S8 Ep256: PUSHING BOUNDARIES WITH DENSIFIED PROPELLANT AND BARGE LANDINGS Colleague Eric Berger. Following the 2015 launch failure, SpaceX introduced the "Falcon 9 Full Thrust," which utilized densified propellants—super-chilled liquid oxygen—to increase fuel mass

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John Batchelor

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🗓️ 29 December 2025

⏱️ 7 minutes

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PUSHING BOUNDARIES WITH DENSIFIED PROPELLANT AND BARGE LANDINGS Colleague Eric Berger. Following the 2015 launch failure, SpaceX introduced the "Falcon 9 Full Thrust," which utilized densified propellants—super-chilled liquid oxygen—to increase fuel mass by up to 12% for greater efficiency. This technology required tight launch windows but was essential for the company's reusability goals. Simultaneously, the company attempted to land boosters on an ocean barge, a process described as trying to land "nine Dixie cups" in a storm. These efforts were driven by the need to recover and reuse delicate rocket stages that are easily crushed when not pressurized. NUMBER 4
MARCH 1958

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0:28.3	Please gamble responsibly.
0:31.5	This is CBSI on the world.
0:33.7	I'm John Batchel with Eric Berger.
0:35.8	A senior space writer for Ars Technica.
0:38.8	I recommend following the reporting very carefully because SpaceX rolls on. However, right now
0:44.4	we're getting to where we are with the book reentry that Eric publishes to help us understand
0:49.8	after Falcon 1's success in the Pacific, after Elon Musk becomes a success with Tesla,
0:57.0	SpaceX is punching way above its weight. However, it knows in order to win to get to Mars.
1:05.0	That's the idea here, not to get to the low Earth orbit, not even to get to the moon, to
1:09.0	to get to Mars with colony, a million tons.
1:12.8	It needs power.
1:14.4	And one of the ways you get power in a space engine is something called densification.
1:19.6	What is that, Eric?
1:21.6	Well, densification is the idea that you take your liquid oxygen, which is already, you're already, you know, so liquid oxygen is oxidizer, right?
1:27.8	To make a fire, you need oxygen.
	...

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