In keeping with my desire to be “that guy” addressing the cult like nature of SpaceX fans, I thought today would be a good day to look at comments on a SpaceX post on Facebook today regarding (as of the time of this writing) an update Elon Musk will provide regarding the Interplanetary Transport System; you know, that super massive cart-before-horse project key to his desire to colonize Mars. The one that my simple, perfectly reasonable criticism of created so much drama surrounding.
https://www.facebook.com/SpaceX/photos/a.10150303260090131.563831.353851465130/10159910591065131/?type=3&theater
The post itself simply speaks of the announcements coming – it doesn’t go into any detail, but does mention that it is regarding the ITS project. Now, I’m not going to speculate on this here – I’ll wait until after his announcements and try to get a summary. I will say it wouldn’t surprise me if the plan has already been changed in some significant way.
Anyway, the subject here is to take a look at the actual comments on this post. To my surprise, many of them actually are criticisms and inquires about details of the project; some of them maybe not the best worded things, or the most thought out criticisms, but still valid. It surprises me in that you would think most of the comments would be just from supporters saying the typical “go SpaceX” and the like, perfectly normal comments for any such post. Maybe I expected some fans really talking about how amazing it will be, but I didn’t think there would be this many people daring to actually criticize and risk having a nonstop barrage of comments telling them how wrong they are.
Well, I can’t totally dismiss that – it is happening to a degree. Look at though are the replies from SpaceX fans – there are more than a few defending SpaceX against the criticisms, some good, some bad. What I find interesting is how the information they provide is so conflicting – some say the gigantic booster will launch from pad 39A, others say from new facilities being built in Texas, and equal confusion surrounds the landing site for this booster.
Still others comment about the scale of the booster already being cut down, and other changes that have been made. I seriously have to ask, where exactly are people getting all this detailed information regarding SpaceX’s projects as I’ve not in any way been able to find any information regarding these changes beyond comments.
With all that being said, notice the defensiveness present. While nowhere near as hostile as what I experienced a year ago (again, more of that to come) it still has this sense of absolute need to defend SpaceX against criticism, to simply state that any flaw found will be fixed or isn’t an issue, even when it clearly is. Even the classic of “Radiation Shielding” comes into play here – seems people critical aren’t holding back, which I think is a good thing.
The fanbase can’t stand a negative thought to be presented about SpaceX. This may be a subtle example, but I thought it good to start of with something lighter. We’ll get into SpaceX fans comments on other pages at a later point. To be fair, I can’t blame them – I’d be in the same boat, for sure, but the difference is that I know how to accept that something is an issue, and to say that I “hope they can solve the issue” or “I hope it doesn’t prove to be an issue in practice” rather than outright claim the issue doesn’t exist or insult those who’s opinion is against mine.
Unlike most SpaceX fans, it would seem, I can keep a neutral viewpoint when it comes to issues that are common to rocketry, space flight, and general engineering to such a degree. Reality doesn’t care what logo you slap on a rocket, if an engine is going to fail, it can and will take out the booster with it. That’s just my 2 cents though, as they say. Read the comments and make up your own mind on how those discussions sound to you.