Phil Trubey
@PTrubey · 2 juin 2025
Btw, Elon also did this at SpaceX for what we now know as Super Heavy and Starship. Initially Starship was to be manufactured using traditional carbon fiber composite materials. In fact, they even bought a giant mandrill as the mold.
But after realizing how time consuming,
Elon Musk
@elonmusk
Early Atlas rockets used stainless, but it was certainly (incorrectly) considered to be far inferior to composites.
All things considered, including strain-hardened strength at cryo, toughness, ease of welding on attachments, no need for paint and resistance to high temperatures during atmospheric entry, steel beats composites for Starship.
And it costs 2% as much.
16:38 · 2 juin 2025 · 62 k vues
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