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NASA's Europa Clipper Launch

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217 points belter | 2 comments | 14 Oct 24 15:28 UTC | HN request time: 0.588s | source
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d_silin ◴[14 Oct 24 17:33 UTC] No.41839767[source]▶
Damn, I am impressed how nonchalantly the flagship NASA mission was using the reused boosters, dirty from soot.
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mmooss ◴[15 Oct 24 02:05 UTC] No.41844223[source]▶
Agreed. And they said that the (second?) stage was the same one that failed to ignite on a prior mission. How does the NASA administrator sleep at night with everyone's careers, the agency's reputation and funding, the future of planetary bioscience, research by so many scientists, all depending on that stage?

(What's the most valuable payload NASA has lost during launch? Apollo 1 wasn't launching, nor were the space shuttles.)

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1. darknavi ◴[15 Oct 24 02:32 UTC] No.41844373[source]▶
Falcon 9 second stages are not re-usable, so not sure what you mean. Maybe they meant that it's the same model?

As for the first stage boosters, they have a proven reliable record with re-usability.

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2. mmooss ◴[15 Oct 24 03:42 UTC] No.41844712[source]▶
It was someone with expertise and authority, on the NASA broadcast. I wish I remembered better who or where in the broadcast.