
Forget Dragon, the Falcon 9 rocket is the secret sauce of SpaceX’s success - feross
https://arstechnica.com/?p=1678939
======
new_realist
Shotwell is the secret sauce. I’m glad Elon’s contribution is limited to
blowing up Starships.

~~~
rst
Here's an interview with Tom Mueller (design lead on the Merlin engine, and
SpaceX's chief of propulsion from inception until he semi-retired a few years
ago), talking about working with Elon. The most relevant anecdote is Elon
demanding he find a way to get rid of some large and expensive valves -- which
Mueller initially thought impractical, but he tried anyway at the boss's
insistence, and wound up with a much cheaper, lighter, more reliable engine he
was really pleased with. Elon didn't do all the detail work necessary to make
that happen, and perhaps he couldn't (there's a reason he keeps paying
everyone else), but it's odd to deny he has a role in the process.

[https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/6b043z/tom_mueller_...](https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/6b043z/tom_mueller_interview_speech_skype_call_02_may/dhiyi3n/)

