>>11067789>>orbital refuelling? EasyIt has been done for decades.
>>radiation? Builds character!IIRC SpaceX plans on making the trip to Mars short enough to where radiation isn't that big of an issue. And if it turns out that it is a larger problem than expected then SpaceX has shown to be willing to change significant parts of their mission and hardware to meet their goals.
>>no redundant critical flight elementsSuch as? I'm pretty sure Starship has enough redundancies with the hardware we've seen.
>>selling it as competition for passenger aircraftE2E is more of a side dream rather than their real goal of Mars.
>>orbital flight in mid 2020An ambitious deadline that may not be met, but Starship does seem like it will reach orbit eventually.
>>landing a 100+ ton dildo shaped vehicle on some retractable stumps and sitting it there for yearsWhat's wrong with that? SpaceX seems to have propulsive landings worked out, and if there is a problem then they will adapt to it. Again, they've shown to be willing to accept radical changes in design. If you have paid attention to BFR development then you would be aware of this.
>>basing the viability of returning home on transforming the surface of mars into rocket fuelYou mean like every other manned Mars mission? You mean that level of technology that has been worked out for years?
>There's a billion little things. The point is they have got ahead of themselves especially muskMusk is an ad man, he wants to hype up SpaceX to get more customers for them. The actual engineering behind SpaceX has proven itself to be capable irregardless of what Musk says.
>No shame in admitting this. They have one feather in their cap and that is landing the FH boosters. The rest is marketing and ideologyYes, there will be challenges and unknowns that SpaceX will have to deal with, but instead of doubting them and expecting them to fail, how about you have some hope in them. They're trying to push the boundaries of spaceflight.
