Who Needs NASA?

There were a couple of life-threatening problems with Monday's private space ship launch, but as we all know, they made it through unscathed. Check out this triumphant picture!

Comments

[Madog]

I think the fact that the craft suffered several serious problems and was still able to complete it's mission and return safely says a lot for private enterprise.

[Hanah Metchis]

I totally agree. Anyway, it's not like NASA's never screwed anything up.

[Kirsten]

First, to my knowledge the craft suffered one serious problem and one minor problem. And since this is a test flight, that is not a surprise. Failures are a part of the design process.

It speaks well of private enterprise that the problems are being worked out in the design phase and not in the operational phase as the government has done with the Space Shuttle resulting in the deaths of many astronauts.

[KentInDC]

Speaking of NASA, several months prior to the Challenger disaster Discovery magazine had an entire issue devoted to the Space Shuttle. Most articles dealt with it being a mistake to build it in the first place. I wish I had not loaned the magazine to a friend. I lived in Huntsville, AL in the late seventies and a NASA engineer at Marshall SFC told me that the only reason the space shuttle would be completed was to avoid the embarrassment that would accompany abandoning the project after so much hype.

[Luisa]

Uh, the technology used by "private enterprise" here is NASA's -- developed with taxpayer funds. Not that I approve of feds taking my money for anything unrelated to basic assurances of freedom, health and safety. I'm totally opposed to funding most NASA activities. But the idea of this as a triumph of private enterprise is silly.

[Rick Barton]

I am one of those who love space exploration, especially when it impinges on some of the big cosmological questions. But, it is clearly not an ethical for it to be financed by the government. I cannot justify forcing others to pay for the entertainment of my intellectual curiosity. It isn't any more fair to those who don't share my interest to force them to subsidize it then it is to force taxpayers to subsidize the building of new stadiums for NFL franchise owners.

The most expensive tools of astronomical exploration used to be the huge telescopes and they were largely funded with non-government money. Many people love space exploration and it seems that their numbers and enthusiasm would afford many commercial and charity avenues for the financing of space exploration. There are currently other private satellite launch companies in operation as well as hundreds of organizations for astronomy/space enthusiasts.

If space exploration were privatized there would be a motivation for those doing it to both educate the lay community about it as well as to cater to their scientific interests in order to generate donor support from them. This dynamic would tend to more actively involve the general public in the enterprise then they are with the taxpayer funded space program.

The political power wielded by those who receive tax dollars for the government space program could well prove a formidable obstacle to eliminating it. Perhaps a way to over come this obstacle and transition into private space exploration would be to give tax credits to those who make donations to non-government space exploration during the transition period.

[anarcho are mostly idiots]

I was wondering how long before some ananarcho-purist asshole decided to take their usual dump on this achievement...

"But the idea of this as a triumph of private enterprise is silly."

What poop. So using anything invented by taxmoney is now statism, even if used by free enterprise? Well back to living in caves.

It is imbeciles like this that give free enterprise advocates a bad name.

[D Anghelone]

This is like X-15 in re-run.

[Mark S.]

Lusia isn't an "anarcho," free market or otherwise. The following sentense is a dead give-a-way:

"Not that I approve of feds taking my money for anything unrelated to basic assurances of freedom, health and safety."

If anything, she's a statist who wants to piss on the parade.

[Ricky]

Perhaps NASA has served a good purpose in jump starting private space exploration. Space travel is not like ocean voyages and I don't think that it is an obvious fact that private enterprises would have grabbed on to it without the NASA base to build on.

[Kirsten]

Luisa wrote, "Uh, the technology used by "private enterprise" here is NASA's -- developed with taxpayer funds."

Luisa, which technology in particular are you referring to here, under what government program was it developed, and in what timeframe?

[thoreau]

Whatever the genesis of this technology, however right or wrong it was for it to come about this way, I'm just glad to see a small step toward commercial space travel. And not even for the ideologically correct reasons that I'm supposed to give (those who want that should read their Libertarian Catechism and recite 10 Hail Murrays).

I'm excited because commercial space travel will open it to more people and for more purposes. And because I could never in a million years pass NASA's astronaut selection criteria.

Those who want to point fingers and cry "Tainted!" are free to do so. And I'm free to ignore them.

[sjvan]

Uh, the technology used by "private enterprise" here is NASA's -- developed with taxpayer funds.

Which technology? NASA has never done hybrid rocket engines, nor did they invent rockets to begin with. The re-entry method was developed by Burt and is entirely novel. Computers? No, commercial. Jet engines? No, GE, I believe. Now, the airfoil shape may have been one of the NACA designs, but that is true of practically every airplane on the planet.

[matt]

I love that sign....

[Gadfly]

The first time one of these turkeys drops into the water, spins off into space or kills a civilian they'll be begging for a little government assistance.

[Michael Christenson]

Personally I'm looking forward to rapid space exploration to the stars. IMO, it will mean many more IT related jobs than they're are IT personnel to fill the positions, and a good IT boom again. I want to be the first freelance programmer on a long term private ship; maybe to research for a mining facility or new base.

🙂

One can only hope it comes in their lifetime.

[Andrew Lynch]

SpaceShipOne represents something wonderful, and no, Kirsten, I don't have any documentation to back up that comment.

Gadfly, you're probably right and probably wrong. It doesn't make sense that the American companies racing for the XPrize would turn to the government for money. In fact, that may a qualification for receiving the prize (no, Kirsten, I haven't checked to see if that's true).

Since SpaceShipOne required FAA approval to even launch, there's already a framework for future guv intervention/regulation/suppression (see: CLAWS). I don't think problems will arise in the form of explorers looking to government for shielding from their failures. Instead, it's more likely that a hysterical government -- spearheaded by some shrill Senator, take your pick -- will swoop in at the first opportunity to "manage" any kind of "problems" these private ventures encounter.

[KentInDC]

Frank Whittle came up with the idea for the jet engine while working for the British Air Ministry and applied for a patent in 1930. However, I seriously doubt his government job was the source of his inspiration. Later, while at Cambridge (from which he graduated in two years), he formed a company to build a jet engine. His first jet exceeded 500 mph before the US entered WWII. That must have been an amazing sight.

Rutan has done some pretty amazing stuff with funds that wouldn't pay for a government feasability study.

[Rocket Man]

Rick Barton,

If you ever want to run for office, you have my vote!

[Pro Libertate]

If Scaled Composites received funding or in-kind support from the government, then SpaceShipOne would not be eligible for the X-Prize. Other than here, I've heard no suggestion of such public sector support.

If the idea is that Rutan built upon the shared aeronautics heritage that NASA is part of, well, I'm not sure what that means. You could equally say that the Russian space program helped him out. Anyway, there are plenty of unique features to this sytem--the plane and spaceplace differ quite a bit from what NASA did with the X-15, for instance.

From the X-Prize Competition Guidelines (http://www.xprize.org/teams/guidelines.html):

2. Flight vehicles will have to be privately financed and built. Entrants will be precluded from using a launch vehicle substantially developed under a government contract or grant. Entrants will be prohibited from receiving any direct funding, subsidies, and grants of money, goods, or services from any government (or otherwise tax-supported entity). Entrants will be permitted to utilize government facilities if access to such facilities is generally available to all entrants. Any such goods or services used in connection with the competition must be available to other entrants on similar terms. Entrants will be permitted to utilize subsystems previously developed by a government agency that are currently available on a commercial or equal-access government-surplus basis, or for which manufacturing rights and specifications are available on an equal-access basis

[D Anghelone]

...the plane and spaceplace differ quite a bit from what NASA did with the X-15, for instance.

As to be expected with the 40 year interim. But I don't believe that Rutan has yet matched the speed or altitude of X-15. And then there's the shoulda-been X-20.

I wish them the best but they have a way to go to induce that old tingle.

[Michael Kielsky]

For more background on the sign, and who brought it:

The signs were made and the trip to the launch were organized by a number of Arizona libertarian activists, in the name of the Western Libertarian Alliance and The "L" Factor (http://westernlibertarian.org & http://theLfactor.org).

Among others, joining were:

Barry Hess, former presidential candidate (& former candidate for Arizona Governor)
Ernest Hancock, talkshow host & candidate for Senator from Arizona, with his sons
Powell Gammill, candidate for Congress from Arizona (CD 2)
Michael Kielsky, candidate for Congress from Arizona (CD 5), with his family

Some more photographs are available at:

http://www.westernlibertarian.org/ss1_pics.htm

Sign being handed to pilot:

http://www.westernlibertarian.org/ss1/06-21-2004%20SpaceShipOne%20043.JPG

Pilot holding sign:

http://www.westernlibertarian.org/ss1/06-21-2004%20SpaceShipOne%20044.JPG

and

http://www.westernlibertarian.org/ss1/06-21-2004%20SpaceShipOne%20045.JPG

and

http://www.westernlibertarian.org/ss1/06-21-2004%20SpaceShipOne%20046.JPG

In the hangar:

http://www.westernlibertarian.org/ss1/06-21-2004%20SpaceShipOne%20047.JPG

and

http://www.westernlibertarian.org/ss1/06-21-2004%20SpaceShipOne%20048.JPG

Ernie in the hangar holding a sign:

http://www.westernlibertarian.org/ss1/06-21-2004%20SpaceShipOne%20049.JPG

and

http://www.westernlibertarian.org/ss1/06-21-2004%20SpaceShipOne%20052.JPG
(guess the name of the VIP)

and

http://www.westernlibertarian.org/ss1/06-21-2004%20SpaceShipOne%20053.JPG

-- Michael Kielsky
Libertarian Candidate for U.S. Congress
Arizona Congressional District 5
http://elect.kielsky.com

Arizona Libertarian Party
http://azlp.org

This year, The "L" Factor!
http://theLfactor.org

[paul nelson]

ten million dollars was enough to bring out many competitors for private space planes. The Hubble telescope is being abandoned. How great a prize must be offered to bring out people to save the Hubble?

[paul nelson]

ten million dollars was enough to bring out many competitors for private space planes. The Hubble telescope is being abandoned. How great a prize must be offered to bring out people to save the Hubble?

[MALAK]

My understanding was that Hubble was being abandoned to make way for a new, better system. Am I mistaken?

[Rick Barton]

Rocket Man,

Thank you very much. I'm not running for any office. But, if you ever think that you might actually vote for Bush, Kerry or Nader and for some reason, (I can't imagine what) you don't want to vote for Badnarik for president, by all means, write me in.

If I win I will do my best to privatize space exploration. How ethical and productive it will be!