[juanbyrge]

I don’t mean to trivialize what SpaceX is accomplishing, but maybe we are overestimating the degree of difficulty of building rockets in the 21st century, given the advances in technology over the past few decades? With the immense improvement in compute power, materials, accelerometers, welding techniques, etc.. since the 60s, maybe SpaceX was the first to recognize that building rockets is not as hard as it used to be?

[nickik]

Well, we actually have a large amount of companies trying to do it. Like 40-60 different companies. Not to mention government projects.

Of all of those, only RocketLab has managed to do it, and their rocket is basically as tiny as you can build a orbital rocket.

SpaceX did an orbital rocket bigger then RocketLab in 2008. RocketLab doesn't yet have real competition, despite many billions invested.

SpaceX at the same time went from the tiny Falcon 1 to a gigantic Starship program more ambitious then Saturn V and Apollo.

I think we do our self a dissevers by just saying 'well, we have computers now so its easy'. Given how many people have tried and how many have failed or taken many, many years longer then they thought, it is clearly not easy at all.

And mass producing them reliably is even harder.

SpaceX and Elon Musk are clearly special and unique. Something we have never seen before.

[christophilus]

ULA is doing it, and seems to be a commercial success. I’m genuinely curious why ULA doesn’t get more publicity.

[nickik]

ULA is not new, its basically Boeing and Lockheed Martin getting together to form a monopoly. The rockets themselves have a lot of legacy going back 60 years. These rockets were developed for the US government and ULA itself has never created its own rocket.

I also didn't talk about China or Indian launch who are also doing it.

[blackrock]

Is RocketLab able to 3D print larger rockets?