SPLASHDOWN! A Special Congratulations for Space X

Telstar Logistics gives hearty pat on the back to the team at Space X for completing their historic commercially launched orbital roundtrip spaceflight yesterday.

Comments

[striatic]

love the Apollo-esque parachute three parachute design and red/white pattern.

that they did this for the same cost as a single STS flight [though with MUCH less lift capacity] is a testament to American ingenuity.

bring on the Launch Escape System and start putting astronauts up in this thing! then start building that heavy lifter.

i'm curious to see how this system stacks up performance-wise against the Shenzhou/Long March. they seem rather comparable. Long March 4 takes 4,200 kg to LEO, Falcon 9 can take 4,900 kg.

Long March 5 seems A LOT like the USAF Delta series and in its beefiest configuration is expected to be able to launch ~25,000 kgs to LEO. Falcon 9 heavy should be able to push ~29,000.

if you want a space race, this is that. two highly comparable launch systems with similar objectives going toe to toe on power, timeline and efficiency.