5 ms·

Please somebody justify SpaceX because "Science!" isnt cutting it for me anymore.

stepanhruda 10y ago
http://waitbutwhy.com/2015/08/how-and-why-spacex-will-colonize-mars.html http://waitbutwhy.com/2015/08/how-and-why-spacex-will-coloni...
fmihaila 10y ago
How about "Money!". Glibness aside, it's a private enterprise and is profitable, so even without mentioning Musk's ultimate goal of colonizing Mars, its existence needs no further justification. It makes money and its shareholders are happy. And before someone jumps in with the "SpaceX-is-propped-up-by-the-government" canard, the U.S. government also saves money when it launches military satellites with SpaceX. According to [1] (among many other sources), SpaceX quotes around $60m, compared to the United Launch Alliance price of about $125m (or even, depending on how you count, $200m). [1] http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/03/ula-executive-admits-company-cannot-compete-with-spacex-on-launch-costs/ http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/03/ula-executive-admits-...
- throwaway_exer 10y ago
  > And before someone jumps in with the "SpaceX-is-propped-up-by-the-government" canard Well, actually, any flight to the ISS is a total waste of money as virtually no science is done there. It's just a bunch of people trying to stay alive in a bacteria-ridden tin can.
- untilHellbanned 10y ago
  I'm asking why a company who hasn't done anything novel in the realm of science garners so much attention for its science. The fanboy-ism for SpaceX seems uneducated. Please tell me how I am wrong.
erikpukinskis 10y ago
I wish more space aficionados would admit that it's really about entertainment. SpaceX to Mars is like the world's awesomest reality show. People seem to think it's shameful to admit that something is for entertainment, but I think it's a noble calling to do entertainment well. I think of Elon Musk as a modern day Jacques Cousteau, also a great entertainer. People always make these super slippery arguments about how space research leads to earth inventions and humans need frontiers to stay mentally healthy, all kinds of strange stories to make space exploration seem like a humanitarian pursuit. I think it's just leftover zeal from the U.S. government story that space exploration was important for the country... ... which it was. We needed to stay up on our rocketry game for national defense reasons. I feel it just muddies the true rationale for space when you try to make it about something it's not.

http://waitbutwhy.com/2015/08/how-and-why-spacex-will-colonize-mars.html http://waitbutwhy.com/2015/08/how-and-why-spacex-will-coloni...

fmihaila 10y ago

How about "Money!". Glibness aside, it's a private enterprise and is profitable, so even without mentioning Musk's ultimate goal of colonizing Mars, its existence needs no further justification. It makes money and its shareholders are happy. And before someone jumps in with the "SpaceX-is-propped-up-by-the-government" canard, the U.S. government also saves money when it launches military satellites with SpaceX. According to [1] (among many other sources), SpaceX quotes around $60m, compared to the United Launch Alliance price of about $125m (or even, depending on how you count, $200m). [1] http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/03/ula-executive-admits-company-cannot-compete-with-spacex-on-launch-costs/ http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/03/ula-executive-admits-...

throwaway_exer 10y ago
> And before someone jumps in with the "SpaceX-is-propped-up-by-the-government" canard Well, actually, any flight to the ISS is a total waste of money as virtually no science is done there. It's just a bunch of people trying to stay alive in a bacteria-ridden tin can.
untilHellbanned 10y ago
I'm asking why a company who hasn't done anything novel in the realm of science garners so much attention for its science. The fanboy-ism for SpaceX seems uneducated. Please tell me how I am wrong.

erikpukinskis 10y ago

I wish more space aficionados would admit that it's really about entertainment. SpaceX to Mars is like the world's awesomest reality show. People seem to think it's shameful to admit that something is for entertainment, but I think it's a noble calling to do entertainment well. I think of Elon Musk as a modern day Jacques Cousteau, also a great entertainer. People always make these super slippery arguments about how space research leads to earth inventions and humans need frontiers to stay mentally healthy, all kinds of strange stories to make space exploration seem like a humanitarian pursuit. I think it's just leftover zeal from the U.S. government story that space exploration was important for the country... ... which it was. We needed to stay up on our rocketry game for national defense reasons. I feel it just muddies the true rationale for space when you try to make it about something it's not.