Loren Grush has a good summary. Everyone recognizes that this is going nowhere, but the monster rocket people don’t care.
2 thoughts on “Today’s Congressional Hearing On #JourneyToMars”
Comments are closed.
Loren Grush has a good summary. Everyone recognizes that this is going nowhere, but the monster rocket people don’t care.
Comments are closed.
Every time SLS comes up, I think of this comedy classic. Especially the repeated question ‘And what are they for?’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0jgZKV4N_A
Given how much funding NASA needs, the committee says it is even more critical that the agency develop a concrete plan, especially with a new presidential election on the horizon. A clear vision will be necessary to receive the money and support needed from a new administration. Otherwise, the initiatives face the risk of cancellation.
I’ve said before that this is exactly the problem with a government-run space program in a democratic society. Whenever the government changes hands, programs begun by the previous party in power are at risk of cancellation. The party coming into power wants to put their own stamp on things, and more importantly, they have their own cronies to enrich.
A more authoritarian government has a better chance of staying on course, but even the Soviet Union had infighting and jockeying for position among the various state design bureaus.
The private sector and the free market are the only way we’re ever going to get anywhere.
(Great link, pennypincher.)