What historical rocket, while taller than current Starship configurations, is mentioned as being expendable, unlike the Starship stack?
Answer
Saturn V
The Saturn V rocket, known for its massive historical scale, serves as a point of contrast regarding design philosophy. Although the Saturn V was taller than the current 403-foot Starship configuration, its fundamental difference lies in its expendability; it was used only once. The Starship stack, conversely, is engineered from the ground up for complete and rapid reusability, a feature that inherently adds complexity, structural mass, and volume requirements to achieve its high flight cadence goals.
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