tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post4640586607467636858..comments2024-03-28T08:06:43.198-04:00Comments on The Silicon Graybeard: Starship SN5 Likely to Fly Again - Possibly “Many Times”SiGraybeardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-57337871282001754482020-08-11T17:47:08.940-04:002020-08-11T17:47:08.940-04:00More on the Earth-to-Earth. On August 6th in a re...More on the Earth-to-Earth. On August 6th in a reply on Twitter to Steve Jurvetson about Earth-to-Earth, Elon stated "This seems increasingly likely".BillBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17593147581583316765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-13680356902680725072020-08-11T16:54:37.036-04:002020-08-11T16:54:37.036-04:00I think that what Musk is getting at with the SN5/...I think that what Musk is getting at with the SN5/SN6 multiple launches a day is the turn around time issue. That has to be overcome for all of the envisioned uses beyond LEO.<br /><br />As to the Earth-to-Earth flights, I think that has been pushed off to the future after the Moon and the first Mars missions. Musk is envisioning a fleet of a thousand Starships just for the Mars task. What he is aiming for with the Moon and Earth orbit, I have no idea.<br /><br />Heck, this is moving so fast as compared to how we have been doing it for the last 50 years, I can't imagine where we will be in 10 years if this pace can be kept.BillBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17593147581583316765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-61123805703658425372020-08-11T16:00:08.714-04:002020-08-11T16:00:08.714-04:00That's the bane of air travel. No matter wher...That's the bane of air travel. No matter where I'm going and how long the flight, add at least an hour before departure and about the same on arrival. It has gotten to where I don't think it's worth flying if the trip is more than two days driving. <br /><br />I had always thought that the people with private jets just don't have that hassle, or maybe an order of magnitude less hassle, and those folks would be the target market. <br /><br />I noticed last night the portion of the SpaceX website that used to talk about that isn't there anymore. <br /><br />I just don't see how they could compete price-wise with a jumbo jet. It would be the business travel equivalent of FedEx: "when you absolutely, positively, have to be there Right Freaking Now." You pay more for the overnight delivery with FedEx and you'd pay more for the less-than-an-hour flight on a Starship flight less than one orbit. <br /><br />SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-86541527268715790152020-08-11T13:59:03.650-04:002020-08-11T13:59:03.650-04:00Space X notwithstanding, rockets for competitive r...Space X notwithstanding, rockets for competitive regular passenger travel is waaaaay down the road. Oh, it might be most of those things but it won't be competitive on price and it won't save time.<br /><br />The actual flight might take minutes instead of hours but the launching at this end and the landing at the other end will consume vast amounts of time.<br /><br />I am reminded when Stena introduced the high speed water ferry. Oh, it did cut down on time en route. But there was the exiting the harbor at departure and entering at arrival. All told, the trip was 45 minutes longer than the conventional ferry. And that is a far less complex system than a rocket and supporting facilities. Many of the routes were cancelled (leaving the people with not even the conventional ferry they used to have) while other routes operate only that they are subsidized by other well paying routes.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15452530649659364201noreply@blogger.com