The rest of the video make no sense with rockets helping for reentry. Why not just use pilot guided shoots?
The rest of the video make no sense with rockets helping for reentry. Why not just use pilot guided shoots?
But there's the assumption, isn't it? Actually two: that reusable will be cheaper, and that reusable and reliable can go together.
I'm certainly not saying they can't -- I am, quite literally, not a rocket scientist -- but the Space Shuttle program was the triumph of the idea that "Of course it'll be cheaper if we can re-use the vehicle." Which didn't work out in practice for the reasons outlined upthread. My point is that a space program should pick the goals of "This should get people up and back safely and cost $X a launch" because those are measurable. Maybe the best way to do that is with a reusable vehicle! But to make reusability a goal in and of itself, due to a sentimental attachment to the kind of vehicles we used to travel by sea, seems silly.