[Starlink] some post Starship launch thoughts

[Michael Richardson]

Dave Taht <dave.taht at gmail.com> wrote:
    > On Mon, Apr 24, 2023 at 8:16 AM Michael Richardson via Starlink
    > <starlink at lists.bufferbloat.net> wrote:
    >>
    >> Dave Taht via Starlink <starlink at lists.bufferbloat.net> wrote:
    >> > Everyone wants a water deluge system and flame diverter, but I was
    >> > thinking perhaps liquid nitrogen, as a natural byproduct of LOX
    >>
    >> Yeah, but how do you put one on the moon or mars?
    >> Lower gravity helps, sure, ...

    > Well, the concrete did not shatter at 1/2 thrust...

Can the rocket get off the pad at 1/2 thrust?  If it could get 4-5m away, it
probably could work.

    >> > Landing and then taking off from the moon or mars look rather
    >> > problematic at the moment!
    >>
    >> Do the rockets do the swoop and flip on mars and the moon?

    > SSTO in those cases. Presently.

SS... To Orbit.
I mean... landing.  Does one flip when landing on the moon?

    >> This part I just don't understand.
    >> (But then, the entire mars mission is fraught with dozens of missing things,
    >> starting with radiation shielding)

    > I was a very lonely asteroid exploration advocate at the launch,
    > futilely engaging with the "Mars Firsters" once again, as I have been
    > since the 80s.

I am with you on this.

Given some mcguffin drive that could get us to another star in some
reasonable time, when we arrive, we'll still need to live in a space colony
for a few dozen years before said planet can be made habitable.
(Even if it was perfect, we still need to clear some land and grow some
crops, and find/build local source of power...)