/sci/ - Science & Math

>135 Flights during the shuttle
program
>Average of 4.5 flights a year
>Around 4 External Tanks were built a year

Enter SLS

>SLS first stage is a lengthened Shuttle external tank
>SLS can only fly once a year
>Despite being derived from the shuttle’s tank

Wtf how did this happen? The shuttle had a large manifest per/year and suddenly SLS can only fly once.

>>11758589
You’re right.

We could have launched a Hubble that’s a meter or so wider. A 3.4 meter diameter mirror would have twice the area of Hubble’s 2.4 meter wide mirror. It would have been easier to build and launch too.

Folding telescopes are one of those ideas that looks good on paper but is a pain in the ass irl

It sucks that SN4 died but you have to admit that SpaceX is getting closer and closer to a final product.

The only thing to do now is test it using the :

1)150 m Hop
2) 20kM Belly Flop
3) 100 kM Belly Flop

Once those tests are done well likely see similar testing on Superheavy. Or not. Maybe they’d rather get to orbit sooner.

Either way Starship is actually making great R&D gains. We should be optimistic if anything.

Also the last two failures of Starship have been not due to the ship itself, but the ground people/equipment. SN3 got smushed due to a tank filling error, and SN4 had a faulty GSE valve.

So yeah it sucks SN4 blew up but they already have two more almost done. But expect more explosions, because that’s what progress sounds like.