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I was looking forward to seeing Starfish try out their docking mechanism, so I’m pretty disappointed to see that Launcher’s Orbiter failed like this. Well, I guess part of New Space is a higher risk tolerance. On to the next one.
I guess it’s good for Vast (owner of Launcher, who makes Orbiter) to get this flight heritage and experience on their way to crewed space stations.
Everything Elon Musk is involved with malfunctions
So the bit that malfunctioned wasn’t SpaceX hardware, and I don’t think Elon has anything to do with the Launcher Space company.
Falcon 9 (the SpaceX hardware actually involved in this launch) is a notable exception to other Elon involvements as it’s arguably the most reliable space launch system.
Agreed. Falcon 9 is the workhorse of the launch industry. Here’s a more recent article about its reliability.
200+ consecutive launches. 100+ consecutive landings. Their launch pace is next-level, with 44 launches so far this year, including 2 crews and 2 Falcon Heavies.
Their rideshare missions’ low payload costs are helping create the market for these tug companies like Launcher, D-Orbit, and Momentus. Testing on-orbit sounds terrifying, but it’s cool to see it get more accessible.
SpaceX successfully launched this. It spun out of control after separating. Elon is a piece of work, but this one isn’t his fault.
If you want names here, Max Haot is the CEO/Founder of Launcher, which is a subsidiary of Vast, owned by Jed McCaleb. Jed’s a crypto billionaire, but I’m hoping he’s more like Jared Isaacman and the Vast space stations work out.
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