Quote:
Originally Posted by kscherer
They're not after "success" in the sense we are thinking of it. They are looking for "success" long-term, which means lots and lots of useful data, which will help # 5 or #9 land "successfully".
If this thing lands on it's first attempt, it will demonstrate that SpaceX is the most advanced rocket company on the planet, and their math dudes are very good at math!  If it doesn't, well we all knew it wouldn't so …
I feel like there is absolutely no pressure on them to get it right. |
Definitely. Success here will just be getting the vehicle to 12.5 km. Even if it goes boom after, still a success as the data will show where their calculations were off. Whether the flaps need redesigning, the timing of the start of the maneuver, whether the Raptors are able to relight reliably, etc.
Actually boom going up may still have good data depending on failure mode. This is still the first flight of the Raptor's clustered.