gtae07
Well-Known Member
I know it's a mindset change for people, but SpaceX considers these vehicles a lot more like lab test articles than flight vehicles. They are conducting full-scale flight tests of concepts at a point in development when most other major players would still be cranking the analysis wheel. And they don't bother with the zeroth law of "thou shalt not lose the vehicle" that the rest of aerospace operates under from the first flight."...even though its last two rockets blew to smithereens while attempting to land at the company’s Boca Chica, Texas, test facility.... “The SN9 vehicle failed within the bounds of the FAA safety analysis,” the FAA said..."![]()
If you're willing to learn from failure, can withstand the pssible negative PR, build your test articles cheap, and don't have people on board, it's a fantastically effective development method.