←back to thread

Honda conducts successful launch and landing of experimental reusable rocket

(global.honda)
1355 points LorenDB | 1 comments | 17 Jun 25 15:02 UTC | HN request time: 1.11s | source
Show context
robszumski ◴[17 Jun 25 15:57 UTC] No.44300646[source]▶
For reference, Rocket Lab's Electron has a wet mass of 13,000 kg. This rocket is much smaller at 1,312 kg wet mass.
replies(2): >>44301143 #>>44309127 #
delichon ◴[17 Jun 25 16:49 UTC] No.44301143[source]▶

  Falcon 9           433k kg  
  Atlas V            547k kg
  Starship         1,200k kg
  Starship Booster 3,600k kg
replies(3): >>44301252 #>>44301330 #>>44301635 #
Certhas ◴[17 Jun 25 17:07 UTC] No.44301330[source]▶
k kg is a funny unit... Much more readable than Mg of course. Tonnes would also work...
replies(5): >>44301719 #>>44301750 #>>44302243 #>>44302928 #>>44307333 #
overfeed ◴[17 Jun 25 17:43 UTC] No.44301719[source]▶
Tonne is unfortunately overloaded, the US and the UK have their own versions, but for the rest of the world is on metric, and a tonne is 1000 kg. The Falcon 9 weighing "433 t" reads way more elegantly to me.
replies(4): >>44301776 #>>44302249 #>>44302699 #>>44303043 #
djaychela ◴[17 Jun 25 17:47 UTC] No.44301776[source]▶
FTR no-one I know (other than in old school industry about 20 years ago) used the UK 'Ton' any more. One place of work made this clear by having different pronuncication ('Tonn-ey') as they were an old-school foundry. And the spelling is different from wherever I've seen it.

The nuclear industry was using metric weights fully when I did my apprenticeship in it in the late 1980s. Good job really as I think a conversion error could be catastrophic.

Same goes for gallons though, US gallon is smaller than a UK one.

replies(1): >>44303396 #
1. bobthepanda ◴[17 Jun 25 20:09 UTC] No.44303396[source]▶
NASA is metric but its whole supply chain was not leading to such a catastrophic conversion error: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter#Cause_of_...