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Comment by inamberclad | Hacker News Reader

Ace in the hole is a strong word. Starship's progress is breakneck by the standards of any aerospace program, but they've still got another booster (Super Heavy) to develop. Then they'll need multiple launches to get the vehicle into orbit and refueled before it can perform a TLI.

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Superheavy is the easier project. Elon Musk is focusing on the hardest problem first.

I've seen a lot of people claim this. But it reminds me of what was said about the Falcon Heavy before its development got underway. That rocket turned out to be much more challenging than expected, despite being "just" an iteration on Falcon 9.[1]

That said, I watch progress on Starship with interest and optimism.

[1]https://www.defensedaily.com/developing-falcon-heavy-rocket-...

I am simply referring to Elon Musk's claim. He got experience in both rocketry and automotive manufacturing. If he said it's hard, I believe him.

He could be wrong yes, but I don't know anything about making cars or build rockets.

Heavy is easier than Starship because Heavy uses standard technology, but Starship is very innovative.

Easy and rocket engineering don't really go together. I imagine it will still be a challenge.

It's the easier one to design -- but actually building it requires a production line that cranks out one of the most complicated rocket engines ever designed for cheap (it'll need over thirty engines in final configuration, though the first launch may be with "just" 20 or so).

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