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Comment by Shivetya | Hacker News Reader

well it would become noteworthy that their failures make news simply because they had taken the concept of recovering the first stage to the point of people just assuming it was how rocket launches are meant to be.

I remember the first video of one successfully landing after launching and being wowed but when two landed together then it truly felt like science fiction had become reality

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I watched this live with a friend. We had previously watched a couple of failures, and were almost expecting that one to fail as well. We went out of our minds when the smoke cleared and the booster was upright.

It does feel annoying when rocket launches, which are enormously complex, go right and get no press, but surface in the news when they explode or fail in some way. By most standards, this launch was perfectly successful, but every time the first stages crash the press treats this like some kind of major failure.

important to note that by any other launch provider's standards this was a perfect launch. Payload was inserted into the correct orbit, no one else even attempts to recover the booster.

However it's important to note that recovering the first stage makes sense only if it's successful enough times. Because it reduces the payload and it's more expensive as a single use.

>1 is enough times for an individual booster. Some failures are ok, as long as the average is >~1.2

I remember everyone in my office stopped working for about 30 minutes to watch that dual rocket landing and being completely blown away.

I wonder how it is when you're on site, it's hard to appreciate the scale on video

It’s surreal. We observed from the Canaveral AFB entrance observation bleachers, and I think it’s easier to appreciate if you can get closer to the landing zone pads (either with KSC’s “Feel The Heat” tour tickets or being a SpaceX employee).

Oooo, I haven't tried the AFB entrance location yet.

My first launch/landing was an F9 which I saw from the Port Canaveral causeway, and I've now seen FH launches/landings from both the "feel the heat" banana creek viewing area, and from the employees-and-friends bleachers at the turning-basin next to the VAB.

The "Feel the Heat" tickets are fairly close to the launch, but pretty far from the landing. Even the turn basin is equidistant from the launch, and only a smidge closer to the landing.

LZ1 is just really far away no matter what, but I think the causeway actually affords a better view of the landing. It's definitely worse for the launch, though.

Bein' a Detroiter and only catching a launch when I'm able to travel for it, I think I've been lucky so far!

It's hard to appreciate the scale in person too, it doesn't look real (I was there). Like the other poster said, it's surreal. But the sonic booms help remind you the boosters are large and moving very fast.

The sonic booms are just... breathtaking. One of the coolest things I've ever witnessed. (Was there for the first night launch of the FH. Just amazing.)

I was at a company off-site where we were supposed to be inventing the future of our company. I streamed it on my phone while listening to the lecturer blather on. The CEO, sitting next to me, got quite excited when the rockets both landed :)

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