Starship changes the game entirely. With relatively low cost per kg to orbit and huge capacity, the focus will go away from spending tons of money optimizing the satellite. This is like the RAM revolution on computers. As we moved from expensive limited RAM to cheap, plentiful RAM, faster and simpler programming using higher level languages/compilers took over from slower low level programming.

Why is it taking so damn long to do anything? We'll all be dead before Starship actually reaches orbit.
There has been so much talk, but thats all it is, talk, let's do something already.

Apparently they’re very close to getting their launch license and already have a date for launch. They’re putting the finishing touches on the booster, starship, and launch mount right now

Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it.
This is one of those things in life I want to be so wrong about, but it really seems like Starship will never actually fly to orbit. It's almost like there has been a conspiracy to keep man off the moon for 50 years...

Can't help but be pessimistic being 40 years old, growing up hearing about the space race, but in my lifetime seeing almost no progress, but in fact regression.

Relax.

The most powerful rocket to ever fly that also just happens to be fully reuseable is going to take some time.

The SLS was based on 30-40 year old proven technology and *still* took over a decade to get off the ground. And we will have to wait for over a year to get a second flight. Granted, they are going to make it exciting by putting people inside...

It flew once, why wasn't it tested more?

The SLS? Well, good question. Seems a bit adventurous to put people in it on its second flight, but hopefully NASA knows what they are doing.

The Starship? Only the Starship (the top part) flew and landed. The booster has never flown. When reading about Starship, you need to be careful. The entire thing is called Starship, but the orbital part (top part) is *also* called Starship. That makes understanding the news a bit tricky.

Tests for the Starship had a long pause while the bureaucrats figured out what to do with safety and the effects on the environment and so on. That went about as fast as such things go, frustrating as it is.

Theoretically they could have started testing again, but my guess is that they made so much progress while waiting for the OK they decided to just go for the orbital flight next.

SpaceX basically have all the needed tests finished. I'm not sure if they have an official OK to do the orbital, but I seem to remember reading that they do have it.

I guess now it is just a matter of dealing with unexpected problems as they pop up.

>Why is it taking so damn long to do anything?

Because it hasn't ever been done before (successfully).

Because the technologies needed to make it all work are still very much in the prototype/development phase.

Because of the potential that if things go wrong, they can go really, really wrong.

And because SpaceX has to keep the bureaucrats on side, informed, and willing to support the efforts. Without an FAA license to launch, there is no launch.

Starship is developing at a breakneck pace, what are you talking about? Have you seen how long development is for aerospace projects?

Is it more than 50 years? That's not a breakneck pace. Humanity has put more effort into blowing each other up than processing into the future.

Starship has been in proper development for about 5 years, give or take. Where the hell did you get 50?

> Can't help but be pessimistic being 40 years old, growing up hearing about the space race, but in my lifetime seeing almost no progress, but in fact regression.

You're not serious are you?