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dgunay • yesterday at 10:10 PM • 2 replies • view on HN

I feel like a curmudgeon because like yes the demo was really cool, but more from the standpoint that they were willing to do a stunt like that in an industry that is incredibly boring (at least in the US). The engineering behind making a relatively heavy object fly around with thrusters is very well understood at this point, I wouldn't call it "incredible" to rig RCS thrusters on a brick and make it do a barrel roll.

EDIT: I want to make it clear that 1) I'm not talking about the driving upside down thing, and 2) just because I am not sensationalizing the kickflip trick as some incredibly complex endeavor doesn't mean I didn't think it was cool and I'm some kind of hollow, depressed sad sack. The kick flip made me laugh my ass off, but be real. His companies make rockets that can belly flop and land themselves, stream hi res video of reentry using LEO satellite constellations, catch huge boosters in towers, and this is what's blowing your mind?


Replies

chis • yesterday at 10:51 PM

How about the part when it drove upside down on a ramp, launched into midair and then used controlled thrusters to land with near-0 vertical speed

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johnnyApplePRNG • yesterday at 10:18 PM

This entire release just reeks of desperation from musk.