Seven months between Flight 11 and Flight 12, which is the longest gap since the program started iterating quickly. V3 is a significant redesign (new pad, Raptor 3, taller stack, no booster catch planned because of the component changes) so the gap makes sense, but it's a reminder that the cadence people were projecting a year ago hasn't materialized. Still, first flight from Pad 2 plus first V3 hardware in one shot is a lot of new variables.
This outcome, of continued slow progress in what is supposed to be quick iterations, was predictable years ago. That's not in hindsight. I've been criticizing the idea of agile rocket development as bullshit since I became aware of what amounts to calling shambolic project management "agile" because the cool kids do agile.
Seven months between Flight 11 and Flight 12, which is the longest gap since the program started iterating quickly. V3 is a significant redesign (new pad, Raptor 3, taller stack, no booster catch planned because of the component changes) so the gap makes sense, but it's a reminder that the cadence people were projecting a year ago hasn't materialized. Still, first flight from Pad 2 plus first V3 hardware in one shot is a lot of new variables.
This outcome, of continued slow progress in what is supposed to be quick iterations, was predictable years ago. That's not in hindsight. I've been criticizing the idea of agile rocket development as bullshit since I became aware of what amounts to calling shambolic project management "agile" because the cool kids do agile.