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SpaceX has made a lot of real advancements while delivering real launches. You're thinking of Boeing.

TheOtherHobbes 2y ago
Space in the US has always been extremely political. SpaceX is a more recent kind of politicisation which happens to be palatable to the current neoliberal orthodoxy, which follows the usual cycle of "break something the government runs by defunding it and interfering in its management, privatise it, then crow about how inefficient big government is." If it had been left to the engineers in 1970s NASA and not to anti-science Republican cranks and crooks like Nixon and Proxmire, we would absolutely would have had a moon base and Mars landings long before now.
- robertlagrant 2y ago
  There is a vast gulf of time between the 1970s and SpaceX. The space shuttle alone, fully NASA-run, was a (beautiful-looking) failure long before SpaceX came along. And it was fully government-designed and government-run. It was also astonishingly expensive. Good things can happen in the private sector or the public sector. SpaceX is a good thing happening in the private sector. No one's brain has to go running to Republican-bashing and history compression to counterbalance that to avoid thinking new thoughts.
  - ta1243 2y ago
    The space shuttle had government specified requirements (a single vehicle to do everything including capturing soviet satellites and ferrying people into orbit)
    - pfdietz 2y ago
      It had to do everything because the business case for it (that it would have sufficient ROI) required it. Even then, the business case was basically fraudulent, and the reality was even worse than the critics like Mondale were saying.
- tekla 2y ago
  I have no idea why you think NASA would have gotten to the moon starting in the 70's. Every single dollar was being spent flying the Shuttle and setting up the ISS during the 80s-2010's.
- quacked 2y ago
  No engineer that works for SpaceX, with SpaceX, or is closely connected to engineers who work for SpaceX would agree with your assessment that SpaceX's success is due to: > "break[ing] something the government runs by defunding it and interfering in its management, privatise it, then crow about how inefficient big government is." It is possible that this will occur going forward now that Elon is a de facto government official, though. Also, the engineers in 1970s NASA are what created the Space Shuttle.

Space in the US has always been extremely political. SpaceX is a more recent kind of politicisation which happens to be palatable to the current neoliberal orthodoxy, which follows the usual cycle of "break something the government runs by defunding it and interfering in its management, privatise it, then crow about how inefficient big government is." If it had been left to the engineers in 1970s NASA and not to anti-science Republican cranks and crooks like Nixon and Proxmire, we would absolutely would have had a moon base and Mars landings long before now.

robertlagrant 2y ago
There is a vast gulf of time between the 1970s and SpaceX. The space shuttle alone, fully NASA-run, was a (beautiful-looking) failure long before SpaceX came along. And it was fully government-designed and government-run. It was also astonishingly expensive. Good things can happen in the private sector or the public sector. SpaceX is a good thing happening in the private sector. No one's brain has to go running to Republican-bashing and history compression to counterbalance that to avoid thinking new thoughts.
- ta1243 2y ago
  The space shuttle had government specified requirements (a single vehicle to do everything including capturing soviet satellites and ferrying people into orbit)
  - pfdietz 2y ago
    It had to do everything because the business case for it (that it would have sufficient ROI) required it. Even then, the business case was basically fraudulent, and the reality was even worse than the critics like Mondale were saying.
tekla 2y ago
I have no idea why you think NASA would have gotten to the moon starting in the 70's. Every single dollar was being spent flying the Shuttle and setting up the ISS during the 80s-2010's.
quacked 2y ago
No engineer that works for SpaceX, with SpaceX, or is closely connected to engineers who work for SpaceX would agree with your assessment that SpaceX's success is due to: > "break[ing] something the government runs by defunding it and interfering in its management, privatise it, then crow about how inefficient big government is." It is possible that this will occur going forward now that Elon is a de facto government official, though. Also, the engineers in 1970s NASA are what created the Space Shuttle.