In article ,
says...

Jeff Findley wrote on Fri, 16 Mar 2018
10:30:05 -0400:

In article , says...

On 3/14/2018 6:24 AM, Jeff Findley wrote:
In article ,
lid says...

(Gosh, perhaps the "Earth to Earth transport function" is to be taken
seriously...)

This is all very fluid right now, isn't it?

Jeff


Yes, but I would also take P2P transport very seriously. I suspect Elon is.


That's the one part of BFR/BFS I don't take seriously. As a first
generation VTVL TSTO it's not likely to be safe enough for routine
passenger transport. Maybe the second or third generation will be.


But that's sort of the point of the thing, whether you're talking P2P
on Earth or Earth to elsewhere. Until proven otherwise, I'm inclined
to take Musk at his word with regard to 'airliner reliability' for the
thing.

I'm hopeful, but simultaneously cautious. No one has attempted a
reusable orbital spacecraft quite like BFS. Being a first anything is
bound to create issues to chase.

We're up to Block 5 for Falcon 9, but even it hasn't flown yet. I
believe it should be flying quite soon though. This will hopefully be
the last block for Falcon 9. Falcon 9 first flight was June 2010, so
it's taken 8 years to mature the design from first flight. No doubt
BFR/BFS will take many years to mature its design as well.

For use as a possible military transport, it might be considered safe
enough.


Say what? If it's not safe for civilian passengers it's not safe for
military passengers.

Really? The V-22 Osprey (new tech in the 1990s) has crashed with some
regularity ever since it entered service:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accide...lving_the_V-22
_Osprey

A disturbing number of these crashes were during training missions, so
it's not like they were in active combat. And the last time I checked,
we still fly the V-22 Osprey because of its unique capabilities.

I assert that BFR/BFS would be little different than the V-22 in terms
of both unique capabilities and could be little different when it comes
to its reliability as an air/space transport craft.

Jeff
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