WAS THE SPACEX STARSHIP LAUNCH LAST WEEK A SUCCESS, OR WAS IT A BUST?  IT’S HARD TO KNOW

One of the most lamentable things for me these days is the fact that Elon Musk is involved in the next steps in space exploration.  I believe it is one of the most important, if not the most, things that all of humanity needs to support and pay attention to.  In terms of science, energy development, solar settlement and fixing our greenhouse boiler of a planet, there is nothing else more important.  And SpaceX, the private company, is currently at the center of helping to achieve at least some of those things.  But because of Elon Musk, it’s impossible to know if their Starship blowing up last week was a success or not.

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ELON MUSK BLACK HOLE OF CONTROVERSY MAKES ANYTHING HE’S INVOLVED IN TOTALLY POLARIZED, EVEN SPACEX

What do I mean by this?   Well, for starters, Musk is now one of the most self-importantly polarizing figures in the world.  Twitter is quite the example of his hubris, even as it remains unclear what his goals were in buying (and ruining) the social media platform.  But because of the Musk polarization and constant controversy, supporters and detractors alike come to their own conclusions about him regardless of facts.  And in terms of the exploded Starship launch last week, facts are few and far between.  In terms of advancing space technology, it may have been a success.  But that is intensely arguable, and Musk being a player on topic is no help at all.

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SPACEX ALSO REQUIRED PERVASIVE NDA’S FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED IN THEIR WORK, SO THEY AREN’T TALKING

But also of no help is the fact that many of the people and groups (both private and public) that are working with SpaceX have all signed NDAs, or non-disclosure agreements.  That is very, very Muskian.  So no one will say anything, if anything, other than what they are cleared to by SpaceX.  So was this a disaster (besides environmentally)?  Or was it a success?  Did it provide fantastic data to shape future launches, with more efficient payloads with escape velocity?  We don’t know.  And that is extremely lamentable.  Because it’s so important to know.