From: alain245@videotron.ca   
      
   On 2024-03-14 10:53 a.m., The Running Man wrote:   
      
   > NASA won't be too happy with this since it will make a 2025 Lunar landing   
   all but impossible. Even 2026 is dubious.   
      
   I wouldn't say that. Reusing the stages isn't required to reach the   
   moon. That only allows SpaceX to make big profits. It seems to me that   
   the booster showed today that it can put the ship were it needs to be to   
   reach orbit. The ship did not reach orbit simply because it wasn't   
   trying to reach orbit. The ship didn't succeed in its reentry, but there   
   is no reentry involved in the moon mission. SpaceX has already proven   
   its ability to land the ship in the hops they were doing before   
   integrating the booster.   
      
   I don't know if the fuel transfer experiment was a success or not. If   
   SpaceX can't master that, it would be a show stopper. But it isn't   
   necessary to succeed on the first try. As for re-igniting the engines in   
   space, that was a failure. But SpaceX has a lot of experience in   
   re-igniting engines is space. They will get it right quite soon.   
      
   This is not to say that the flight was a success. It wasn't, regardless   
   of what SpaceX says. But the problems they had concerned mainly reusing   
   the stages. That is not needed to reach the moon. It would only make   
   reaching the moon cheaper. But NASA does not have to make SpaceX   
   profitable, they only pay the price they negotiated with SpaceX. If Elon   
   loses some money, frankly he can afford it.   
      
      
   Alain Fournier   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)