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I know, I know... it's called rocket science for a reason. This stuff is complicated and hard.
But the real problem with the SLS is the rocket wasn't designed to generate thrust - it was designed to generate pork.
At this point they have enough hardware to generate... what, three launches? Then what? If you want to be serious about returning to space in a big way you need to either mass produce disposable engines or semi mass produce reusable rockets.
Damn, bring on the F1-B - the updated version of the classic F1-A engine that launched Apollo to the moon. Hire Elon to make them recoverable and reusable. I'm a child of the 60s and damn it I want my space station and my moon base.
-m
Will settle for a moon telescope base because... damn, the moon is dangerous.
But the real problem with the SLS is the rocket wasn't designed to generate thrust - it was designed to generate pork.
At this point they have enough hardware to generate... what, three launches? Then what? If you want to be serious about returning to space in a big way you need to either mass produce disposable engines or semi mass produce reusable rockets.
Damn, bring on the F1-B - the updated version of the classic F1-A engine that launched Apollo to the moon. Hire Elon to make them recoverable and reusable. I'm a child of the 60s and damn it I want my space station and my moon base.
-m
Will settle for a moon telescope base because... damn, the moon is dangerous.
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The actual quote is "The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain hole"... but yeah, I take your point.
That said the Raptor 2.0 engines are actually far less complicated. They've reworked the entire turbo-pump assembly, reducing the compolant count significantly and removed a lot of bolted together flanges with simple welds. Since they use a full flow, i.e the entire methane/oxygen flow is used to spin up the turbo pumps, rather than subdividing the flow so the fuel and/or oxygen takes two paths to the combustion chamber, it also reduces the complexity of the control valve assembly.
Basically.. no, the Raptor 2 engines are far less complicated than either the F1-A or proposed F1-B engines. Well.. unless they change the F1-B engine design again that is. The same cannot be said of the Raptor 1 engine...but that's why they redesigned it. Apparently Elon also ascribes to Scotty's design philosophy! Or as he puts it, the best compolant is no compolant.