On Friday, October 4, 2013 12:41:17 PM UTC-7, Jeff Findley wrote:

Then it's a good thing that LOX and kerosene are so damn cheap!

Ummm.... Cost of propellant wasn't my argument.

I was arguing ships aren't amenable to miniaturization.

I will try to put it more simply:

Big life support, lots propellant: big rocket.

Big rockets not cheap.


(snip rest of the blazingly stupid straw man argument)

The rocket equation plus delta V to LEO means the Falcon upper

stage will be more than 90% propellant and less than 10% dry

mass. It's about as sturdy as a Coke Can (6% aluminum and 94%

pop). Re-entering the atmosphere at 8 km/s subjects this

fragile structure to extreme conditions.



A quickly reusable and economic 2nd stage would be a huge leap

in engineering and aerospace technology. Far more difficult

than repeating what's already been done 100's of times.



Then it's a good thing they're starting with the *first* stage,


For Musk's half million tickets to Mars he will need a reusable first and second stage. Not only reusable but quickly and economically reusable.

Once again, Musk is a master of hype.

you pathetic little troll.

You are one of the reasons this forum is nearly dead.

No, he's not. Fred is one of the few sane posters here.


You're defending ad hominem. And you've thrown out a ridiculous straw man about the cost of fuel.

SSH hasn't changed much. Short on math and physics. Short on space discussion. Long on straw men and colorful insults. Long on complaining about Duane Day, Rand Simberg and a large crowd of other folks that have made an exodus from this place.

You, Fred, Om and Guth deserve each other.

Bye