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<\/div>Orders of Magnitude<\/h2>
In a new interview<\/a> with Business Insider<\/em>, the director of the Space Technology and Exploration Directorate at NASA Langley warned that Elon Musk’s proposed Starship design was going to be “orders of magnitude” more difficult than any NASA project in history.<\/p> “It won’t be easy for us or SpaceX,” Walt Engelund told Business Insider<\/em>.<\/p> Engelund’s specific concern is Musk’s plan to cool the rocket by “bleeding” fuel through small pores<\/a>. He asked what would happen, for instance, if a “bird poops on your rocket and it plugs up a few holes.”<\/p> “I’ve seen instances where you’ll get one clogged channel… and it will immediately result in burn-throughs,” the chief engineer told the business magazine. “A model will disappear in a hypersonic wind tunnel. It almost vaporizes, there’s so much energy and so much heat.”<\/p> At the same time, Engelund admitted, SpaceX is bringing unprecedented energy and creativity to the private space industry, so he doesn’t rule out Starship succeeding — and he foresees further collaboration<\/a> between the two organizations.<\/p> “They’ve surprised a lot of people, and have a lot of smart people working for them, and Elon seems to be really committed and dedicated to this,” Engelund told Business Insider<\/em>. “Perhaps there are some things that we could do with them. I suspect there will be.”<\/p> READ MORE:<\/strong> Elon Musk says SpaceX is developing a ‘bleeding’ heavy-metal rocket ship. Making it work may be 100 times as hard as NASA’s most difficult Mars mission, one expert says.<\/a> [Business Insider<\/em>]<\/p><\/div> More on SpaceX: <\/em><\/strong>Hurricane-Force Gusts Knocked Over SpaceX’s Starship Last Night<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div> The post NASA Chief: SpaceX’s Starship Tougher Than Any NASA Project, Ever<\/a> appeared first on Futurism<\/a>.<\/p> See more here: Orders of Magnitude In a new interview with\u00a0 Business Insider , the director of the Space Technology and Exploration Directorate at NASA Langley warned that Elon Musk\u2019s proposed Starship design was going to be \u201corders of magnitude\u201d more difficult than any NASA project in history. \u201cIt won\u2019t be easy for us or SpaceX,\u201d Walt Engelund told Business Insider . Sweating Bullets Engelund\u2019s specific concern is Musk\u2019s plan to cool the rocket by \u201cbleeding\u201d fuel through small pores . Continue reading Sweating Bullets<\/h2>
Élan Musk<\/h2>
NASA Chief: SpaceX’s Starship Tougher Than Any NASA Project, Ever<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"