Angry Astronaut throws his two cents in

In short, this video asserts that SpaceX is pushing his engines beyond their limits, and that's why they keep encountering problems. The video insinuates very strongly that Musk is LYING about its performance. So, what can you say about it? For one thing, if Musk is going to lie, this lie is not the one he would tell. The reason is that the lie can be exposed pretty easily. Rocket performance characteristics aren't that easy to lie about. If you don't have the thrust, it won't lift off. ISP cannot be fudged, because it is a function of heat. Heat can be measured or estimated on the test stand. If it isn't that hot, the ISP claims won't hold up. So I call bullshit here on the video.

 

Musk may have an ego as big as the rocket itself. Why else would he not follow best practices? Nobody is supposed to be able to do it, so he tries it anyway. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Re-usable rockets were supposed to be impossible. He has managed to get his second stage to a soft splashdown a couple or three times. He is not that far away. If you don't like the guy that's your privilege, but he's spending his own money, and it is his own company. He wants to go to Mars. Let's see if he can do it. I see this criticism as a bunch of self-interested types shilling for the SLS. Now that is a waste of money.