[logi_cal869]

I thought this was going to be a fawning thread about Musk; thankfully not...I enjoyed my dinner.

I think a bit of accurate history is in order in the wake of the attention-hoar Musk:

Antares rocket engines lean on Russian moon legacy

Aerojet imported the engines to the United States in the 1990s in an effort to develop a commercial rocket to launch U.S. military satellites. The California-based propulsion company competed to supply engines for the Atlas 5 rocket, which was then under development by Lockheed Martin Corp.

Lockheed Martin selected another Russian engine to power the Atlas 5's first stage, leaving Aerojet with a stock of three dozen NK-33 engines at the company's headquarters in Sacramento, Calif.

Aerojet modified the NK-33 engines by adding a gimbal mechanism for steering, installing modern instrumentation, and qualifying the engines for U.S. propellants, according to Julie Van Kleeck, vice president of space programs for Aerojet.

Following Lockheed Martin's decision to use another engine, the NK-33 engines appeared to be left in the dust for a second time until Orbital Sciences came along with a proposal for the Antares rocket - then called the Taurus 2 - in 2007.

Once Orbital's Antares rocket was selected by NASA to supply the International Space Station, the company purchased 20 of the engines from Aerojet to power 10 launches - two test flights and eight operational missions, according to Kurt Eberly, deputy Antares project director at Orbital Sciences.

Mocking aside, it was NASA that both made the selection and saw fit to let domestic rocket research get to the point of using Russian/Soviet rockets, launches & engines.

Musk's egotistical mocking surely wasn't heard well at NASA...causing him to tone it down to get his cushy 'sharing' portion of the Boeing contract. Surely his crew were not happy to see that story recirculated (me? Smiling).

Seriously: What better representation of how a Progressive works than to use your clout to get NASA more involved in 'climate change' and less involved in its core missions...and be there with open arms to reap the benefits of more Federal dollars to add to your portfolio of Federal & State subsidies while riding high on an emotionally-supercharged stock with little basis in value reality.

NASA: What a joke. Were leading progressives on board the rocket? (in my dreams)

[LogicDesigner]

I would think you would be more supportive of Musk considering SpaceX is trying to privatize space travel and offering competition to the entrenched players. He thinks he can reduce the current high costs by building reusable rockets. Their rockets have already successfully landed on their legs. Below are a few of their test launches in action, and here is a video of their one kilometer up and down test that is even more impressive.