“We have lost that zeal. If a design engineer doesn’t get a fat government handout, he/she won’t do it.”
A rocket engine is far more temperamental than nearly any machine. There’s still lots of mystery and trial/error in the design process.
It costs billions to develop a large rocket engine from scratch and the risk of losing money is huge. The first space engines were only developed by governments with the deepest pockets (USA/USSR). Orbital bought Soviet technology to skip the initial design costs.
Elon Musk took a gamble with his billions to develop new engines but most investors would not.
“A rocket engine is far more temperamental than nearly any machine. There’s still lots of mystery and trial/error in the design process.”
It is my understanding that not everything in the design can be “tested” with computer simulation.
I remember from a couple years back. A Falcon 9 rocket had just launched from Florida with the first of the CRS missions. In the video, it appeared that about 120 seconds after liftoff, an engine exploded....and the the thing kept on going. No thrust interruption, no deviation in trajectory. It successfully made it to orbit. The Dragon capsule docked at the ISS and delivered its cargo, then returned to Earth.
If I had a choice between using the Antares verses the Falcon 9...it'd be the Falcon, every time.
Here's a VIDEO of that explosion.