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I would buy your argument if they weren’t assuming the benefits of SLS before it’s proven. Why give SLS, but not Starship, the benefit of the doubt?
by natch 5y ago
I would buy your argument if they weren’t assuming the benefits of SLS before it’s proven. Why give SLS, but not Starship, the benefit of the doubt?
- ClumsyPilot 5y agoBecause Nasa is calling the shots on SLS, but Elon could cancell starship with a tweet, or OD on crack and kick the bucket, or go bancrupt, or end up in jail for calling someone a pedo. There is a real non-zero risk of something bad gappebing to him and then future of SpaceX is in question, its not a robust institution like NASA
- panick21_ 5y agoElon going to prison would not stop Starship. Neither would it stop if he died. And in some absurd crazy scenario NASA could basically 'take' it because its relevant for future mission. NASA has done so before if a company they needed went bankrupt. SLS depends on a incredibly long list of suppliers. Far longer then Starship.
- ncallaway 5y agoI don't think NASA really wants to give the benefit of the doubt to SLS. It's a congressionally mandated program, that NASA regularly proposes reducing the budget and responsibility for (e.g. https://spacenews.com/nasa-budget-proposal-targets-sls/ https://spacenews.com/nasa-budget-proposal-targets-sls/), and Congress regularly rebuffs them and demands SLS. If Congress passes a budget with $7B in funding specifically for SLS, you can't really blame NASA for spending that money on SLS.