Can Anybody Stop SpaceX Now? (with Eric Berger)

[@KSRKiller]

You don't need a space station if your ships are station sized.

[@aerostorm_]

Time to start building real megastructures

[@lenwhatever4187]

One might argue that there is nothing in space yet that is station sized.

[@oberonpanopticon]

@@aerostorm_It’ll just take a few quadrillion launches of starship!

[@oberonpanopticon]

@@lenwhatever4187We’ll redefine what station sized means as stations get larger

[@markuskoivisto]

A second stage makes for a poor space stadion. Too much irrelevant dry mass, so station keeping becomes terribly inefficient.

[@PyroRob69]

Fraser, you have to admit, Boeing and SLS is really falling behind on the space industry. SpaceX has hit milestones one after another. My family has been In this business since the 60’s, and have seen the successes and the failures in real time. I was working on the Buck Rogers Backpack when the Challenger blew up. I saw in my lab as it was happening. Boeing can’t compete due to failure of their management. SpaceX has paid attention to details. Boeing has failed at most every milestone. Space travel is not for the weak or the faint of heart. It is stressful. As my pops used to say, “When you are on the bleeding edge, many times the blood on the floor is yours.” You are there for a reason. You don’t think the Voyagers or the Vikings were built by ‘sensitive’ people, do you? I knew many of those people. They were part of my family.

[@downbelowu1928]

He is liberal and has tds from the intro sounds of it.

[@classydave75]

@@downbelowu1928 Better having TDS than FLS, fascism lover syndrome.

[@wschmrdr]

It doesn't help when you insist on cost-plus contracts because your business model centers around screwing up.

[@rdbchase]

No, that simply isn't so. None of these supposed milestones have demonstrated the achievement of any of Starship's critical design goals, and so far as its schedule goes, Musk claimed that he'd land two Starships on Mars by 2022 (which did not happen) and SpaceX claimed that it would land Starship HLS on the Moon by the first quarter of this year (which did not happen). At least you should be able to acknowledge that the program is at best years behind schedule.

[@PyroRob69]

@ So landing a booster is no big deal? StarLeaker barely made it to ISS and it wasn’t the first time they had the same failures.

[@sycodeathman]

I get what Eric is saying about the eggs-in-baskets-analogy. You don't want all your eggs in one basket, but if you only have one basket, your choice is really between having eggs and not having eggs. It really is as simple as that.

[@lanzer22]

The Artemis program is doing exactly what it’s supposed to do - keep many people employed and a few people rich.

[@tonyug113]

pork barrel money to companies in the southern states -- How the sls was designed -- the we have to use this part or a part from this company ... because

[@t65bx25]

@@tonyug113Every last state wants a finger in the pie…

[@jtjames79]

I include the costs for Constellation and Venture Star. NASA is on its third consecutive and continuous failure. Once they get deep enough in the hole, NASA declares victory and moves on to the next pork project.

[@keithparker6520]

@@jtjames79 it wasn’t NASA that killed Venture Star.

[@jtjames79]

@@keithparker6520 You going to fly that technicality to the Moon?

[@debott4538]

After hearing him referenced for years now, this is the first time that I actually see and hear Eric Berger in person, and I have to say: that man is awesome! On the point, blunt, and very knowledgeable. Thank you for the interview. :)

[@comment_section4766]

he's a grifter and liar.

[@hive_indicator318]

​@@comment_section4766you're someone who makes some pretty hefty claims about someone's truthfulness and doesn't provide any evidence, or even specifics

[@ryelor123]

Never trust the words of a journalist who writes a book or story about someone they don't like. He obviously doesn't like Musk and its common for journalists to, you know, make things up. If he was a fan of Musk, then I'd find him more credible. He wouldn't want a journalist who's a fan of Musk visiting Blue Origin and writing a critical book about workplace dynamics with criticism of Jeff Bezos. He wouldn't trust such a book since there would be an obvious bias and an incentive to exaggerate workplace grievances. An important aspect of media literacy is to ask what benefit a journalist has in being honest about a subject matter. Eric Berger had no incentive to be honest since he obviously doesn't like Musk and he has a financial incentive to fuel grievances.

[@davidadelstein1064]

In the next few years we will clearly see who is truly interested in space travel and wants to see humanity among the stars and who is more interested in petty politics and has an agenda to push, those creators who focus on the former will flourish, those who are stuck on the latter will hemorrhage subscribers ! For the sake of this amazing channel he's built, I hope Fraser can do the right thing, this interview was a step in the wrong direction !

[@paulmichaelfreedman8334]

@@ryelor123 So, as soon as you find a reason for someone to lie, you just assume they do?I suspect you don't have many friends and have estranged your family.

[@PaddyPatrone]

Great video. Eric really knows his stuff. Followed him over the years. He knew things before it was happening. A real spaceflight guru.

[@agluebottle]

Huge fan of Ars Technica, especially Eric Berger's work. Very stoked.

[@basketvector7311]

me too now

[@robwalker4548]

Fraser I thought this was interesting but I am amazed by some of the comments that are so polarized. I thought this was an honest assessment and actually makes SpaceX look good despite what some are commenting. Strange age that we live in when the villagers turn out with their pitchforks.

[@JoelKleppinger]

The video title is rather inflammatory.

[@robwalker4548]

@@JoelKleppinger as far as the title goes is there anyone in the picture that can stop SpaceX yet? Unless John Glenn starts proving progress soon I don't see anyone moving as fast as SpaceX. Outside the USA the Chinese are the only ones that have a chance to challenge SpaceX.

[@RvR_22]

@@robwalker4548 we are amazed how easily journalist and Leftwings attack people for having other political views. Elon is definitly not a conservative! Buying twitter was 100% net benefit. Especially after the twitter files. Oh and how dare people critice journalist. Ivory tower much? Claims like "polarising" is only a smear attack because it means nothing speficily. Its a words like "dubious", its no clear accusation but its definitly negative. We are truly amazed about such arrogance!

[@byrnemeister2008]

@@JoelKleppingerNot really. Space X are now dominant in the launch market. Just a fact when you look at the numbers. Is anyone going to be able stop them? Good question to ask even Musk has talked about the need for competition to raise all boats.

[@GlanderBrondurg]

@@JoelKleppinger Be that as it may, Eric Berger really did try to address the question in this video where it was actually asked at the beginning and the question in the title is what the video is about. I can't provide a counter example beyond what is discussed in this video too. Any company trying to beat SpaceX on anything other than its merch store (hats, t-shirts, and posters) is really going to struggle to keep up.

[@dumpsterdiner]

Was really glad to hear Stoke mentioned as still in it by Eric. Really cool tech and approach to reuse I'm excited for in the future.

[@ioresult]

Wow Eric and Fraser! At the same time!

[@WhiskyCanuck]

Worlds colliding

[@gerritvandeventer4147]

Elon musk is still going to build a space ship like never ever seen before,. be like Star Trek. i am 75 now i hope i am still alive when he do it.

[@SophiaAphrodite]

Fascists don't want Star Trek unless they mean the Romulans

[@后宫后]

LOl

[@tonyduncan9852]

Of course he is. He cut the Gordian Knot of human intrigue with his Sword of Universal Truth. Seriously, not sardonically. Sometimes, Irony is NICE. I'm 80 . . .

[@egooidios5061]

Star trek like? Not anytime soon. But ships in the sorts we see at The Expanse? Yes, very likely in the next decades. I reckon orbital shipyards will exist around the moon sooner than later. Launching from moon seems so way more easier. With what kind of fuel is offcourse a big question as even starship needs methane and there is none on the moon....but I hope a way will be found

[@egooidios5061]

Relax Sophie, you are easy to put this tag out there...

[@antonzanki6798]

Outstanding. If you’re serious at all about understanding modern space you follow Eric and read his books and anything he writes really. Now let’s watch Starship tomorrow.

[@bryanillenberg]

It launched today

[@willreznicek4202]

Check out his interviews with Off-Nominal too, very good stuff. Fraser did an excellent interview here though for sure

[@cargorunnerUK]

Had low expectations for this discussion but I was really surprised, I really enjoyed it! You do a great job finding interesting guests!

[@mbox314]

Everyone seems to know and accept the fact that the primary role of the SLS is to spend money in the right places.

[@iamsick5204]

Theres definitely a future in space and maybe mars isnt the answer but spacex is taking the right steps and thats whats important.

[@Chef_PC]

I'm glad someone is talking about this.

[@FoxtrotYouniform]

Gwynne Shotwell deserves tons of love! If you love the development of space and you dont know her name, shame on you.

[@cube2fox]

What is so special about her? It seems all the major SpaceX decisions are made by Musk.

[@byrnemeister2008]

Yeah power behind the throne. She seems to be a very good manager. Keeps quiet and gets things done.

[@FoxtrotYouniform]

@@byrnemeister2008 not just a manager. she runs operations, which means she taught a mob of construction workers and welders how to build spaceships, and turned an army of engineers' caffeine fueled dreams into actual reality.

[@hussammoh3791]

Nice try. Are you trying to divide people now?!

[@FoxtrotYouniform]

@@hussammoh3791 🤔

[@jeffbrown66]

NASA does not even have funding to get the samples collected by Perseverance back to Earth.

[@treasurehunter3744]

That's not entirely true. JP Aerospace submitted a proposal that was cheap enough to allow multiple sample returns, using existing technology, and NASA rejected the plan. You aren't wrong, though: NASA can't feed the hungry parasitic job programs enough to get the sample return mission done.

[@leightonmacmillan3396]

Thank the completely BROKEN government for that. But hey, lots of great paying DEI jobs, right?

[@chrislee8886]

@@treasurehunter3744the returned samples will need to be scrupulously secured and returned. It may be the most important science package in history and its biocontainment is key. This is not an overnight Fedex. I don’t doubt companies can do a good job but neither is the mission trivial and “just another” for a newbie space company.

[@charlesschmidt5233]

As big of a SpaceX fanboy that I am, I agree that a total monopoly on deep space access is not ideal. You always benefit from having multiple options.

[@hoffbd1]

SLS should have never been funded but now that everyone sees a disaster unfolding it should be de funded immediately.

[@ncb1397]

1st semi-reusable orbital rocket was the space shuttle. 2nd semi-reusable orbital rocket was the falcon 9.

[@debott4538]

Well, there was Energia-Buran in between but that never went operational, so your point stands. Edit: Wait, Buran was not an orbital rocket and Energia was 100% expendable, so actually it doesn't count here at all.

[@gamers-xh3uc]

But the space shuttle is not a rocket is more like a spaceship

[@jmacd8817]

​@@gamers-xh3uc By that definition, no second stage or 3rd stage, or space capsule is a rocket.

[@Dullydude]

and starship isnt reusable yet either.

[@rdbchase]

@@gamers-xh3uc It used the RS-25 engines now powering the SLS -- it was a rocket!

[@YellowRambler]

It might be that a second hand StarShip left in orbit might make a perfectly fine space station, it would be funny if they end up using StarShip the way Liberty ships were supposed to be used In WW2.

[@sashaSwetlowski]

This is freaking insane to listen to Eric talking about these plans. Great interview. Mind blowing engineering.

[@bobbyjones2112]

I think it’s also to find out if there’s actually life on or that has been on Mars before. That’s really important I would think!

[@jimmirow]

Nice username😊 did you know gutta percha is what dentists use for a filling in teeth. Ha, my doc didn't even know that. Going to a couple of Champions Tour qualifiers in '25. Space is my new favorite hobby. Love Fraser

[@debott4538]

Yes, the science aspect has been mentioned in the interview: You don't need humans on site to find life on Mars. In fact, humans might be a hindrance because they inadvertently contaminate the samples, leading to false positives.

[@gorak9000]

You don't need to send people there to figure that out - robots are a lot cheaper, and they can do a lot of tests with specialized instruments that humans can't, or would also need the specialized instruments to do as well. So why send a human when it's less capable, more risky, and more expensive to do so??

[@jeffjames3111]

Amazing interview, I am a complete space-nerd and I loved every minute.

[@keithparker6520]

Unfair comparison saying Starship has launched multiple times compared to SLS. SLS is the finished article and went to the moon, Starship were test flights and currently nowhere near getting to the moon. Starship is using a different method, albeit in my option a better one, of construction to SLS. I still think you need to keep SLS for Artemis II and III, to give you time to human rate Vulcan or Falcon Heavy. I see no need after that though as long as either of the other two get certified. Anything else will delay the moon landing to 2030 ish.

[@PaulM0XLO]

Very, very interesting interview with Eric Berger, thank you. I've been meaning to get his books for a while, this interview clinches it.

[@venturestar]

Whoa, I had no idea that so many people quit SpaceX due to exhaustion.

[@nathanroberson]

In real endeavors…War like endeavors…attrition is to be expected. 🎉 Human dedication, cooperation, passion, creativity 🎉

[@byrnemeister2008]

@@nathanrobersonNot healthy for the employees though is it. The folks that actually make it happen. For space X they can do that while they are the only game in town. In 10 years time when the shine has rubbed off it’s going to be a problem getting the talent.

[@jonmccreery4802]

I heard it from more than one employee (one very highly placed at the time) that 100% either quit or get fired. Sometimes both at the same time. These reports were spaced apart by about 10 years, so nothing is changing, and my inner engineer nods in agreement with demonstrable success indicating no necessity for any sort of culture change. It caused me to drop out of the interview process though, and without doubt they've factored in attrition and recruitment difficulty against their truckload of winning and determined that it's acceptable.

[@gamers-xh3uc]

@@byrnemeister2008but it does not matter by then spacex has done it served it’s purpose to make life multi planetary that is the goal, it does not matter if someone else does it that’s why they don’t patent or put lawsuits on people that copy their design unless you literally copy their logo

[@fredkeller8695]

SpaceX is truly remarkable, spearheading what could be considered a renaissance in space exploration and utilization!

[@AaronHamm]

The issue i have with the "there's no reason to go to Mars" argument is that they all apply to Europeans coming to America, yet they did, and once a handful were there, they built their own reasons for other people wanting to come...

[@AaronHamm]

Antarctica *could* be economically viable... It's not per a treaty

[@oberonpanopticon]

The Americas were full of fertile land and untapped resources that were relatively easy to extract. Space is full of death in a dozen different ways and untapped resources that cost more to extract than they’re worth. You could explode a nuclear reactor on top of Mount Everest and it’s still be hundreds of times more inviting than mars. There is absolutely no reason beyond scientific curiosity to go beyond earth’s SOI.

[@agonfilm951]

Yep, and it's also ignoring the Polynesians, who sailed vast distances to settle new islands.

[@Heinrich_Von_Schnellfahrer]

What would be the purpose for sending humans to Mars? Other than "been there, done that".

[@chrislee8886]

@@agonfilm951they did so for survival, not adventure. We do not face the same dynamics (and don’t start about “Humanity eggs all in one basket”). We’ll move off planet when the needs are clear and the risks make sense. Meanwhile we have bigger priorities (with tax payers money) around THIS planet. If entrepreneurs want to go then fine but as long as they follow codes of conduct and spend their own cash…

[@stephfran9761]

I love it when the media and politicians call Elon "Stupid".

[@danwylie-sears1134]

Elon is not SpaceX. He's a vital part of it, in a way that Bezos isn't for Blue Origin. But everyone from Shotwell on down counts too. It's wrong to discount them.

[@djpaintles]

I bought the book while listening to this interview, Thanks!

[@ryanchurch5864]

Does the host not want us to be a spacefaring species? I’m confused-

[@SophiaAphrodite]

Not with tax payer money funding private exploration with a blank check.

[@AdRock]

He’s irrationally anti Elon because he’s a Canuck who has a gaslighting media that convinces their citizens that Elon is bad.

[@kennethpeters7915]

@@SophiaAphrodite Better for that money to fund private exploitation here, with a blank check.

[@jabarigraham]

Full stack reusability will be on flight 8th next year Elon said after one more flight test which would be flight 7 he would Catch the star ship on the next flight test which is flight 8🔥

[@CaliforniaBushman]

All the hard working SpaceX engineers made a good call today with the No Booster Catch. Starship looks good! About to re-enter.

[@stellarpod]

Great segment. Just ordered his book. As always, thanks for sharing. Steve

[@BroDuke1]

Yikes. “Journalists” really can’t stop hating Elon lol.

[@FougaFlyer]

Great interview 👍! 🚀

[@meanderinoranges]

It's too bad Eric has an advanced case of MDS.

[@gcburns4]

It's blatant. Keep in mind progressive ideology sells the adopter on a belief that only they can stand for truth and fairness. You can see the torment when that innate bias is not being nurtured.

[@arckett]

@@meanderinoranges” …how do I contextualize the success of SpaceX when… THAT MAN… is at the head of it all… “ Lol. Lmao even. MDS is real folks.

[@iamafarmerntx]

I have read both of his books! I really enjoyed them!!

[@rjq1118]

This was one of the best interviews I've seen all year

[@ericfielding2540]

Thanks for this great interview with your thoughtful questions. I appreciate your tactful handling of the political aspects.

[@dwightlooi]

The right thing to do to accelerate near term exploration missions is to SCRAP SLS and have SpaceX make an expendable upper stage for Superheavy, preferably one which can also take a single Raptor 3rd stage.

[@sparkmanuk]

A bit of Elon bashing, if it was not for him we would be relying on SLS.

[@goiterlanternbase]

Stoping in what? Running the most expensive, one time use rocket, mankind ever has built?

[@riddhishakya7791]

Updates for people watching after flight 6 : Elon confirmed they will attempt the catch of upper stage of SN34 which is flight 8 or 9. Flight 7 is scheduled for 11th Jan 2025 according to NASA and FAA.

[@JSOC.1]

Why do people cry over elon, he is great, he is right about the country. Elon FTW

[@joederbyshire_]

some people don't want to idolise sociopathic lunatics.

[@ericmatthews8497]

Is he though? He seems to be late or fail to deliver many things. Remember Hyper Loop? Even Starship isn't really a working system yet. We haven't seen a real HLS, or Starship Tanker, or Orbital Fuel Depot, or even a genal purpose cargo Starship. There have been only prototypes and promises. V1 Starship failed to meet the 100 ton payload target by a wide margin. And V2 Starship will (in all likelyhood) also miss that 100 ton payload target. When will Starship ACTUALLY be a success? We're waiting.

[@JoeMama-ke1fi]

@@ericmatthews8497 Starship will be a game changing success once the federal government stops knee capping it because they have a political bone to pick with Elon. Whether you love Elon or hate him you can't reasonably say he hasn't been a generational success. He made electric cars an actual practical thing and he lowered the cost of payload to orbit by more than 500% while simultaneously making it more reliable. Whether you like his politics or not should be irrelevant to his actual successes, same can be said of Jeff Bezos and Amazon.

[@davidhorvath66]

Blows my mind too. “I don’t like his politics!” Which ones? The dude is an absolute patriot who’s out there crushing it. I love that dude. I can’t see anything wrong with his politics

[@jf7009]

@@davidhorvath66 him doing the x pose while jumping up the air on stage should tell you enough about his mental state...

[@ioresult]

43:09 Eric: "They've been building that hardware for years, man" haha!

[@nealramsey4439]

Exactly what conspiracies did Elon go down? That doesn't make them untrue just because a journalist says it is untrue.

[@meanderinoranges]

Lefties always ignore that community notes correct in both directions. The mis/disinformation cry is just a cop out. They're really just mad they can't outright censor conservatives anymore.

[@classydave75]

I don't know, all the conspiracies he has constantly peddled for the past years? Up to disgusting antisemitic ones like when he agreed with a neo-Nazi's tweet that said Jews are responsible for the great white replacement by importing as much immigrants as possible? Or when he regularly downplays climate change on camera? Or when he role-played an epidemiologist during the Covid pandemic an peddled all the anti-vax conspiracies out there? Not to mention his constant display of Islamophobia, transphobia, racism, antisemitism, bigotry and disgusting fascist tendencies... But I get it, you don't see all of that, you don't acknowledge reality, it's just lies, he's your hero. The dad you never had. Maybe one day he will see you and make you rich, so will be able to dunk even more on the poor you most likely despise, while a billionaire like him. Right? I get it, really, you have no class consciousness and will always side with fascism to ensure the wealth and power outreach of your favorite psycho billionaire. You voted for that. Enjoy mate!

[@Paul-ic2ki]

Russia collusion? How about the conspiracy theory that men can become women?

[@cube2fox]

Yeah what conspiracies??

[@danwhiffen9235]

The only ones I can think of is Paul Pelosi hammer man and the pedo diver. That’s all. The rest of the ‘conspiracies’ are… true.

[@kennethpeters7915]

Credit to Berger for giving as objective account of the WrongThinker! as you could expect.

[@Paul-ic2ki]

wow, disliking someone for their political beliefs. That is not the standard for this show. Many conservatives fund scientific endeavors.

[@elvinshoolbraid84]

Referring to Fraser disliking Eric or the other way around?

[@stuh4932]

Yeah thought the same thing. Like who the F are you again to lecture us about politics ?

[@leightonmacmillan3396]

Dude, JFK would be considered a right wing extremist by the clowns in control today.

[@Ratkwad]

Yeah but Jesus aascended to heaven by sheer faith, not this fangled technology, grosss ewwww.

[@chrislee8886]

What science here then?

[@dirkbester9050]

Elon Musk: Mars base so we can survive an earth extinction event. Fraser Cain: There is no good reason to go to Mars. ???

[@nealramsey4439]

Starship is working, it may or may not be reusable. But it has already passed the SLS.

[@classydave75]

Oh, I didn't know Starship sent a spacecraft around the Moon and back to Earth. Good to know...

[@gamers-xh3uc]

@@classydave75cause it hasn’t planned to but it could also it will not be like 10 billion dollars for launch

[@classydave75]

@@gamers-xh3uc Maybe yeah... Who knows. But the next four years are going to be pretty "sporty", let's put it like that.

[@Dullydude]

bruh starship hasn't even gone into orbit yet...

[@kevinrdunnphs]

Stupidest take possible

[@markhollingsworth3262]

Great interview. I am off and reading Eric’s books

[@SanctuaryLife]

Did I hear right, Eric was trying hard in his book to separate Elon from SpaceX's success because of his Twitter views?

[@TheRevWillNotBeTelevised]

Anyone in their right mind would try as hard to seperate themselves from Elon Musks moronic political views as possible.

[@Tony-ssj769]

SLS is still using rocket engines from the failed shuttle program, Starship is using the new modern raptor engine which has the highest thrust to weight ratio in the space industry and it uses methane as fuel. This is the primary reason Musk sees the Falcon and other rockets as dead end technology because he does not see it as having interplanetary ability where it can refill at Mars and come back.

[@russell2449]

I don't understand the title, can anybody STOP SpaceX now??? It shouldn't matter one iota if other space launch companies are or aren't successful, why couch it as STOPPING SpaceX, rather than just competing with them?

[@slopedarmor]

Noob. Alternative title that means the exact same thing: Is spacex unstoppable now!?

[@lexpox329]

@@slopedarmor to be fair that would have been a better title

[@DefthedroidURlooking4]

Chill, it’s a figure of speech. When an athlete is on a hot streak, they’ll say “can anyone stop him now.?” It doesn’t mean they want someone to stop him. Totally normal English phrase.

[@biovmr]

Yes, the book was a second triumph, following “Lift off“

[@richardanderson1988]

Gwynne Shotwell has said they will have unmanned Starships landing on Mars in 2026. I wouldn’t bet against her.

[@nathanroberson]

She too has to drive the goals to make the team bring the effort to achieve the unachievable. The greatest coaches know how to bring the beast effort out of a group. With Elon, and Gwen is able to employ a similar style. You watching the Bach of engineering management.

[@paulmichaelfreedman8334]

If Gwynne says it, I believe it. That is probably one of the most influential woman on the planet right now. And she looks dazzling, she's over 60

[@ZeddZul]

Can't happen, the launch window has passed. Next launch window is October 2026

[@grantwatson3824]

@@ZeddZul You know your stuff: trajbrowser.arc.nasa.gov/traj_browser.php?maxMag=25&maxOCC=0&chk_target_list=on&target_list=Mars&mission_class=oneway&mission_type=rendezvous&LD1=2020&LD2=2030&maxDT=240&DTunit=days&maxDV=7&min=DV&wdw_width=-1&submit=Search#a_load_results

[@chrislee8886]

I would. Hope there are meeting planetary protection needs. This is not a jaunt. This is a planet that may host life.

[@jerryh2930]

Fraser, very interesting discussion with Eric Berger.

[@allangraham970]

USA is so politically polarized. Why is it so hard to just report on the technical aspects of SpaceX. Is everyone who voted or campaigned in the election meddling in an election, or are they just supporting the party they did vote for. Could we claim that Eric is meddling in politics by expressing his views (if you live in a democracy you should be able to express your views, so you could rightfully claim Eric is entitled to express his views, in that case Musk should also be allowed to express his views. Musk did campaign largely against the bureaucracy that he sees as gripping and stifling the USA, and his companies in particular . Musk reason for supporting Trump most likely was to get rid of the impediments of a possibly politically biased bureaucracy that was stopping him trying to achieve his mission. Prior to Bidden taking office, Musk was a Democrat and actively supported Obama. Eric might believe that Musk is wrong in his support of political party, however that party got the support of the majority of people in the USA. Maybe Eric needs to realize that he is expressing a minority view that is supported by the majority. Musks management style is not a bug, it is a feature. Most people who work at SpaceX love having worked there. A lot leave burnt out, but loved their stay at SpaceX and feel they benefited by developing skills. Bit like going to college and having to work hard to pass.

[@danman6431]

Yeah that is a good take I also like to add that the Obama administration also planned to cut funding to NASA which is another reason why Musk switched parties. He is clearly just trying to kiss up to the party that will benefit him the most rather than for any ideological reasons.

[@gamegoof]

As a life long supporter of NASA and long time fan of musk, these last few years have become increasingly difficult to bear... I hate trump, hate musk and barely follow what SpaceX is working on because hes the face of this company, I know hes not the brains, far from it.

[@hive_indicator318]

Musk had a promotion where he basically paid people to be registered to vote. That's expressly prohibited by law

[@jimgraham6722]

About 55,000 magas will get snouts in the trough, some much deeper than others.

[@oberonpanopticon]

The US isn’t actually all that polarized. If you think it is, that means you’ve fallen hook line and sinker for Russia’s disinformation campaign. Stop getting your news from Reddit.

[@walterrhoads8706]

We all know that when Starship becomes fully operational, it will change the game completely. But until then, if SLS is available, we should use it. Historically, the period of SLS dominance in spaceflight beyond Earth orbit will be brief, but it should play its part. Hybrid systems with Starship are the bridge to dominance by a fully operational Starship.

[@mikehipps1015]

Why would anyone want to stop SpaceX?

[@norddorian5791]

Only 🐑 and thier globalist overlords that don't like people that have thier own thoughts and opinions

[@rayparent1]

People for reasonable reasons hate musk. They dont understand how to control that emotion so they put it on everything related to his name

[@robertanderson5092]

He bought Twitter and ended political censorship

[@Robinlarsson83]

​@@rayparent1there really is no reasonable reason to hate Musk, but sure, disliking him for certain things he do could be reasonable. But, the kind of people that do hate him is obviously not able to act logically so no surprise they can't see past his faults to appreciate his achievements. Even though any objective assessment would clearly show that his achievements for humanity outweigh his faults by many orders of magnitude.

[@ikindaloveetsy5348]

@@mikehipps1015 his relationship with Vladimir Putin is untrustworthy

[@chrismantonuk]

Re. commercial reasons for going to Mars, would it not be a stepping stone to the asteroid belt, and the resources there?

[@iheart545x39]

Eric can't see the forest for the trees with Musk. Journalists are pretty unimpressive people.

[@keithparker6520]

This is so depressing, that SpaceX is the only option to get to Mars. But if it’s the only way then I’m all behind it.

[@ImNotPotus]

All ELON has to do is to locate staffing facilities in every single congressional district.

[@EditioCastigata]

Or, he could open an Office for Govt Efficiency in every one of them.

[@sulljoh1]

That was the old world Now you just need loyalty to the mad king

[@mirfjc]

@@sulljoh1 If and only if all the reps and senators are loyal to the mad king - which admittedly they're heading that way.

[@ImNotPotus]

@EditioCastigata troll level Mars

[@mikeg9b]

I'm looking forward to videos of a Tesla Cybertruck on the surface of Mars.

[@eliharman]

I hope SLS and Artemis are cancelled. The amount by which SLS is behind schedule and overbudget offends and angers me. It's not just the wasted money. It's also the wasted time and resources that could be spent doing something actually new and useful and inspiring. And the fact that the Artemis program is little more than an overblown diversity stunt that specifically excludes white males angers and offends me just as much. There's a lot more I could say about that, but on this platform, it would likely be deleted.

[@leightonmacmillan3396]

Yeah but, their DEI programs are doing so much for poor underprivileged Americans, right?

[@000uihgi8]

ur outrage is based on ur emotions rather than anything of substance. SLS is the only launch vehicle in the world that can reliably get large payloads to the moon, for which it already did with Artemis 1. Btw starship has yet to show that it can successfully put as much in LEO as SLS and return both the booster and starship actual as intended by spaceX. I also distinctly recall that starship was supposed to be ready for Mars missions by this year, yet instead we have 6 failures including total losses. Where is starship HLS btw? Nasa contracted spaceX for that very reason yet HLS is nowhere in sight, especially now that Artemis 2 is being readied, the SLS for artemis 3 is ready to stack, Orion for artemis 3 is being constructed, gateway, etc. Its true that Artemis is behind but starship HLS is even more so. Its also true that SLS is less than optimal, but how about u blame the government for wasting money on useless expenditures like the Military instead of giving Nasa the funds it deserves. Instead of triggered abt ur fragile white ego being ruined by Artemis putting QUALIFED man and woman of different backgrounds on the forefront and Nasa having to scrap together a sustainable and ambitious lunar program from little funds, take a look at ur own spaceX and how it constantly fails to meet expectations for projects from the beginning(btw its the government that keeps spaceX afloat).

[@Leafbinder]

Nice Interview Frasier

[@GregoryAlbright-t3p]

The Trump hate in the youtube space fan community is destroying the youtube space fan community...

[@chrislee8886]

Not at all. Keeps it grounded - especially internationally…

[@CompatibilityMadness]

To be honest, I think going to Mars is important, because it's easier to send stuff from there to outer solar system (vs. Earth). Build rockets on Mars (where gravity is lower), to go to asteroid belts and beyond for resources. Then use those either on Mars or send them to Earth. Eventually natural resources of Earth will diminish, so getting stuff from other planets may be necessary. Alternatively, geo-politics will be as such that getting it from outer space will politically more acceptable than getting it on Earth. And all this is aside from small issue, of getting absurdly MASSIVE quantities of some stuff that are required for some random future project (for example liquid methane in ocean levels of volume/quantity). EDIT : Note, can't you make SLS stuff (and it's manufacturers) a useful additional commercial space station(s) module makers ? They don't have to make them "in one piece" too. IF SpaceX is smart enough, they should have a plan to make starship somewhat capable of lifting large pieces of future space stations, right ?

[@paulmichaelfreedman8334]

What the chinese are doing is not just copying. It's standing on the shoulders of giants.

[@doncarlodivargas5497]

Not many are associating china today with Newton and the scientistic climate in Europe in the 17th century, more like industrial espionage and copying

[@JoeMama-ke1fi]

The Chinese have made a significant invention since gunpowder.

[@Roguescienceguy]

Yep, they are no longer just copying. Walked around in Shanghai a few years ago. We are living in the bronze age compared to them. They have a ton of hugely motivated, insanely intelligent and capable scientists and engineers. The way they are depicted by the western media could not be further away from the truth

[@Gweelo]

@@paulmichaelfreedman8334 what do they want to do that exceeds starship’s capabilities?

[@paulmichaelfreedman8334]

@@Gweelo Maybe nothing, maybe they'll innovate. Damned if I know.

[@ForestFelvey]

Landing men on the moon may or may not happen, but, like, you know, the most important thing is that none of these incredibly important and capable people at NASA do not lose their jobs after such a heroic effort with SLS! No NASA jobs lost is priority one!

[@Joe-hi8he]

Eric’s big lefty views are showing here

[@SuperThunder786]

Really great interview. Thanks

[@ArthurMorrrison1000]

I like your videos but give the 'behaviour of Elon Musk' bs a rest.

[@JoeMama-ke1fi]

The state of space journalism is mixed. We have better coverage and more options than ever before on the one hand, and on the other hand it has become the new "access media" in many cases where critical commentary is substantially curated so as not to risk "access". It has taken the better part of a decade and the rather obvious impending end of ULA for the overwhelming majority of space journalists to start paying more than lip service to the clearly abhorrent misuse of NASA's minimal funding to award contracts to the legacy lobbying industry (ULA) who have decades long relationships with the current NASA administrator and former US Senator Bill Nelson. And virtually nobody in space news has taken a firm stance on the obvious political retaliation against Elon over the past 3 years that came largely in the form of government agencies targeting SpaceX in any way they could if they had a shred of jurisdiction no matter how precarious. I have been both blown away by the quality of space journalism and tremendously let down at the same time.

[@christophersenn1304]

Thanks!

[@behboodik]

NASA should cancel the SLS and redirect its budget toward deep space researchs. It's sad that many research ideas and potential missions go straight into archives due to a lack of funding. btw we could preserve the beautiful majestic RS-25 engines in a museum.

[@debott4538]

The problem is, since SLS is essentially a jobs program, all its budget is only for SLS and nothing else. No SLS, no budget.

[@pindot787]

​@@debott4538yeah SLS is literally a job program, having a rocket is just a bonus.

[@classydave75]

Research? That's mainly publicly funded and goes against the short term ROI capitalist framework of corporations. Now that you have billionaires in full charge, expect fundamental research to be gutted. What going to happen he is Musk directly pushing for the cancellation of SLS and its dozens of thousands of jobs... But the money will entirely go to SpaceX, not to fundamental research, space related or not. You're dreaming, you have anti-science right-wing conspiracy nuts in charge now...

[@davidniddam1998]

Excellent interview. I really enjoyed it. Thanks!

[@Eddy525_violin]

20:45 lmao this aged like milk

[@JoelKleppinger]

It sounds like you equated the question about Starship with the catch of Superheavy done last month? A Starship catch isn't the same as Superheavy. So far, Starship has not been "made" catchable must less tested through reentry, etc. It's also not clear if the new tower is a requirement for catching Starship.

[@Eddy525_violin]

@ elon said catch flight 8

[@lexpox329]

@@Eddy525_violin I hope he is right, musk tends to be optimistic on timelines though.

[@Eddy525_violin]

@ yeah he tends to be optimistic on timelines but usually when he says something will happen on a future flight it ends up happening on that flight

[@dsdy1205]

Eric, the next book HAS to be called Reuse

[@MikeViker]

Eric Berger a SpaceX bigot.

[@colinbrazier8511]

Thanks guys, that was really interesting.

[@glennscott8622]

9:20 journalist regurgitates false information regarding X; I’m out, lost credibility

[@anthonypelchat]

The rest of the interview was good. Just skip past that and keep listening.

[@petersilva037]

regarding re-entry speed coming back from the moon... can they not refuel in orbit on the way back, and use that to reduce speed so the re-entry is gentler?

[@ericfielding2540]

Slowing down to the low Earth orbit velocity from a lunar return velocity would take a huge amount of fuel.

[@petersilva037]

@@ericfielding2540 right... so they have a fuel tank in orbit... rendez-vous with that... and use that to refuel so they have enough to slow down much more.

[@ericfielding2540]

@ The Starship coming back from the Moon will be moving too fast to rendezvous with anything in low Earth orbit. It would need to get fuel before leaving Lunar orbit.

[@benjaminbruce4908]

''china saw that'' and was like '' im copying that'' fixxed it 4 u

[@erfquake1]

The biggest engineering challenge I see getting astronauts anywhere without Artemis is Starship's cryogenic fuel issue. It sits in space and just bleeds fuel constantly, whether the engines are on or not. The Space Race said maybe twelve refuelings in LEO before even leaving for the Moon? Refuel, bleed, refuel, bleed, etc. That's gotta get fixed. (and then there's surviving the flip'n'catch....okay, two.)

[@737smartin]

44:30 Frazier, your inability to accept that SpaceX might just be the answer is... unappealing.

[@frasercain]

Even giant SpaceX fans should want vibrant competition in the marketplace.

[@737smartin]

​​@@frasercainWhile I love most of what you do, you struggle to discuss SpaceX without rolling your eyes, laughing dismissively, and throwing out the term, "cult." Listen again, and see how different Berger's tone is than yours. Berger is certainly no Musk cultist, but he has zero trouble showing respect for what they've accomplished and not being insulting towarfs them as he laments the shape of the rest of the space industry.

[@Roguescienceguy]

There's reasons to question the feasibility of Starship. I am confident in the booster, but starship itself looks too much as a one size fits all kind of vehicle.

[@frasercain]

You clearly didn't see the recent video with me, Scott and Marcus talking about flight 5. People unsubscribed because of my SpaceX fandom.

[@737smartin]

@frasercain Sorry to hear that. I DID watch that one, and I appreciated it greatly... as I do most all of your work.

[@charliewalker9443]

I am a mega Elon fan and have been since 2008. However to answer the question of the title, yes, others can catch up. Is it likely? Not anytime soon, but life is stranger than fiction and so many things can happen in the next 5 years, yet alone 20+. One of my major worries is some type of political assassination of Elon, not his physical life but either staining his image to where his companies have to part ways with him to stay lucrative financially or by legal entrapment. Bringing half baked cases against him to bring him down and hinder his ability to focus on his work. Elon is certainly not perfect, but thats partly why I love him. That said this Trump administration is only going to be 4 years. After that the Dems are likely to get back into power and they wont have forgotten Elon. Space X and Tesla are only as ballsy and outlandish in their goals and vision because of Elon. Without him they are likely to fall foul to sensible business people, who stifle growth for financial security. No other CEO would have the guts display the Cybertruck and say “Yeh we are doing this and you will buy it”. No other Space CEO would say we are going to build a city on Mars. All the progress these companies have made is enormously down to Elons bullish approach to rapid learning and testing. Without him these companies will dip massively and others will catch up, snipe talent and seize their moments.

[@TakeNoneForTheTeam]

Lol. Musk being a conspiracy theorist is like saying liberals don't lie.

[@shawndavis7249]

Durp, your side isn't perfect so our side can do whatever it wants. What a lazy, low effort post. Musk is a conspiracy theorist who has slandered multiple people with no consequences, so take your low-level troll act somewhere else.

[@marknovak6498]

In the short run, you can plow through people to make progress, in the long run, going to Mars will require more than reliable machinery.

[@KILLERAOC]

Not losing advertisers anymore…they’re crawling back to twitter

[@chrislee8886]

In your dreams!

[@TheRevWillNotBeTelevised]

You are living in a parallel universe. Musk's Trump love in has certified that business as doomed. A bizarre echo chamber for a small subset of one country does not make for a good global social media company. Your regressive political views are clouding your judgement, if you had any to begin with.

[@chrismullin9437]

It's rather shocking to hear that the sequence will be "SpaceX puts humans on Mars, and then the US govermnmenet will start paying attention". Ten years ago, who would've thought it would be a private company leading our space exploration development?

[@skenzyme81]

We've barely scratched the surface on what Starship will enable for LEO. The orbital fuel depot will doubtless grow in scope.

[@jamesfowley4114]

It might have a dual purpose. Refueling and some science.

[@halholland1637]

Once Star ship becomes operational, maybe you could build a launch tower in California. Then you could launch from Florida and land in California. Then you could go back again. You would not be reentering over land. Although I would imagine more flights would need to go one way more than the other so, that may not help.

[@TheAlchemisification]

Space X has so much to prove yet. So I wouldnt be throwing away Artemis just yet.

[@TheHeavenman88]

As opposed to the others that don’t have anything to prove ? Are you guys high ?

[@MrMatklug]

i still think space mining can be profitable in the future and with some new discovery that we can only make something only on microgravity we can get the space economy really going

[@BabyMakR]

Mining in space, sure. Sending it back to Earth? Not so much. Materials mined in space would be used to make things in space, like space stations and ships etc.

[@DreamskyDance]

Space mining will be profitable a lot in the future, but only for building things in space. In 100 years or so it will probably be dumb to send telescopes and stuff from the ground, everything will be made on-site probably. But space mining wont be profitable for returning the materials to Earth. Maybe some specific industries making their products in orbit factories or something and shipping those products to Earth, but mined ore i doubt it.