All Questions
6
questions
7
votes
1
answer
110
views
Is there possible engine damage without launch platform on Mars return flight?
When a Starship has landed on Mars, there is not going to be any kind of prepared platform initially. (That may be a task for early crews to resolve).
Is there the possibility that Starship, sitting ...
- 71
1
vote
1
answer
371
views
Could an inflatable heat shield be used on the SpaceX Mars Lander?
Could light weight inflatable heat shields be used like parachutes from NASA to increase surface area for the SpaceX Mars lander further decreasing velocity? Where would be the best placement of them? ...
- 1
21
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Could SpaceX land on the moon today?
Now that SpaceX has a bunch of flown Block 4 Falcon 9 rockets laying around, could they theoretically do a mission to the Moon with landing even if it's just a rocket with no payload? Does it work out ...
- 367
10
votes
2
answers
316
views
How, in the SpaceX Mars stack, do they plan to address de novo landing sites?
Given a new, unprepared "in the field" landing site for a rocket, what is the SpaceX strategy? Are the landing legs intended to be rated to handle that kind of instability? How can they possibly be?
...
- 2,267
9
votes
2
answers
512
views
Why cannot supersonic retropropulsion, for use in the Red Dragon lander be tested on Earth?
What is the reason that Red Dragon is testing supersonic retropropulsion on a Mars mission. Is the Earth's upper atmosphere too different to that of Mars to validate this method as a viable way of ...
- 674
8
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Is it probable the Red Dragon will successfully land on Mars on the first try?
Today it was revealed that SpaceX has a deal with NASA to send a Red Dragon lander to Mars, launched on a Falcon Heavy, in 2018. The plan is that it will use supersonic retro-propulsion during the ...
- 21.4k