[carabiner]

People pretending "move fast and break things" is a given in this field. SLS first launched in 2022 and not only reached space but flew around the moon and dropped off some satellites. Very first launch, no giant explosions. Don't get me wrong, SpaceX is incredible and will figure this out, but it's not at all obvious their approach to making a giant rocket is faster or more efficient than what the conventional players have done in the past. Each step, reaching orbit, the moon, Mars, is huge step that comes with new challenges.

[pixl97]

And how many billions of dollars did that single SLS rocket cost. How much will the one after that cost? And the one after that, wait, they aren't building but a few at a few billion each. The giant rockets before then were built with a percentage of the national GDP.

At the end of the day spaceX will come in way cheaper per rocket in total and it will be reusable.

[tgsovlerkhgsel]

With SLS having a cost per kg to orbit about 10x that of Falcon Heavy, this isn't particularly convincing evidence that "move fast and break things" is the wrong approach though.

And Starship promises another 10x (_after_ already applying a 3x "Musk exaggerating multiplier") improvement.