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SpaceX created a reusable first stage in ~10 years, for less than NASA spends in a single year. In that same time period NASA spent a quarter of a TRILLION doll

SpaceX created a reusable first stage in ~10 years, for less than NASA spends in a single year. In that same time period NASA spent a quarter of a TRILLION dollars… to send out a handful of probes. NASA does interesting things, sure, but nothing that the private sector couldn’t do in half the time for 1/10th the sticker price. The government may have contributed to the discovery of nuclear power, but for the last 50 years it has been the largest impediment to nuclear power.

wolverine876 3y ago
> NASA does interesting things, sure, but nothing that the private sector couldn’t do in half the time for 1/10th the sticker price. The private sector has never done anything like what NASA has accomplished, and NASA is far and away the most successful explorers and engineers in human history. I have no reason to believe anyone else could do it. Has Space-X left Earth orbit? > NASA spent a quarter of a TRILLION dollars… to send out a handful of probes Look at NASA's budget (or any other source) and you'll find they do far, far more. The all caps, btw, are against HN guidelines. Why have so many started using them this week?
- marcusverus 3y ago
  > The private sector has never done anything like what NASA has accomplished Nonsense. NASA spent 50 years using disposable lift vehicles. Only the government could bring itself to create single-use articles that cost hundreds of millions of dollars. SpaceX has fixed this by building the Falcon 9, which is not only reusable, it has the highest success rate of any orbital rocket in human history. They're not only "doing something like what NASA has accomplished", they are objectively doing it better and far, far cheaper. > and NASA is far and away the most successful explorers and engineers in human history. I have no reason to believe anyone else could do it. No belief necessary. SpaceX has already done it. > Has Space-X left Earth orbit? Yes. > Look at NASA's budget (or any other source) and you'll find they do far, far more. My point wasn't that they didn't do a bunch of stuff, but rather that they didn't do enough to justify their $0.25 Trillion per-decade budget. > The all caps, btw, are against HN guidelines. Ah, I see that in the guidelines. I'll avoid them in the future, thanks!
  - wolverine876 3y ago
    NASA has done so much more than lift vehicles. To focus only on that doesn't address the question. What exploration and engineering has SpaceX done to match NASA (except in one narrow area). NASA has a telescope at L2 looking back over 13 billion years, a helicopter flying on Mars, it has left the Solar System, it has satellites and probes all over orbit and other planets.

wolverine876 3y ago

> NASA does interesting things, sure, but nothing that the private sector couldn’t do in half the time for 1/10th the sticker price. The private sector has never done anything like what NASA has accomplished, and NASA is far and away the most successful explorers and engineers in human history. I have no reason to believe anyone else could do it. Has Space-X left Earth orbit? > NASA spent a quarter of a TRILLION dollars… to send out a handful of probes Look at NASA's budget (or any other source) and you'll find they do far, far more. The all caps, btw, are against HN guidelines. Why have so many started using them this week?

marcusverus 3y ago
> The private sector has never done anything like what NASA has accomplished Nonsense. NASA spent 50 years using disposable lift vehicles. Only the government could bring itself to create single-use articles that cost hundreds of millions of dollars. SpaceX has fixed this by building the Falcon 9, which is not only reusable, it has the highest success rate of any orbital rocket in human history. They're not only "doing something like what NASA has accomplished", they are objectively doing it better and far, far cheaper. > and NASA is far and away the most successful explorers and engineers in human history. I have no reason to believe anyone else could do it. No belief necessary. SpaceX has already done it. > Has Space-X left Earth orbit? Yes. > Look at NASA's budget (or any other source) and you'll find they do far, far more. My point wasn't that they didn't do a bunch of stuff, but rather that they didn't do enough to justify their $0.25 Trillion per-decade budget. > The all caps, btw, are against HN guidelines. Ah, I see that in the guidelines. I'll avoid them in the future, thanks!
- wolverine876 3y ago
  NASA has done so much more than lift vehicles. To focus only on that doesn't address the question. What exploration and engineering has SpaceX done to match NASA (except in one narrow area). NASA has a telescope at L2 looking back over 13 billion years, a helicopter flying on Mars, it has left the Solar System, it has satellites and probes all over orbit and other planets.