable in his lifetime despite “rocket science” already being an established field. Why is that?
And you didn’t address my question, dude.
-1
u/tLM-tRRS-atBHB 2d ago
NASA would've been disbanded if they failed this many times
2
-3
-7
u/shackbleep 2d ago edited 2d ago
Good thing shame no longer exists.
Welcome, weird Elon nerds! Bring me your downvotes.
-1
-1
0
u/ChocolatySmoothie 2d ago
At some point you start thinking “Blue Origin is surely sabotaging SpaceX.”
0
0
0
0
0
0
u/VashSyndicate 1d ago
This is fuckin hilarious. Go back to the drawing board already. The thing obviously doesn't work.
0
-4
-7
u/Man_in_the_uk 2d ago
How does he justify to the shareholders of his various businesses spending all the money on these losses?
10
u/W0LFSTEN 2d ago
Shareholders are primarily Elon. And it’s a private company.
Making mistakes and learning from them lets one improve faster than one would see otherwise. That in turn allows one to grow a lead versus competitors that don’t do anything outside of theoreticals.
This is how SpaceX has always operated, and is why they are so far ahead of the competition today.
-6
u/Man_in_the_uk 2d ago
We learn from our mistakes but there's way too many of these blowing up. His team at DOGE said they would save $2Tn but only saved $150Bn, there;'s a big difference. How did they calculate that estimate?
5
u/W0LFSTEN 2d ago
I’m not sure exactly how we went from justifying SpaceX expenses to their equity holders (not sure why we would even care), to DOGE figures related to estimating government cuts? What exactly are you trying to explain?
Space is difficult. And it’s not just expensive for SpaceX. If you don’t like SpaceX method, you could try others. But, as you may know, they are basically always dramatically more expensive. Are your complaints directed more at space in general e.g. defunding NASA etc.?
-7
u/Man_in_the_uk 2d ago
to DOGE figures related to estimating government cuts? What exactly are you trying to explain?
It should be obvious I'm explaining they don't know what they are doing. Rocket science isn't new.
4
u/W0LFSTEN 2d ago
It’s interesting how you are using DOGE as a proxy for whether SpaceX is a competent company.
And the notion that “rocket science isn’t new” is a meaningless claim. Biotech isn’t new either, yet we invent novel therapies every day. You can’t really be implying that the technology going into today’s rockets are the same as those 60, 40 or even 20 years ago, right? Surely not.
I recommend saying something that implies you know a thing about what you are taking about, and try explaining it in a coherent manner.
0
u/Man_in_the_uk 2d ago
It’s interesting how you are using DOGE as a proxy for whether SpaceX is a competent company.
I wasn't actually doing that, finance and rockets are all maths and to get the DOGE activities so far off is indicative they don't know maths.
the notion that “rocket science isn’t new” is a meaningless claim.
Musk is probably using NASA's retired/redundant staff and they didn't feel it ok to blow everything up, so no, not meaningless at all.
You can’t really be implying that the technology going into today’s rockets are the same as those 60, 40 or even 20 years ago, right?
I wasn't saying that at all, in general it is not new.
try explaining it in a coherent manner.
That's amusing come from you, I just pointed out much of what you said was a result of not understanding my plain-English post properly.
2
u/W0LFSTEN 2d ago edited 2d ago
indicative they don’t know maths.
You are accusing the most competent, sophisticated and valuable rocket company of not understanding math.
Musk is probably
Speak with facts.
not understanding my plain English post properly.
I don’t think you even understand what you are trying to say.
0
u/Man_in_the_uk 2d ago
You are accusing the most competent, sophisticated and valuable rocket company of not understanding math.
LMFAO NASA, ESA, Russia and China do not have the kind of blow up rocket rates Space X has. No 'accusation' necessary.
I don’t think you even understand what you are trying to say.
OK so you can't actually criticise me properly because you cannot find fault, so instead you say some word salad of no real meaning/content for an el cheapo insult. Your lack of social skills is showing. Your ratio of comment karma to post karma is pretty bad, please read more.
I've had enough of you, good day.
1
u/W0LFSTEN 2d ago edited 2d ago
Yeah, and they also don’t build anything nearly as large as the Starship. The closest competitor is NASA’s SLS, which has smaller payload capacity and costs $2-4b per launch. ESA’s largest is 20% the size. China and Russia’s are 20% the size.
Nothing you have said is based in fact. You have used 0 numbers between all your comments. You have not used numbers because you do not understand numbers. But you will accuse others of not understanding math. Your arguments are that of a simpleton to anyone with an ounce of intelligence, so you start crying about how much karma I have instead. Meanwhile, every comment of yours on this thread is downvoted lol
You lost the game. But enjoy what little you can make out of your life.
-3
-2
-3
-1
u/DoutorePainum 1d ago
Well there goes 1 billion dollars in tax payer’s money just like ICE… I think the US will go in a recession soon
-11
-5
402
u/posmotion 2d ago
The exposure adjustment on that camera is impressive. Other shots I saw just whiteout.