Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

That's actually a good remark. Dr. Zubrin argues that a full-sized version of Starship cannot land on the Moon unless it uses a landing pad, as it would create a large crater [1] and thus topple, and would also blow up the lunar rocks and dust in orbit [2], which would endanger any object orbiting the Moon (and Lunar dust is also quite corrosive).

One can speculate that's one of the reasons why the NASA proposal uses a mini-starship version.

[1] https://spacenews.com/op-ed-toward-a-coherent-artemis-plan/

[2] https://www.thespaceshow.com/show/11-feb-2020/broadcast-3459...



SpaceX already offered a solution: separate thrusters a few dozen meters off the ground. Current plan is for Raptors to be off for landing.

It's disappointing that Zubrin didn't mention that.


Zubrin has a recurring tendency to ignore things that don't support what he plans to say.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: