[rtkwe]

We're still not 100% that they're reusable in a meaningful way that actually reduces costs. The landings are awesome but if it costs too much to reuse them it's more a stunt than anything because as good as it is to not just chunk that hunk of metal in the ocean every launch if it's cheaper that's how it'll be done.

[varjag]

It's a lot easier to go from a stage that lands to one that has to be ditched than the opposite. Worst case, Musk has the same tech that the rest of the world does, although to me it's clear he has quite an advantage.

[rtkwe]

Oh yeah and personally I think that it's going to work but it hasn't been actually shown that it's cheaper and that the rockets can safely be reused. And that really won't be well shown until multiple reused rockets have been launched.

[bdamm]

An interesting outcome is that SpaceX has been able to analyze the rockets post-landing so that they can learn more about the stresses on the rocket during launch. Of course they have to in order to re-launch the rockets, but this is already a capability that no other space agency has had. This ability could end up paying for itself if it means they can feed the knowledge of the rocket back into the design and launch of a new rocket.

[greglindahl]

Actually, we're pretty sure (based on what SpaceX has announced) that the engines can be reused, and they're a reasonable % of the booster cost.