CatastrophicFailure

The booster design has been pretty thoroughly tested, moreso because they get all of that wonderful data from looking at it after it flies. This newest booster shouldn’t need such a wringing out (again, they get to examine after the flight), I think they’re mostly testing capsule systems at this point. IIRC, this capsule is supposed to be man-ratable. So a year long delay till they get someone in it does seem noteworthy.

Last I heard, I thought they were saying early 2018 for manned flights. That’s a pretty big slip... C’mon, guys, more with the ferociter!

Ahh, now I’m finally caught up! And what do I find but YoSafBridge! yeah... knew something was gonna go bad there... But about that brake explosion, @Just Jim, IIRC you worked around armor in the past, is there a precident for such a thing?

I wonder if perhaps they’ll have side-facing cameras on the boosters, like the space shuttle occasionally did. That would be incredible!

Oh yeah, there's still another launch this year.

I... wait, what? @Vanamonde, explain this!

Poop.

So I’m guessing no launch today, either. Pity. Solid scores this week from SpaceX & Blue Origin. Came this close to a NewSpace trifecta.

I think it might just surprise us. Modern automotive paint is some pretty tough stuff, especially the high quality stuff I’m assuming they use on an expensive electric supercar. With no atmosphere to oxidize or erode it, it might take that solar heating a good long time. The interior plastic and leather, on the other hand...

Also @mikegarrison, as I understand, the return trajectory of the booster is such that if control is lost prior to the landing burn, it’ll go into the drink. A big part of the landing burn is the final course tweak to put it on target for the LZ pad.

Heh, I think it’s more likely our own descendants will find it. Ages pass, memory turns to legend, legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten... ... and we’ve got four literal Wheels of Time to confuse the hell out of some future humans.

Also guys, the Roadster's course doesn't need to avoid Mars (or Earth) for millions of years... only a couple hundred, maybe three... if there's risk of a close pass after that, it'll either be a trivial thing to go move it... or we won't be here to worry about it in the first place.

Aaaaand LZ-2 confirmed as well! Now if y’all will excuse me, I’m going to go freebase some raw coffee beans..

*yawns* I’m up.. I’m up... I swear by von Braun and Honey Nut Cheerios y’all better light this candle today...

Good thing in space no one can hear you scream. Those windows certainly look hard core (and rightly so). But they should have included some fuzzy dice so the accelerations would be more apparent.

Putting the darn thing together finally?

Ghg @DAL59 that said the launch is in January, presumably they’re still on track for a hot fire this month.

I would not have expected it to open like that at all.

Figures. Hoped it got pushed back a few minutes so I could watch, gets pushed back a whole hour so I can’t. Now saying 6:30pm PST.

Yogurt and... coffee?

Ancient mythology on point. I just hope they keep a close watch on the place when they have impressionable young acolytes joining the cloister (I'm looking at you, @Ten Key ).

*gasps* The moderators have a forbidden library!

I wonder what the going rate is on a kidney these days. One owner, gently used, may contain stones... There's a camera on board! At least one. They better not go all "BulgariaSat" on us, now. And we need to know the dummy's name! If it's Buster...

I got like... tree fiddy... er, no, wait... that's just lint... You're young, might as well get used to the world of crippling debt early.