[ExI] musk's ride

[Dan TheBookMan]

On Jan 3, 2018, at 10:21 AM, John Clark <johnkclark at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I hope it works but one thing that makes me nervous is the first stage has 27 small engines, that's 27 ways things can go wrong. The Apollo moon rocket had 5 large engines, the USSR tried to make something comparable with their N1-L3 rocket but the first stage had 30 small engines instead of 5 large ones and it blew up every time they ​tried​​ to launch it.

To be sure, they’ve been doing the nine engine thing for a while and even dealing with problems like engine failures during otherwise successful flights... They can survive engine failures and continue to orbit. Then again, didn’t they blow an engine a couple of months ago during testing? I mean unexpectedly.

And I don’t disagree with your abstract point: more complex systems tend to have more things that can go wrong.

Regards,

Dan
   Sample my latest Kindle book "Sand Trap":
http://mybook.to/SandTrap


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