Blue Origin is challenging SpaceX - they are not the incumbent. I'm not sure how you can say that SpaceX will increase dominance despite this.
replyOne can be the dominant player in a field and still increase dominance.
replySpaceX will increase the lead from all potential competitors even further.
replyIt's a static fire test. There weren't any payloads inside, this isn't very bad PR.
replyNot very bad, except that they lost the whole rocket, and damaged the launch complex. No big deal. What's a few hundred mil and a one year delay...
replyUnless the comment was edited, the person you replied to never said anything about "despite"?
replyBlue Origin are challenging SpaceX about as much as I’m challenging Michael Jordan.
replySure we’re playing the same game, but the divide is enormous
Please look at total mass launched to space by SpaceX vs the rest of the world combined. They are the most incumbent launcher in history.
replyUnless you're talking about moon landers specifically.
Anyway, competition is good and this is a bummer.
it'll probably be a favorable event for SpaceX's IPO.
replySurely not as favorable for the IPO as SpaceX’s own recent explosion and multiple engine failures?
replyIf anything their one engine out unexpected but successful test boosts their position a bit.
replyAfter separation that turned into all engines out on the booster, so perhaps not.
replyI meant the engine on the Raptor. But yeah good point about the booster. However that's nowhere near as large of a set back as this explosion
replyBlowing up on the pad is incredibly worse from a design data collection perspective, a risk to life perspective, and a downstream impact to future launches perspective (nobody can use that site for a couple of months).
replyTo be fair the last Starship to blowup on launchpad/ground was less than a year ago. It is a set back but it appears nobody has avoided this issue yet.
replyhttps://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/spacexs-...
That was on a test stand, NOT a launchpad.
replyVastly different destroying each of those.
I will give you that. Better to blow up in a test rather than ready for launch.
replynot to mention 7 days before it was meant to deliver a payload to space... a proper commercial payload. not just a POC payload.
replyThe entire point of SpaceX’s recent launch was an explosion. They were aiming for that outcome. They wanted that outcome.
replyThe fact they did it with pinpoint accuracy even with engine issues and an in tact heat shield is a monumental success for a test flight.
SpaceX also had a massive explosion on the ground not that long ago.
replyAbsolutely, they were running a test on a test stand.
replyFor BO it’s much better to have this now when there is no payload or people on board so they can correct whatever the issue is.