Why does Jeff Bezos’s rocket look like that? An inquiry

[Engineering-MD]

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/20/jeff-bezos-rocket-design-an-inquiry

[cratermoon]

It's shape is really not all that different from the Soyuz descent and reentry capsule [1]. The distinctive appearance comes from it having a slightly larger diameter than the suborbital booster and the lack of a fairing and LES. On Soyuz, the latter hides the shape of the spacecraft itself [2]

1 https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/element...

2 http://www.astronautix.com/s/soyuz7kt-ok.html

[robomartin]

Well, how about that TV show from 1979?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bNjAabLjCc

If you squint you can see aspects of both Blue Origin and SpaceX's adventures in this short-lived TV show. I remember watching it as a kid.

[JohnFen]

I honestly thought that the phallic appearance was an intentional stylistic choice and not really driven by engineering concerns as such.

I still sorta do.

[mythrwy → JohnFen]

Even if it wasn't deliberate on viewing the first design sketch it or designing it the resemblance had to be noticed.

[Engineering-MD → JohnFen]

Yes, it seems like that. But you can use a different reason to justify things after the fact!

[bsder → Engineering-MD]

From Akin's Laws on Spacecraft Design: https://spacecraft.ssl.umd.edu/akins_laws.html

30. (von Tiesenhausen's Law of Engineering Design) If you want to have a maximum effect on the design of a new engineering system, learn to draw. Engineers always wind up designing the vehicle to look like the initial artist's concept.