/sci/ - Science & Math

>>11799075
>>11799069
>>11799065
>>11799061
>Space is hard. This was maybe my answer to Elon, whom, as much as I admire him, I do quibble with. NASA had a very MIC philosophy: that if no-bid contract winner was a paid, the elevation of human knowledge would prosper. We look at real history and it’s not that simple. Elon can say that SpaceX sends men and materiel to space for a fraction of the cost and figured out a way to reuse rocket boosters, and was humanity's best hope at conquering Mars. But Elon doesn’t ask the question: Will NASA continue to pay if he runs grossly over-schedule? Did he maintain a standing army? Doesn't the contract money run out if he accomplishes the task? And what about those rocket boosters? By the end of development, the Falcon Heavy was able to recover its boosters on barges in the sea with apparent ease – they’re then reused. Did Elon even think that he could be laid more money to continually manufacture new ones? Even those little Starlink satellites, have a few drop out of their little orbits so he can get money to build more.