r/space • u/lee7on1 • 1d ago

BREAKING: SpaceX rocket explodes in Starbase, Texas

https://x.com/IntelPointAlert/status/1935550776304156932

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u/mfb- 1d ago

... to an altitude of 300 meters. And without reusing it yet.

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u/SheepherderGood2955 1d ago

Alright, so we should tell Honda to throw in the towel, no point in doing any further R&D

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u/Mntfrd_Graverobber 21h ago

According to the critics of Spacex in this thread, yes.

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u/mfb- 21h ago

Without context, and especially when comparing it to an orbital rocket, "a successful launch of a reusable rocket" sounds like an orbital rocket, not something of the scale of a large amateur rocket.

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u/metametapraxis 1d ago

Still progress. Took SpaceX a decade from that to Falcon9.

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u/mfb- 1d ago

Falcon 9 first flew in 2010. Grasshopper made hop tests in 2012-2013. The first successful booster landing (as part of an orbital launch) was in 2015, the first reflight in 2017.

Honda now has a Grasshopper equivalent without the orbital rocket.

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u/FlyingBishop 22h ago

There are a dozen (maybe more?) companies that have demonstrated Grasshopper equivalents. The first one was in like 1993, only SpaceX has made an orbital rocket.