On this episode, in the wake of Blue Origin’s maiden launch of New Glenn and SpaceX’s fascinating Starship Flight 7 it’s time to take a step back and tell the tale of Two Heavy Lift Rockets. After a decade of space progress from both companies, they each took different engineering approaches to building a rocket. Depending on when you look at their progress, it might feel like one approach is better than the other.

But is there a real answer to the “right approach” to building a rocket? Or is success only measured by how well that rocket flies and sends payloads into orbit? The race between the Tortoise (Blue Origin) & the Hare (SpaceX) is in full swing now that New Glenn is orbital. Is there an end to the race? We hope not anytime soon - and that the American Space Program continues to grow thanks to these two innovative companies and the thousands of people that make it happen behind the scenes.

This was a hard episode to put together, especially given the timing. While I think it came out better than it would have been originally, we hope it shares a glimpse of the next 5-10 years, the challenges these companies will face, and how painful yet beautiful the quest of reaching the final frontier really is.

Alex G. Orphanos

Timestamps:

00:00 SpaceX vs. Blue Origin: A Tale of Two Heavy Lift Rockets
05:51 SpaceX's Evolution From Falcon 9 to Starship
09:11 Blue Origin's Strategic Approach with BE-4
11:59 Starship's Flight 7 Anomaly and Its Impact on SpaceX
16:35 The Future of Starship and New Glenn
19:06 Final Thoughts on a Tale of Two Heavy Lift Rockets

Keywords:

SpaceX vs Blue Origin, heavy lift rockets, Starship issues, New Glenn launch, engineering decisions, reusable rockets, American space program, human space progress, New Year resolutions, Magic Mind, rocket development, Falcon nine, BE-4 engine, orbital dominance, space industry

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Here's to building a fantastic future - and continued progress in Space (and humanity)! Spread Love, Spread Science

Alex G. Orphanos

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