Janet VertesiWell, if today is any indication there’s one thing SpaceX can do that NASA definitely can’t: Have a massive and much-hyped spacecraft blow up spectacularly after launch and then the camera pans to everyone applauding wildly and saying, “Wow, what a great test, we learned so much!” instead of “Wow, how dangerous and irresponsible, NASA has lost its touch, we can’t trust them, maybe should give all its money to some upstart company.”
HalDe 🧢🦕@cyberlyra it's a different approach to development than present day NASA's.
NASA has taken 11 years and over $20B to get one successful launch of SLS. A launch that resulted in the entire vehicle except for the capsule being dumped into the ocean. With luck there will be a second SLS launch in 2025. And another billion dollar vehicle at the bottom of the ocean.
About 4 years ago SpaceX started from zero on the Booster/Starship combo and have now flown, if ever so briefly, the largest and most powerful rocket ever made.
While I'm no fan of Elno, the SpaceX approach is closer to the way that put Americans on the moon in less than a decade. If you were around or read up on that era you'll find a lot of rocket explosions back then, too.