I heard on the radio that the first stage was Russian built.
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The Space Industry needs to become the domain of private industry.
To guarantee continued advancement on our path toward becoming
a multi-planet species, we need most of the space industry running
on the rails of the greatest engine of creation ever know -- that being Capitalism.
Nasa is a bloated governement agency too often curtailed by a bunch of old guys
deciding they don't want to work hard, and instead going out to enjoy the day at
the California coast.
Is private space industry young, at the moment. Yes. That's why we need to get
started now, before it's too late !!
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I have a dream. It entails a global space agency.
Not going to happen. The 60's space race started off as a way of demonstrating that our rockets could hit Russia and theirs could hit us, without actually doing so. To this day, many of the companies that build parts for NASA (and private space corporations) are also defense contractors, again using parts, designs, and software that is primarily intendeded for military applications. The same basic guidance systems used to control the various crafts are also used to pinpoint where missiles hit.
If we had a global space agency, that would mean that the US could possibly leak similar information to hostile nations or even our allies that would use such technology to suprress their own people. No, best to keep such technology away from governments that make ours look like fluffy kittens.
Nasa is a bloated governement agency too often curtailed by a bunch of old guys deciding they don't want to work hard, and instead going out to enjoy the day at the California coast.
Actually, NASA is relatively efficient for a government agency (not saying they are perfect, just better than the DMV, etc). Their single biggest problems are being constantly underfunded and suffering from an ever-changing goal. Every President since Reagan has directed NASA to pursue some goal, which was not the goal of the previous administration nor the administration before that. When you work on a 15 year project and you have to effectively scrap it every 4/8 years, it is hard to get something solid accomplished.
The private sector is good for long term space development if for no other reason that they can keep their eye on the goal past the next election cycle.
Nasa is a bloated governement agency too often curtailed by a bunch of old guys deciding they don't want to work hard, and instead going out to enjoy the day at the California coast.Actually, NASA is relatively efficient for a government agency (not saying they are perfect, just better than the DMV, etc). Their single biggest problems are being constantly underfunded and suffering from an ever-changing goal. Every President since Reagan has directed NASA to pursue some goal, which was not the goal of the previous administration nor the administration before that. When you work on a 15 year project and you have to effectively scrap it every 4/8 years, it is hard to get something solid accomplished.
The private sector is good for long term space development if for no other reason that they can keep their eye on the goal past the next election cycle.
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You've made my point.
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