Post AdImClh9et1OCUNtb6 by uastronomer@mastodon.monoceros.co.za
 (DIR) More posts by uastronomer@mastodon.monoceros.co.za
 (DIR) Post #AdImClh9et1OCUNtb6 by uastronomer@mastodon.monoceros.co.za
       2023-12-29T07:46:19Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       Every time SpaceX launches another test flight of Starship (something that happens very rarely by modern standards, because of their self-inflicted licensing problems), Mastodon comes together in a unified display of hand-wringing over all the ways that SpaceX is a ridiculous company that wastes money and kills environments and pollutes space.Possibly the single stupidest comment I read from this noise was a beautifully written emotional screed, asking us to imagine how those early rocket pioneers must feel, having their careful genius memories desecrated by this cowboy yahoo who can't even make a rocket work.So here, for comparison, is what early rocketry looked like:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g79K-R7xTFo
       
 (DIR) Post #AdImCmgpxYMTHnF9k0 by uastronomer@mastodon.monoceros.co.za
       2023-12-29T07:51:25Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       Say what you like about Elon, he deserves it, but be honest about SpaceX. They are an incredible company who have done what no other rocket builder has ever achieved in over a century: they've made space travel boring. Did you know that a falcon 9 launcher was destroyed a few days ago when high winds toppled it from the barge where it had landed? This particular rocket had put over 800 satellites into orbit, across 15 launches - something that those rockets do so routinely that the news doesn't bother reporting it anymore. They're very good at what they do, and they're very good at managing that boss of theirs and keeping his grubby fingers OUT of their business.
       
 (DIR) Post #AdImCuHxhvDWqxfP4y by uastronomer@mastodon.monoceros.co.za
       2023-12-29T08:01:52Z
       
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       Oh, when I said it fell off its barge? A barge is a flat, wide, low boat that you normally see floating up and down canals or rivers. But these barges are not only able to sail in the open sea, they're also fully robotic. They're drone ships, and they sail out to wherever the launcher wants to land, then bring it home to be prepared for the next launch.But because Elon owns the place, we collectively decide to deride the whole shebang as a *long list of invectives* because a Starship test flight demonstrated why we have test flights.