Humans, for scale...

<blockquote class="reddit-card" data-card-created="1591228559"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/gw2l76/its_hard_to_fathom_the_scale_of_the_falcon_9_that/">It’s hard to fathom the scale of the Falcon 9 that launched humans to space last weekend until you see people working on the booster!</a> from <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/space">r/space</a></blockquote>
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If any of you find yourselves in LA with some time to spare, it's worth it to drop by SpaceX and check out the booster there. Here it is with my wife for scale. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...51f3efeb04.jpg

Dude... I like you so I'm not going to... :LOL:

Drone ship feed didn’t cut out during landing. I wonder if they’ve made an upgrade.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SpaceX has been given NASA approval to fly flight-proven Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon vehicles during Commercial Crew flights starting with Post-Certification Mission 2, per a modification to SpaceX&#39;s contract with NASA.<a href="https://t.co/BxHlFqt9sK">https://t.co/BxHlFqt9sK</a> <a href="https://t.co/lRsthoBw8T">pic.twitter.com/lRsthoBw8T</a></p>&mdash; Michael Baylor (@nextspaceflight) <a href="https://twitter.com/nextspaceflight/status/1268316718750814209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Kind of crazy when Demo-2 isn't even back yet. Speculation is that Boeing is gonna continue getting delayed, and NASA is wanting SpaceX to fill the void by reusing Dragons (since it's a lot faster to refurbish than it is to build a new one).

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Falcon 9 flew for the first time ten years ago today. Completing 85 missions to date, Falcon 9 is now the most flown operational rocket in the United States. <a href="https://t.co/duuMDuyv7t">pic.twitter.com/duuMDuyv7t</a></p>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1268587258380075008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Wow

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">Yes</p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1268780398047137792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

That seems.... rather optimistic.

I don't think he's too off the mark in terms of cargo but a manned mission to Mars in 2024?

Has Space X even built whatever ship is taking the astronauts on their 18 month journey?

Won't they need a ship in orbit and a lander, too?

Well, I presume he's talking about Starship. And those keep blowing up and hasn't even sniffed space.

Thanks! Hopefully, they'll have the rocket ready by the end of 2022 but it sure seems like it's going to take much longer before they can send humans to Mars.

I should probably do more research but have NASA and Space X figured out how to protect the astronauts from radiation during the 18 month journey to and from Mars?

Musk has a history of being a tad optimistic with timelines.

Last I heard, they are looking at a four month duration to Mars, which will lessen the exposure. And I think I read that they plan to have a shelter for emergencies.

Gwynne Shotwell is probably a more reasonable gauge of timelines. Here's what she said recently:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Outlook from <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@spacex</a>&#39;s Gwynne Shotwell: &quot;We&#39;ve learned so much in the last six years, I&#39;m sure we will have people flying in Starship in less than six years. It would be a major company fail if we&#39;re not flying people in like half that amount of time or less.&quot; -AvWeek interview</p>&mdash; Irene Klotz (@Free_Space) <a href="https://twitter.com/Free_Space/status/1265023077278191616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 25, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Note that she's just talking about flying (at all). It's hard to imagine Mars being only a couple years away.

But I will say that, once you understand "Elon Time," you get it. He says "we'll do it in 2 years" when everyone else thinks it'll take 10. Then when it's done in 5, it's still a big win.

He stole that from Scotty.

:)

4 months? Holy cow! That's nearly 31,000 miles per hour.