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Maybe not during Mercury, but definitely during the 70s all the technology was there to build a cheap, reusable rocket and capsule. The dream was that the shut

Maybe not during Mercury, but definitely during the 70s all the technology was there to build a cheap, reusable rocket and capsule. The dream was that the shuttle could be that system, but it did not turn out that way. And giving in to the 'sunk cost fallacy' they supported the shuttle for the next 40 years. Arguably you could say we are 50 years behind where we should be. Unfortunately driving down costs is probably the hardest thing for any government organization to do. Given that there is no competition, no shareholders, no profit motive etc..

paulryanrogers 6y ago
Didn't Space X also benefit from NASA launch facilities? I imagine their payroll also includes quite a few NASA trained people too. They certainly aren't doing rocket science from scratch or in a vacuum. Not too say this isn't a big deal. Just that it's not all Elon and his wunderkind.
- ta17711771 6y ago
  Some are meant to teach, others are meant to do. NASA and their bureaucracy have been sliding out of the "do" category for some time.
  - bargle0 6y ago
    They’ve been doing plenty, but it’s all in unmanned missions.
    - ghaff 6y ago
      Furthermore, NASA has always relied heavily on the aerospace/defense industry and related organizations to design and build spacecraft.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- chipsa 6y ago
  SpaceX leases the launch pad and Eastern Range, but those are paid either on a yearly basis, or per use. The NASA/DoD personnel that support the launch are getting paid whether there's a launch or not, because they're needed for any launch from the Cape.
- acheron9383 6y ago
  Yeah of course, SpaceX would be stupid to not use the resources NASA will make available for them. Honestly, NASA would probably much rather be out of the business of building rockets, so they can focus on the next generation of space experiments. The less money NASA has to spend on hauling stuff into space, the more they can spend on what they put up there.
  - dingaling 6y ago
    > NASA would probably much rather be out of the business of building rockets NASA has never been in the business of building tickets. Mercury went up on Army's Redstone, Gemini on Air Force Titan. Routine launches are on ICBM-derived Atlas and Titan. Boeing and Douglas built Saturn V, Rockwell built the shuttle orbiter.

paulryanrogers 6y ago

Didn't Space X also benefit from NASA launch facilities? I imagine their payroll also includes quite a few NASA trained people too. They certainly aren't doing rocket science from scratch or in a vacuum. Not too say this isn't a big deal. Just that it's not all Elon and his wunderkind.

ta17711771 6y ago
Some are meant to teach, others are meant to do. NASA and their bureaucracy have been sliding out of the "do" category for some time.
- bargle0 6y ago
  They’ve been doing plenty, but it’s all in unmanned missions.
  - ghaff 6y ago
    Furthermore, NASA has always relied heavily on the aerospace/defense industry and related organizations to design and build spacecraft.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
chipsa 6y ago
SpaceX leases the launch pad and Eastern Range, but those are paid either on a yearly basis, or per use. The NASA/DoD personnel that support the launch are getting paid whether there's a launch or not, because they're needed for any launch from the Cape.
acheron9383 6y ago
Yeah of course, SpaceX would be stupid to not use the resources NASA will make available for them. Honestly, NASA would probably much rather be out of the business of building rockets, so they can focus on the next generation of space experiments. The less money NASA has to spend on hauling stuff into space, the more they can spend on what they put up there.
- dingaling 6y ago
  > NASA would probably much rather be out of the business of building rockets NASA has never been in the business of building tickets. Mercury went up on Army's Redstone, Gemini on Air Force Titan. Routine launches are on ICBM-derived Atlas and Titan. Boeing and Douglas built Saturn V, Rockwell built the shuttle orbiter.