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tanrgith t1_jcyxu0z wrote

It's hard to overstate how far ahead of anyone else SpaceX is. Honestly don't know if I can recall a similar situation in an industry

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robotical712 t1_jcz958i wrote

What's really crazy is the traditional launch heavyweights (ULA and Arianespace) are still acting like their competition are expendable Falcon 9s.

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GatMn t1_jd0365x wrote

What do you mean? Their competition is the falcon 9

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paulhockey5 t1_jd073kd wrote

They couldn’t keep up when SpaceX was expending the boosters, now that they’re reusing the boosters 15+ times each there is no chance.

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seanflyon t1_jd03xf8 wrote

Their current competition is reusable Falcon 9 and the competition for their in-development rockets is Starship.

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Hustler-1 t1_jczchzt wrote

Only thing I can think of is Ford and the invention of the assembly line.

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didi0625 t1_jcz9bb1 wrote

They landed their first f9 in December 2015. Some private companies will try in the next years to land a 1st stage. So i'd say 10 years.

Honestly it's frightening to see Sx's lead in launch capabilities. Hopefully we will be able to count on multiple launch companies in a few years. I'm rooting for Rocketlab (i invested in this company just fyi), but others will also try to take some space in the industry.

Another point is that Sx mainly launches for himself (starlink). So numbers, while being absolutely impressive, are inflated.

Then there is starship. I hope it will work for the future of space exploration and space economy, but they show it's not easy, even if you are SpaceX !

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Shrike99 t1_jczdu6f wrote

> So numbers, while being absolutely impressive, are inflated.

If you want to discount those then you also need to effectively discount CASC/CALT and Roscosmos, who were second and third place respectively for most launches last year, since they're launching almost entirely for themselves. (Roscomos had one commercial launch last year before they invaded Ukraine)

That puts Rocketlab in second place with 9 commercial launches last year compared to SpaceX's 27. Though of course SpaceX still crushes them on upmass given the size difference - not to mention three of those launches were Transporter missions each carrying the equivalent of like a dozen RocketLab customers.

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didi0625 t1_jczid5p wrote

Size does matter in the world of launchers. Small launcher vs medium launcher will obviously show that some rideshare missions done with F9 would equate to a dozen electron launches.

I'm not downplaying as much Sx accomplishment in their active series of flawless launching and landing than you would think.

Tesla was the king of EVs a few years ago. Today i find teslas lacking in front of other EVs. SpaceX just has no real competition, and that could be a flaw for the space industry.

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Shrike99 t1_jd02lc6 wrote

My point was actually more that the gap between SpaceX and CASC/CALT is proportionally smaller than SpaceX minus Starlink vs RocketLab (or ULA if going by upmass).

By excluding internal launches, you're actually proportionally increasing SpaceX's lead.

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tickleMyBigPoop t1_jd3cybh wrote

> Today i find teslas lacking in front of other EVs

Really because i'm in the market and for the same price it seems Tesla comes out ahead, especially because the price you see online is the price you pay. Then there's supercharging stations.

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Taxington t1_jd90dib wrote

Your milage may vary by country.

>especially because the price you see online is the price you pay

In most western countries anything els is ilegal.

>Then there's supercharging stations.

EU don't allow that kind of anti consumer behavior all EVs use CCS. No propriety connectors, apple are currently getting fucked over that kind of nonsense.

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tickleMyBigPoop t1_jd9ea8z wrote

>In most western countries anything els is ilegal.

i didn't know bartering is illegal.

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Taxington t1_jdbu406 wrote

Don't be obtuse. It's hidden costs thats illegal.

The price listed is the price you pay.

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tickleMyBigPoop t1_jdcocyw wrote

And I’m not talking about hidden costs, dealerships have prices higher than MSRP.

Except Tesla because there’s no Tesla dealerships

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CMDR_Shazbot t1_jd23fvg wrote

How is that inflated? They're literally designing, building, launching, maintaining, and recovering their own products. The only difference between a customer launch and their own are tolerances, mission design, and who's paying them. If rocketlab (also love them) was building and putting up their own satellites weekly, we also wouldn't discount their achievements.

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LeakyJXL t1_jd20m6o wrote

Dont forget about ASML, the leading chip manufacturing company

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Decronym t1_jd0a33h wrote

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

|Fewer Letters|More Letters| |-------|---------|---| |Roscosmos|State Corporation for Space Activities, Russia| |ULA|United Launch Alliance (Lockheed/Boeing joint venture)|

|Jargon|Definition| |-------|---------|---| |Starlink|SpaceX's world-wide satellite broadband constellation|

^(3 acronyms in this thread; )^(the most compressed thread commented on today)^( has 17 acronyms.)
^([Thread #8707 for this sub, first seen 20th Mar 2023, 22:10]) ^[FAQ] ^([Full list]) ^[Contact] ^([Source code])

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[deleted] t1_jcz090h wrote

[removed]

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seanflyon t1_jczeju3 wrote

You might be surprised to learn that SpaceX was also doing very well before Musk bought Twitter.

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Cycleguy57 t1_jczuubc wrote

Yeah, I know. Kinda makes me believe the rumours about how the adults keep him out of the real decision making process at Space X are spot on. I used to admire him, but his big mouth cleared that up years ago.

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NerfSchlerfen t1_jd04ycl wrote

Imagine caring more about the bullshit someone says on twitter than the cutting edge tech their company develops.

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Cycleguy57 t1_jd05aw1 wrote

Imagine seeing the CEO of a major cutting edge firm as the god emperor that is the only thing holding Space X together.

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neon t1_jd06kvf wrote

10 years ago his vision of what they could be was laughed at. But he went for it anyways. This article is about how they achieved that suppodedly impossible goal.

If people like you ran the world nothing would ever change

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Cycleguy57 t1_jd076mr wrote

Space X is a fabulous company and I was following it when they hadn’t even gotten anything off the ground. I cheer every launch and I can honestly say that they have single handed changed the space race. Again, that’s why I’m delighted hes over at Twitter and not at Space X right now.

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CMDR_Shazbot t1_jd21agt wrote

You think he'd what, come back in and fuck it up? Make the f9s do flips and swap propellant to concentrated blue checkmarks? He's been CEO there for 20 years, him and Shotwell got that shit down tight, if there were problems for him to smooth over he'd be there doing it, he's just having fun and looking forward while starship is in development.

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Cycleguy57 t1_jd2qfmy wrote

I agree; Shotwell does have everything well in hand (probably always has). I’d like to keep it that way. He can have all the fun he wants at Twitter. I hope he stays there as long as possible.

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durezzz t1_jd3bnyo wrote

Hate to tell you this but:

Elon Musk has contributed massively to something you admire. I know it makes you want to cry to admit that, but it's the truth.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Thoughts and prayers.

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Cycleguy57 t1_jd3gh3j wrote

He has contributed massively to Space X. Now however lately he’s become national embarrassment to anybody who’s paying attention. You keep on pretending that he’s a god emperor though.

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durezzz t1_jd3lgmg wrote

Show me where i said he's a god emperor.

i don't even like him. it's just hilarious watching people like you try to downplay his accomplishments simply because he votes different from you.

you can dislike someone and still recognize they've done good things you know.

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seanflyon t1_jd3xvys wrote

You are being more than a little bit ridiculous here. Do you honestly believe that anyone in this thread claimed or implied that Musk is a god emperor? The comment you replied to said that Musk has contributed massively, which you now agree with. Does that mean that you too are "pretending that he’s a god emperor"? Obviously not. Try to be honest.

You started out with some false claims about Musk's contributions at SpaceX. Multiple people have given you calm and polite replies explaining why your claims are false. It is okay to admit that you were wrong. It is okay to acknowledge someone's contributions even if you dislike them.

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Cycleguy57 t1_jd3yh9q wrote

I gave my opinion and you’ve given yours. Why can’t you just let it go.

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NerfSchlerfen t1_jd05rod wrote

Difference between our two comments is no one is doing the latter. He's also not the CEO so something tells me you don't know shit about the situation.

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Cycleguy57 t1_jd06r0h wrote

Sorry sonny, Musk is the CEO and the COO and President is Gwynn Shotwell. You should be relieved that she’s actually running the show while Musk embarrasses himself daily over at Twitter.

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NerfSchlerfen t1_jd097tq wrote

Whoops you're right hahaha. Anyway countless spacex insiders will tell you that Musk's genius is in large scale aspects of rocket design and industrial engineering. Iterative design, vertical integration, part deletion and reusability are all concepts he has pushed extremely hard for at spacex, and these have been huge contributors to the company's success. Anti vax bullshit on Twitter doesn't negate that IMO. It might for thd average person or celebrity, but when someone has concrete achievements under their belt they should be judged on that. I don't worship him like you seem to think, I see his flaws and am absolutely relieved there's an adult running the show at spacex, but he is clearly integral to the company's meteoric rise.

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Cycleguy57 t1_jd0cer7 wrote

I respect your opinion. At least we can agree that Space X is a fantastic company and certainly is the major driver of innovation in space transportation technology today. Stay safe and well.

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Bensemus t1_jd3p9ol wrote

Both Shotwell and tom Mueller say Musk is deeply involved.

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Cycleguy57 t1_jd3xyiw wrote

Too bad. I’m certain Space X will do fine anyway

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Bigjoemonger t1_jd18hhu wrote

Elon seems to be more of a figurehead now. Walks around running his mouth and spending money. While his executives are the ones really running the business.

The success of the Falcon 9 launches is on the personnel actually doing the work, not musk.

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Reddit-runner t1_jd26fdn wrote

>The success of the Falcon 9 launches is on the personnel actually doing the work, not musk.

That would mean SpaceX is the only company in the world with competent engineers.

Do you really want to argue that?

Intelligence and talent is more or less equally distributed among the engineers in the grand scheme of thing.

What sets SpaceX apart from all other space companies is the single-minded leadership with actual technical knowledge and understanding. And the personal freedom to make bold decisions.

Look at Blue Origin. That's what you get with good engineers but leadership without engineering knowledge.

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MouthfeelEnthusiast t1_jczawnb wrote

Elon lets Gwynne run the company because he is a clown and would run that shit into the ground.

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arcosapphire t1_jczkhb3 wrote

It's because he has the technical knowledge to focus on technical aspects. He likes designing rockets, he's happy to get involved with that process and he doesn't make a mess of it.

With Twitter, he doesn't know a damn thing about software architecture at that level or how to manage a social media site. There is no lightning rod to occupy his attention. His interest is literally just in getting to say what he wants and making people read it. And he wasn't part of building Twitter up to what it is. He simply joined when it was already a working thing; anything he does is going to make it worse.

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pompanoJ t1_jd0oyul wrote

You do realize he made his first fortune building a payment processing system, right? As in, he is a software guy turned rocket nerd, not the other way around.

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arcosapphire t1_jd0pqf1 wrote

Actually what he founded was x.com, an online bank. It merged with software company Confinity, which had developed the payment processing software that became PayPal. So he was not actually a software developer.

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CMDR_Shazbot t1_jd22zt1 wrote

He developed the software for his first company, zip2. Enough to get the POC off the ground and attract investors and hire additional developers to clean up the code, sell it off, build up X.com, sell it off, and fund SpaceX.

No matter how skilled you think he is at it, he is by definition a self taught software developer, who then learned rocket science through the people around him and his employees. People seem to think spending 20 years around literal rocket scientists who are building things for him doesn't cover what you'd learn in 4 years of university.

People dont seem to realize SpaceX is also a software company.

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Bensemus t1_jd3pdr5 wrote

He worked on the software for both Zip2 and X.com.

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Kindly_Blackberry967 t1_jd0fgx8 wrote

You go tell a bunch of young engineers that they will have to work grueling hours to work on rockets that land themselves and bringing people to Mars.

Then tell them that they will have to work grueling hours to make people pay for a blue checkmark on Twitter.

You will get wildly different results, and Elon's spent too much time in the former to think the latter would be any different.

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