As noted in comments, it seemed to be a spectacular success. Recovered both capsule and booster (they had been downplaying expectations for the latter). This is a huge milestone, and bodes well for commercial flights of humans into space in the next year or so.
“Humans are pretty needy,” Lyles told me. “You’re taking water, you’re taking all of their environmental control systems, and whatever they need on a really long mission. A large, heavy launch vehicle is almost a no-brainer.”
NASA is not alone in this conclusion. During a two-week span last month, private companies SpaceX and Blue Origin both unveiled giant, SLS-scale launchers that will become key parts of their future spaceflight aspirations.
One of these things is not like the others. SpaceX and Blue Origin want to build big rockets because they plan to put thousands of people into space. NASA is doing it because Congress wants to keep thousands employed in the right zip codes (as the article makes clear).
…has its day in court. I suspect that it it were to get to even the current SCOTUS, it would lose. Like many of the other administration’s initiatives, this is lawless tyranny.
While it would be pretty devastating, because of the distance, it wouldn’t affect LA as much. The one I worry about is a smaller one, like a 7 on the Newport-Inglewood, just a few miles from the house. That was the one that did a lot of damage in Long Beach in the thirties.