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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.
@zhunk This is nice thank you for sharing this.
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.
