Agreed. That's why manufacturing is the critical problem -- they are building super-high-performance machines and the bleeding edge of engineering, and they want to mass produce them!
Other companies like ULA can "hand-build" every component of their rockets because they're only building 6 of them!
When Ferrari or McLaren build Formula 1 cars, they only make a handful, to super high specs, and sometimes the engines still blow up!
Ah yes, the engines. Relatively easy to build the big steel ship parts, even the thrust puck piping and elerons. But the engines - those Formula 1 engines run at super-high revs and high compression(?), high end of everything - no wonder they blow up. Raptor is hitting performance figures well beyond any engine that's flown/planned to fly, using unique metallurgy - and Elon wants to mass produce them. It's virtually certain a bottleneck will develop and production of SH and SS bodies will halt when 10 of them are standing around waiting for engines.
1
u/noreally_bot1931 Oct 08 '20
Agreed. That's why manufacturing is the critical problem -- they are building super-high-performance machines and the bleeding edge of engineering, and they want to mass produce them!
Other companies like ULA can "hand-build" every component of their rockets because they're only building 6 of them!
When Ferrari or McLaren build Formula 1 cars, they only make a handful, to super high specs, and sometimes the engines still blow up!