China's Plan to Beat the U.S. Back to the Moon

[@menelaus2000]

What I love about this channel is that Ward gets some seriously high end technical people to talk shop. TJ is seriously clued in. Justin B has long been my favourite, but TJ is a serious Moochie contender.....great stuff and well pitched for the home engineer/bodger.

[@MARGATEorcMAULER]

I don't think it's important to be 1st back to the moon,more important is to get it right and get real knowledge out of it. Thanks Mr.Mooch and TJ!

[@anthonykaiser974]

At this point, pretty much true. If we'd have done this from orbit off STS missions, or from the ISS, it would be a different matter, I suppose.

[@matthewnewnham-runner-writer]

What might matter is who gets there first and most significantly with land and mineral rights on the Moon - whether or not legally obtained.

[@marimuthu14]

The real money is in LEO, commercial space station and space tourism. There's a lot of rich people out there who want to get access to space and are willing to pay a lot of money for it. The money to be made here in LEO is far far greater than any exploitation of minerals on the moon.

[@loganadenveerapen2875]

When you are facing the CCP good intentions doesn't count.

[@18greens18fairways]

If China gets there first it id likely they will claim a stake on the lunar surface in the south pole. The lunar south pole is the equivalent to beach front property relatively rich in resources. It is important for America to get there first to avoid any risk of that happening. ~Best

[@markendicott6874]

Season's Greetings Ward!! Excellent content.

[@RamonPalomino85]

Glad you brought back TJ. Good analysis and Intel, Mooch. Bravo Zulu

[@patgiblinsongs5]

Ward, thank you for bringing TJ on the channel. I hope that TJ’s optimistic prediction about the US returning to the Moon comes to fruition!

[@jeffscott8718]

It won’t ever come to fruition because we can’t leave earth

[@dougvazquez6571]

Yep, definitely a good person to have on the channel. I appreciate his presentation style. Thank you.

[@donalddrake6512]

Mooch, from my family and home to you and yours, A very happy, Healthy and prosperous Holidy season to you and yours, shipmates! Happy Holidays!

[@shaider1982]

While Starship being caught by the "chop sticks" is impressive, Space X is still behind schecule.

[@1boortzfan]

I've always been a fan of the space program. When I was a kid I watched the first moonwalk on my grandmother 's living room floor. On a good day I can stand at the end of my driveway and watch a space launch.

[@tdn4773]

Chinese would say this proves the US has been in decline since 1972 and has been greatly surpassed by China.

[@BS-vm1vr]

TJ is incorrect when he says Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for the Orion spacecraft (capsule). Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor.

[@INeedMoreSpace]

You are 100% right sir my mistake. Lots to mentally juggle in these interviews. Thank you for keeping me on point! Happy Holidays!

[@BS-vm1vr]

@@INeedMoreSpace No worries. Good insight regardless. Looking forward to more of your videos. Cheers!

[@joakimlindblom8256]

​@@INeedMoreSpace Great report! Other than the Northrop/Lockheed mixup, everything you reported checks out with my own knowledge. My only suggestion would be to describe orbital inclination a bit differently for those who don't know the concept, i.e. instead of using the word "direction", describe inclination as the angle at which the orbit crosses the equator, which in turn determines how far north the orbit path will go and thus which countries can launch into the orbit. I particularly appreciate your nuanced and balanced reporting w.r.t. Jared Isaacman coming onboard as NASA administrator and his relationship with SpaceX and Musk. Keep up the great reporting!

[@jeffscott8718]

Whoever made it shouldn’t be the question, it should be why haven’t there been any actual official pictures of earth that are the same every year

[@mrdddeeezzzweldor5039]

Having built a career in aerospace electronics, I feel that I have a right to say how utterly disappointed I and we have become and Boeing as a prime contractor. If you look back through the history of their company, they have clearly placed profit and stock price above tactical, proficiency and pride and providing a good product.

[@everettputerbaugh3996]

Water under the bridge for the algorithm: Congress decreed that NASA would use the "leftover" engines, etc.. from the Shuttle program (they've already done that and paid to have the line restarted) then NASA "congress-proofed" the program by having it in as many Congressional Districts as possible. Note: Government contracting has been made into the most expensive way to buy things. THANKS for another excellent production.

[@craigmackay4909]

Lockheed Martin ,Northrop Grumman and Boeing are too expensive as contractors for US to get back to the lunar surface.

[@HandyMan657]

Thank you for another informative interview. Much appreciated, Ward. Take care, have a great holiday, and Fly right.

[@beerdrinker6452]

CDR Carroll always provides interesting and quality intel.

[@WardCarroll]

Thanks for watching.

[@pauljeffery7658]

LOVE your T shirt Ward. The Slider was possibly the best T Rex album ever. All the best for Christmas

[@livingadreamlife1428]

Merry Christmas Mooch from a friend of a Payne’s and a longtime follower of your Channel.

[@danielayers]

Thanks for this Ward, a very interesting video!

[@richardcharlton8259]

This could be another Sputnik moment for the USA if they don’t pull their finger out

[@michaelmeehan9083]

We already beat the Chinese to the moon back in 1969 actually.

[@skunkjobb]

Yes, that was one of the coolest things in human history but it was so long ago that I think the race is almost starting over. It would be embarrassing if the Chinese got there before the US in this new race to the Moon.

[@tbranch227]

yeah, reframing it as a race is cute

[@chrisjackson1215]

@@skunkjobb I mean, it's really not. China is 55+ years late to the party. What would be embarrassing is taking China's childish antics seriously enough to waste resources going to the moon over a "private parts" measuring contest they lost over half a Century ago. Nothing is "starting over".

[@StarwaterCWS]

@skunkjobb just step up the game. Stop looking back… look forward and call it what it really is… a Mars Race.

[@Goldfinch23]

Ohkay cool you won one race, don't get complacent because the race is now on to dominate space

[@StarwaterCWS]

Our moon interest aren’t even aligned with Chinas. China is focused on scientific research on the back side of the moon, while the United States interest is to develop resources on the moon to advance our footprint in space leading to colonization and springboard to Mars. No doubt China has made great gains but there is no joint program between both countries, as there should be. In a traditional sense we need adversaries to propel gains. It isn’t a moon race. We crossed that finish line 55 years ago. I do think it’s a Mars race that by all accounts the U.S. has an enormous lead.

[@jaybee9269]

I’m not doing space with communists. Actually the Chinese are fascists, properly speaking. They’re not poor enough to be called communists.

[@grahambuckerfield4640]

If China does land, it is very likely they will rapidly move to something the 6 Apollo landings never did, set up a base. The last three Apollo J missions had 3 days on the surface, any base will be measured in weeks. Plans for something similar by NASA were killed by the 1967/68 budget cuts. They have one advantage, no mix of political and industrial interests to get in the way.

[@mako88sb]

@@grahambuckerfield4640 It will be interesting to see how they resolve the lunar dust issue. They have the advantage of knowing how bad it is thanks to all the published reports about it.

[@LLH7202]

I think you are correct. That's why I call it just a "space race". China definitely has it sights set on Mars. I think we should develop the back side of the moon for scientific research, also. I envision telescopes, optical, and others there. It's perfect for shielding from RF noise from earth, and periodically being in total darkness with no light from the sun or earth.

[@grahambuckerfield4640]

@@mako88sb Certainly the later Apollo missions highlighted this, especially the lunar rover. Any habitat and indeed land, unlike the Apollo LM, will need an airlock. The Spacesuit will be designed to be modular, easier to for instance, with a suction device in the airlock, get the dust off before taking the suits off. But it will be a challenge, though despite gettIng covered in dust, the increasingly sophisticated array of instruments set up by the Astronauts were not affected unduly.

[@davidsmith8997]

Jared does at least have some experience and interest with space flight. While there are lots of problems here on Earth, let's hope peaceful competition and work in space can help innovate some new technologies to help solve them!

[@weldrider1]

Very Cool. Brings back memories of working with Rocketdyne through the mid 90`s developing prototype sections of the Space Station. We revised a shipping container to accommodate the "Neutral Buoyancy" testing of the sections right there in our shop in Camarillo. 🇺🇸💪

[@revvyhevvy]

My trusted news source! Thanks!

[@ericfielding2540]

Thanks for the interview with TJ. He has an interesting perspective on NASA and other space exploration countries. The human space flight program in NASA gets a lot of attention, but NASA does a lot of great research and science with uncrewed spacecraft, including the large fleet of Earth Observation satellites.

[@Kenaiwolf]

Hey Ward, nice SG and Les Paul in the background. 🙂

[@formallyknownasj.a.2074]

Space is scary and dangerous enough, I couldn’t imagine having doing all that on a Chinese rocket and space station.

[@awuma]

They had some hairy experiences early on, but it all seems to work pretty well now. China is making very rapid progress with launchers, and their in-space crewed stuff is pretty mature.

[@matthewnewnham-runner-writer]

Thanks, Ward.What a superb episode: highly informative and very crisp, with no hesitation, deviation or repetition (as we say in the UK). Speaking as a guy who flew fighters as Step 1 in my (unrealised) dream to become an astronaut, I really appreciate how TJ breathed new narrative life into current and planned space exploration.

[@awuma]

Nice to have an adult discussion. Too many of the space channels here are hyped up, even if their information is OK.

[@gunslinger91mcgillicuddy52]

I just noticed the Bigsby in the background! Old school. Very nice 👍

[@xiaoka]

The hits just keep coming! ❤

[@ellarevere]

Just passed your truck with ward carroll on it on rt 1 in DE in the Toyota gr86! Just Subscribed 😄

[@WardCarroll]

Thanks!

[@toryhegrenes]

You know Reid Wiseman is a Big Fighter guy. I know you like to call those guys out. Cheers.

[@jamescatrett2608]

Wiseman started out as a F-14 pilot. Ward that sounds like a possible interview & visit to JSC.

[@cobra5087]

Another great episode Mooch!

[@seanmckee8625]

Ward, another great interview. So much here I’m going to watch it again - I have to comment first though. :-) TJ’s closing remark says it best, “Thanks for covering these important topics.”

[@skyd8726]

Jared Isaacman has also purchased an ex RAF Tornado gr4 swing-wing aircraft and this will be returned to flight!

[@oldgoat142]

Sir, this is very informative stuff about a topic very few people know about. I learned quite a lot. Excellent. Truly enjoyed it. Thank you. Feliz Navidad to you and yours.

[@darrencorrigan8505]

Thanks, Ward.

[@allanrose3661]

The Chinese have chosen a far less complex architecture for manned Moon missions. I am afraid the whole 8 to 10 launches required for the Starship Moon architecture will allow the Chinese to beat us back to the Moon.

[@xiaoka]

That… and Elon is already way behind schedule and has already spent the budget on his suborbital tests…

[@gpaull2]

It’s WAY more than 8-10. Watch Smarter Everydays video. This is just another Elon money making scam

[@GTGibbs]

They can have it. Until they claim the entire moon as theirs. They cannot feed their population on earth, I don’t see them being able to resupply any Lunar Colonies. I don’t agree with any Americans heaping praise on the CCP. Get a grip Sir, they are our blood enemies. And always will be.

[@GTGibbs]

@@gpaull2How is this a “scam” by Elon Musk? Please elaborate how you arrived at that conclusion. I’m genuinely asking, because I don’t see it.

[@pi.actual]

@@GTGibbs "scam" is an accusatory way of putting it but the Starship program is nowhere near having a working Moon lander despite having already spent the entire contract award. In fact they have not yet even achieved orbit so implying that SpaceX is slam-dunk better than SLS is a bit disingenuous. Musk tends to brag a lot and deliver less than promised.

[@Towbie442]

Thanks for this one. Space is also a passion for me personally. Born in the age of moon landings, I am excited for a new space exploration growth and the potential for us to see colonized places outside of earth's gravity in my lifetime.

[@jamesarvin9539]

Great information…

[@keybokatze1927]

Mr.Ward is about to eat with this upcoming video 👀👀👀

[@revvyhevvy]

Thanks!

[@JackWaldbewohner]

Commander, hot damn! I follow all sorts of serious space podcasts. You have outdone them all! Merry Christmas!

[@rosevfx]

If the Chinese landed a crew on the moon today, they'd still be 55 years late ... so what's the fuzz?

[@jeffscott8718]

55 years late to the original moon landing hoax ? Lol

[@drfranks1158]

Imagine what NASA could do if it didn't get conflicting signals and new marching orders every 4-8 yr.

[@denchar1741]

WOW no moon landing deniers here?? you're lucky

[@mako88sb]

Yes. When Real Engineering did the episode about the lunar dust problems, specifically when it came to designing the new EVA suits, wow! I couldn’t believe how many hoax believers bombarded the comments section with their idiocy.

[@LLH7202]

Nope. There are a few here if you see some of the comments.

[@jeffscott8718]

@@mako88sbwhen you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect- Mark Twain The deniers are actual people speaking the censored truth. The only hoax is the moon/mars landings, and space walks. They are all done in the swimming pool in Florida .

[@Pyanfar]

Mooch, since you are a musician, may I recommend Angelina Jordan, a Norwegian singer who has become this 65 year olds favorite. Her latest song is Bad Valentine. There are several versions. The latest is the jazzy version. She is a fantastic mezzo contralto

[@joemancini2988]

Thanks, Ward. An excellent and informative interview. I’m pleased to see some oligarchs pushing their billionaire to use in the National Interest.

[@JorgeHernandez-vy9rh]

Heard some reports of a friendly fire incident over the red sea, USS Gettysburg downed an F18...

[@davidallen306]

TJ was on "What About It?", a KZbin channel devoted to discussion and news about SpaceX and all things space exploration. It is an informative site. Looks like he is no longer involved there.

[@reallyhappenings5597]

Are they running out of planets to pollute or?

[@tomsheridan989]

Mr Carroll, would you consider Jared a fighter pilot? Thanks! Love your show!

[@stevecam724]

13:40 there is no way on earth NASA would be capable of a human moon landing by 2027. SLS is years behind schedule and don't even start on Orion and Gateway. 2030 is a very ambitious target. The whole purpose of Artimus was a permanent human presence on the moon but that's not even looking doable from here. We are right back at 1972 and Apollo 17, do it for doings sake.

[@awuma]

If Starship/Super heavy in its several variants works well, progress will speed up a lot.

[@timf6916]

Good information.

[@dks13827]

TJ Cooney......................... do you think a starship can be a lunar lander ? I am not sure, at all.

[@mako88sb]

Yes, it’s definitely counterintuitive to what I think it should be, which would resemble a larger version of the LM. However, I never thought SpaceX would successfully land used boosters so we are definitely in a different era.

[@marcmcreynolds2827]

"The second-fastest runner's plan to beat the fastest runner to second place."

[@denyscpoyner]

What, no Sum Ting Wong jokes 😂😂

[@runrau9275]

Well China was just protecting it from ,Who Flung Poo

[@runrau9275]

But next week they will have the Wong Doctor on the station.

[@runrau9275]

How ever, it is reported that their tooth paste space meals are labeled "creme of sum jung man"

[@runrau9275]

However, all scientists have stated that it is all just "Sam Ting"

[@Charlie-Oooooo]

We should start experimenting with in-orbit recycling/re-purposing of orbital space vehicles/systems, in addition to cleanup of orbital junk. Might even be valuable parts there. Keep the space station and turn it into the first in-orbit recycling center. My 2 cents.

[@andywindes4968]

I'm sure Ward remembers Skylab.

[@Livlifetaistdeth]

Beating someone back to something is literally just losing but making everyone aware you already lost...that is a ridiculous title

[@ReasonableGuy-l7o]

Have not heard much about Blue Origin in awhile? Are they still in the game?

[@michaelgrey7854]

Just read that a VFA-11 Super Hornet has been shot down by the USS Gettysburg in friendly fire incident.

[@jackravan3242]

Me too, sucks

[@jimcronin2043]

I think that we have to perform some unbiased analysis and prioritization in a public forum to determine the depth of our long and short-term financial commitment to all the many space exploration programs.

[@awuma]

I very much hope that Chandra and Hubble can be kept going. There are many very valuable long-term scientific missions, and combined with JWST are providing a tidal wave of results, for example leading to unprecedented advances in cosmology and fundamental physics.

[@SpaceB0nz]

Awesome interview, thank you! He mentioned SpaceX a few times but I think what was left out was the impact that a fully functional Starship/Superheavy system will have. It will make access to space another order of magnitude cheaper than reusable Falcon hardware is now. The flights will be cheap, the cargo capacity will be massive and flight rates will be very high. So much more becomes possible in space and it will revolutionize our thinking about space and positively impact the economy. My guess is that ultimately SpaceX will do the entire Moon mission after SLS is cancelled by the new administration.

[@awuma]

Orion will be used until Starship can be proven as a crew-carrying vehicle with re-entry after returning from the Moon. My guess is that a shuttle flying between LEO to lunar orbit and then back to LEO, refuelled by Starship, will ultimately prove to be the way to go, since a re-entry capable craft weighs much more than is needed for LEO-lunar orbit-LEO travel. Perhaps Starship needs to be a three-stage affair.

[@jaredwren9304]

Thanks for this content, Ward.

[@Swagdonaldz]

anyone else hear about the f18 friendly fire incident and came to wards place?

[@michaelmoginie4697]

Whoever's occupying the DARKSIDE beat all of us😂

[@ApolloKid1961]

Then I can reassure you because there is no dark side.

[@whya2ndaccount]

More space junk eventually destined for Western Australia, like bits of Skylab.

[@fl_kingfisher6148]

If anyone doubts the need to go back to the moon and farther. Consider the fact that there are enough resources on the moon and in cis-lunar space to effectively end scarcity as we know it. We can power our economies and build the future without having to plunder Earth’s resources anymore. Sure it’s a long way off and incredibly difficult but our future is tied to space exploration.

[@jeffscott8718]

Uhhh you’re pretty out there, claiming there are resources on the moon, when we’ve never been there.

[@myaschaefer6597]

Do you think that our space station is faster than the Chinese Space Station!? 😂

[@briangriffiths114]

The new NASA administrator appears to have no limits to what he is capable of. A very informative video.

[@paulsidhuUK]

Hey TJ!

[@INeedMoreSpace]

😮

[@lanceav8r]

Every American interested in the Space Programs should look up who Qian Xuesen is and how we forced him out of JPL and into the Chinese program.

[@jeffdege4786]

Is China thinking about launching yet another throw-it-all-away mission to the Moon? Assuming they accomplish it, what will they have achieved? Starship isn't about the Moon, or Mars. It's about lowering the cost of space travel by two orders of magnitude.

[@后宫后]

The Chinese aim is technological progress, scientific progress, economic progress, sustainability, pragmatism

[@visionentertainment8006]

Their plans involve building a base

[@antonymillar778]

Just another reason to stop giving money and help to china as a developing nation's status

[@karlbrundage7472]

"shielding the spacecraft against debris".......... So, the Chinese expect there to be debris in their orbital altitude that will hazard their spacecraft(s). Huh...................

[@awuma]

The protection would work only with very small stuff in not too dissimilar orbits.

[@GerryLP1111]

Without meaning to sound feeble -minded, what technology has been developed/planned to reduce space junk (not counting re-usable space vehicles)??

[@MM-qp8AA]

Going back to the moon with the current technology is just a waste of money.

[@f.j.a.m.6853]

Who is the moon lander contracror ?

[@mako88sb]

SpaceX.

[@PlanetFrosty]

The topic should how is that CPC(CCP) is going to make it when they’re not paying their shipping and military fuel bills? Many things are going unpaid as PRC enters a state of collapse. They’re using fuel, food and toilet systems of dubious design. They face inordinate challenges that NASA would not subject humans to.

[@craigmackay4909]

AN-94 Soviet lunar rifle ?

[@skylarking12]

China's advantage is they don't have a congress or political party rivals squabbling over supplying the resources and directing the goals. See the saga of ISS station development as the example. Their disadvantage is; they've bought and copied a lot of their stuff and seeing if they can build the innovative and quality-oriented culture organically to run a moonshot is the question.

[@awuma]

I beg to differ. Read up the history of the Soviet space program to see just how much rivalry and empire building can happen in a Communist system. I recommend "Challenge to Apollo: The Soviet Union and the Space Race, 1945-1974", Asif A. Siddiqi, Nasa History Office. Can be dowloaded as PDF from the NASA website. Also: " Korolev: How One Man Masterminded the Soviet Drive to Beat America to the Moon", by James Harford.

[@vhostovich]

Extremely dis-appointed with TJ not being truthful about SLS's program design.

[@EdwardRLyons]

A nice summary of the current situation, thank you, Mooch. But, a correction to what TJ says at and after 7:38 -- the Cygnus spacecraft is **not** the primary vehicle to reboost the ISS. That function has been carried out by Russia's Progress (not Soyuz) spacecraft since the beginning of the programme. The Cygnus has been tested on only one occasion so far to conduct a reboost, and the same is planned for SpaceX's Dragon vehicle. But, Progress will remain the primary reboost vehicle for the foreseeable future, and most likely to the end of the programme, apart from the final deorbit burns which will be done by a new, larger variant of the Dragon, to send it into a disposal zone in the South Pacific, not the Indian Ocean.

[@jerwahjwcc]

7 hour drive? Lol those are rookie numbers.

[@methylmike]

I need to learn about orbital inclinations

[@macblastoff7700]

Think of it as the angle between the orbit and the Earth's equator. The higher the inclination, the less the earth's rotation is helping "throw" the spacecraft into orbit, so the launcher has to work harder/longer or the payload has to be lighter. However, the orbital path ("ground trace") over the earth goes to higher latitudes, so one "sees" or covers more of the earth over time.

[@methylmike]

@macblastoff7700 interesting. How is it that china can choose an orbit which russia cannot access? I imagined it all to be an issue of timing. Im shocked there are inclinations some launch sites cant get to.

[@JCStaling]

Identify with what is Real

[@Ironwulf2000]

Mooch, what happened to your X account?

[@tbranch227]

2027 is completely unrealistic to land on the moon

[@jeffscott8718]

It’s unrealistic to land on the moon in anytime in the future because we can’t leave earth.

[@WardCarroll]

How’s your GPS data, Jeff?

[@jeffscott8718]

@ just because a government calls something a global positioning satellite doesn’t mean it’s actually orbiting around a globe. 😛 those signals are from high elevation balloons. Even NASA owns some patents for them, and even has pictures of them.

[@AutieTortie]

The most common trend in this video is "uuuuuuhm"

[@reallyhappenings5597]

Why should we care about the moon, we did this 60 years ago

[@JimmysSpeedShop]

SPACE!!!

[@Asspiss100]

3:27 OF COURSE THEY CALL IT THAT

[@tzazarizona2676]

Second counts for also ran.

[@basedandbiased]

It's amazing we're having a race to the moon in the year of our Lord 2024.

[@dustinsmith4068]

Makes you wonder doesn’t it?

[@gpaull2]

@@dustinsmith4068 Not really. It’s still hard, especially with the lower risk tolerance and environmental care now. Not to mention limited funding compared to the Cold War era.

[@dustinsmith4068]

@@gpaull2I assure you it has made plenty of us wonder as to why in basically 5 decades not a single other nation has put a man on the moon, and admittedly we struggle to go back. None of the reasons you state are compelling. China for example could give two craps about environmental goals, nor India, nor Russia. Additionally, environmental concern is a hard sell when Space X is launching and landing rockets with high frequency.

[@charlenefrench5404]

​@dustinsmith4068 plus the military is the worst environmental polluters. Nobody cares about it.

[@awuma]

@@dustinsmith4068 The Space X rockets and new Chinese ones are much less harmful to the environment than the Shuttle was, or earlier models of Chinese ones still are.

[@andyfeimsternfei8408]

Someone explain to me why NASA doesn't fly SpaceX to the Moon and back the whole way. What purpose does Artemis serve other than wasting money?

[@marimuthu14]

Well the dragon spacecraft doesn't have the fuel capacity and shielding for deep space operation. Orion is only spacecraft available as we speak and it is too heavy to be launched on Falcon Heavy. You need SLS for it. Starship is not human rated as there's no launch abort system... So yea.. it's kinda shitty situation.. everyone.. including NASA and SpaceX need to start from scratch to come up with something that makes more sense and practical.

[@andyfeimsternfei8408]

@marimuthu14 But the whole scheme is dependent on Starship being able to carry astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface and back. That means Starship must be human rated. Also, the plan involves many fueling supply ships, again by Starship. At that point, Starship is doing everything but launching from Earth and splashing back down. Once all those requirements are met, SLS and Orion are obsolete. SLS and Orion are 100% dependent on Starship, while I see SLS as redundant to Starship's required capabilities. Lastly, SpaceX has proven itself far more capable of developing successful systems, while SLS and Orion have not.

[@jefreagan]

My opinion; this guy is weaving between the lines, not trying to step on toes. I’m not feeling the true skinny. I think the clincher was “NASA is doing a good job.” He lost all cred with me. But who the heck am I?

[@awuma]

JWST is not a marvel? What about all those Mars rovers and little helicopter?

[@AutieTortie]

Chesses crust, the guy starts every sentence with "Uhhhhh"...

[@briancrawford69]

Took 23 years to beeak it by 12 minutes

[@Qiushishuo]

The record break in not on purpose, OK?

[@robertoler3795]

interesting. but three things 1) no one cares about the Chinese beating us or us the US b eating them. its not a big issue 2) the Chinese are going for a very limited mission sometime in the 2030's 3) going back to the Moon for any significantly longer period of time is very expensive. as for Starship???who knows if it will work, what its capabilities are and how frequently it will fly. Starship is starting to run up SLS sized development budget and best quess right now is that they get oh 50-60 tons in LEO for about 100-200 million. at that rate to refuel a lunar version will take 15-20 flights which is at best 2 billion just for the fuel besides Musk is going to help the incoming president cut 2 trillion out of the federal government. yeah lets go to Mars or the Moon as Social security is being cut. sure sorry no reason to do it.

[@awuma]

Sad to see power go to Elon's head. Human nature has not changed, the Greeks and Shakespeare knew all about it. If Elon falls, can Gwynne Shotwell do better than Vasily Mishin did after Korolev's passing?

[@karlharrelson1091]

Don't fall for another space race. That is pointless and dangerous. People get hurt or worse when this childish competition goes on a grand scale. Just let them have a some glory and be the bigger man.