A vital change was made to Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket after a YouTuber asked a question on one of his videos.
Everyday Astronaut, who has 1.25 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, was invited to SpaceX's 'Starbase' facility back in 2021.
After being invited back more than six months later, it was revealed by SpaceX chief Elon Musk that a question the YouTuber asked actually led to changes being made on one of the newest rockets.
Advert
One of the biggest improvements from Everyday Astronaut's query is that the rocket now uses excess gas from the Starship's main engines for manoeuvring thrusters, instead of separate cold gas thrusters.
This occurred during the original meeting between the pair, which took place in August 2021 when they discussed the nature of the new Starship SpaceX rocket.
The world's richest man stated that 'you don't even need a cold gas thruster system...you already have hot gas'.
Everyday Astronaut, otherwise known as Tim, then interjected by saying: "But this is only for the booster, right?"
Musk then admitted on camera: "Although, arguably, now you mentioned it, it might be wise to do this for the (space)ship too."
Musk, 50, reassured his guest that he was right and the ship, as well as the thrusters, also don't need a cold gas thruster system.
"We're gonna fix that," Elon then told the YouTuber.
Tim's tour of SpaceX's Starbase, which was uploaded to his YouTube channel, let viewers see Musk admit that he made changes following the pair's previous discussion.
He calls said changes 'one of the biggest improvements we [SpaceX] made' to Starship.
"It occurred to me while I was explaining it to you," Musk adds. "I was like, 'wait, what are we doing?'."
Musk and SpaceX, which he helped to found, have lofty ambitions for the new Starship rocket in question, with there being hopes of using it to send humans to the moon, and eventually even as far as Mars.
Musk also recently announced Neuralink, with the first patient having received the implant in January. Last week, they appeared to have made a full recovery and could move a mouse around a screen 'just by thinking'.
Musk founded the neurotechnology company - alongside a team of seven scientists and engineers - which has been hailed as the future for humanity, and a lifeline for people with severe impairments.
Musk reckons people with obesity, autism, depression, and schizophrenia - as well as quadriplegics - could be the biggest beneficiaries of the device.
Natalie Horrobin