For those who have gotten sick of the Consumer Reports versus Tesla war going on, I've decided everyone could use some levity on the matter and produced this fictional gem as an excerpt from a full review:
Consumer Reports Reviews SpaceX Falcon 9 Rockets
"Reliability on landing is average, or about 95% survival rating. The titanium grid fins fared much better in re-entry than the aluminium designs, some of which reached their melting point and caused significant structural damage to the point of requiring replacement after only one re-entry. Although we give points to SpaceX for the new titanium grid fins, our durability rating is below average because of the relative availability of the two models, and several catastrophic incidents involving early landing software or faulty parts from suppliers that failed structurally.
In some cases, SpaceX rockets have survived landing but with crippling damage to the landing legs, again requiring replacement. This has proven costly from an ownership and maintenance perspective and we have reached out to SpaceX to determine if this is considered warranty damage or otherwise. Aesthetically, we give SpaceX an above average rating, with its sleek, aerodynamic lines, landing leg shape and futuristic actuation, and incorporation of carbon fiber accents as well as bespoke paint jobs for every customer. SpaceX builds state of the art rockets with an eye on the horizon, including HD-capable operations cameras, on-board computing, as well as radio networking capability and restartable, variable-speed engines. SpaceX builds with modern techniques, including 3D-printing their iconel rocket motors. Although the auto-park functionality in SpaceX rockets deserves high praise for being functional at both land and sea parking, Consumer Reports notes that auto-parking is not unique in the sub-orbital launch service industry, and competitors are likely to catch up in the near future.
SpaceX is known for disruptive pricing in the North American rocket manufacturing industry, but they are not globally competitive against Indian or North Korean rocket launch prices. We believe that SpaceX will continue to improve their pricing strategy, without compromising their quality line, and hopefully making significant improvements in their grid fin durability profile. As of yet, Consumer Reports has not had the opportunity to purchase or ride in a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, or the Dragon 2 capsule, we look forward to providing our readers a more in-depth review in the future."
Consumer Reports Reviews SpaceX Falcon 9 Rockets
"Reliability on landing is average, or about 95% survival rating. The titanium grid fins fared much better in re-entry than the aluminium designs, some of which reached their melting point and caused significant structural damage to the point of requiring replacement after only one re-entry. Although we give points to SpaceX for the new titanium grid fins, our durability rating is below average because of the relative availability of the two models, and several catastrophic incidents involving early landing software or faulty parts from suppliers that failed structurally.
In some cases, SpaceX rockets have survived landing but with crippling damage to the landing legs, again requiring replacement. This has proven costly from an ownership and maintenance perspective and we have reached out to SpaceX to determine if this is considered warranty damage or otherwise. Aesthetically, we give SpaceX an above average rating, with its sleek, aerodynamic lines, landing leg shape and futuristic actuation, and incorporation of carbon fiber accents as well as bespoke paint jobs for every customer. SpaceX builds state of the art rockets with an eye on the horizon, including HD-capable operations cameras, on-board computing, as well as radio networking capability and restartable, variable-speed engines. SpaceX builds with modern techniques, including 3D-printing their iconel rocket motors. Although the auto-park functionality in SpaceX rockets deserves high praise for being functional at both land and sea parking, Consumer Reports notes that auto-parking is not unique in the sub-orbital launch service industry, and competitors are likely to catch up in the near future.
SpaceX is known for disruptive pricing in the North American rocket manufacturing industry, but they are not globally competitive against Indian or North Korean rocket launch prices. We believe that SpaceX will continue to improve their pricing strategy, without compromising their quality line, and hopefully making significant improvements in their grid fin durability profile. As of yet, Consumer Reports has not had the opportunity to purchase or ride in a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, or the Dragon 2 capsule, we look forward to providing our readers a more in-depth review in the future."
