3 ms·
And that pattern is exactly the reason I’m in favor of restructuring NASA. Get them out of the “big project to nowhere” business and make them a “science and sp
by cydonian_monk 9y ago
And that pattern is exactly the reason I’m in favor of restructuring NASA. Get them out of the “big project to nowhere” business and make them a “science and space traffic control” organization. Maybe even split those two operations off to the FAA and the NSF (or other relevant agencies).
I like NASA, I love (most of) what they’ve done, but they’re increasingly just an expensive political tool.
- hinkley 9y agoThe contractors who build our rockets our the same ones who build [our] war machine. These projects have been, all the way back to Kennedy, about keeping the military industrial complex in business. Another route to go is not incompatible with SpaceX’s mission (I’m not suggesting Musk will save us, just that he’s not as wrong as the feds). Use space flight to prop up the industrial complex instead. We have converted that to military in times of war before. We can do it again if we need to. Stop indulging in war fantasies and get to the belts. Learn if it’s possible to refine materials in low g. Start building things. Destinations.
- pasabagi 9y agoI think it was a little bit more directed than that - a way to conduct advanced ballistic missile research, and to show off how good your ballistic missiles were, without looking too warlike. Before the invention of the Minuteman, the space program was using the same rockets as the ICBMs, I think.