On SpaceX and Related Matters

There is much talk about harnessing the power of private industry in reaching for the stars. And yet it wasn’t private industry that got us to the Moon.

It was, however, private industry and private greed that got us into the mortgage crisis we’re in now.

For all the talk about how government agencies are inherently socialistic, NASA is no more a victim of socialism than our armed forces, and yet I find it interesting that, except for libertarians, conservatives who disparage the government always draw the line at funding the armed forces. Perhaps we could avoid all the NASA-bashing by making NASA the fifth branch of the armed services.

But to be fair, it isn’t right to say that private industry has no role in space exploration, either. Both sides of this debate have their points. It’s just that it is quite disappointing that SpaceX has failed so many times so long after NASA had already pioneered the essential aspects of spacecraft launch and staging. Must we always reinvent the wheel, after all, and exactly how many times shall we do so?