US Orbital Launches this Week As of 23 NOV 0230 (times Eastern) • SUN Falcon9 Optus-X FL • MON Falcon9 Starlink CA • MON Falcon9 GSAT FL • TUE STARSHIP TX • THU Falcon9 Starlink FL
Ahhh, that explains it
SpaceX’s pace is mind-boggling,
and Gwynne Shotwell is a goddess-tier exec
I wonder what the pace of launch for SpaceX will be next year, what with a new administration and all?
Still very cool.
Shotwell is the Hero behind the scene, without her expertise and moderating influence (on Elon) SpaceX would not have gotten far.
A toast to Shotwell, a genius in her own right!
Too bad about the no catch but, I’m willing to bet SpaceX takes a long hard look at catching the booster on a barge. Seems a bit more prudent than the launch pad. More room for error, also.
Still need land-tower catch for the quick turnaround requirement.
I’d build dedicated catch-towers on swamp islands with causeways back to the launch site.
Speaking of turnaround, did you see the post on X where Musk laid out the cost of putting enough equipment on Mars to build a sustainable colony? And why lowering launch costs were so important for this endeavor? It was incredible how much Elon was able to explain in such a short and relatively concise manner.
The update video is great. Sounds like SpaceX purposely tried to see if they could get Starship to fail and couldn’t do it. Seems an amazingly rugged design.
That kind of “test to failure failure” should give astronauts comfort, knowing the ship has can withstand some pretty serious faults and still get home.