Why NASA's Annoyed About Elon Musk's Giant Rocket [not]

Space dot dumb, er, com ^ | Monday, October 7, 2019 | Rafi Letzter

[SunkenCiv]

The Starship MK1 assembled at SpaceX's build and launch facility in Texas.

On Sept. 30, Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, told CNN that the Crew Dragon would be ready to carry astronauts into space in three to four months. But NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told CNN he wasn't convinced, and due to delays from SpaceX and Boeing (which is at work on a similarly delayed, competitor capsule called Starliner), he anticipated NASA buying more seats aboard Russian capsules... "I am looking forward to the SpaceX announcement. In the meantime, Commercial Crew is years behind schedule. NASA expects to see the same level of enthusiasm focused on the investments of the American taxpayer. It's time to deliver," he said... So why is SpaceX building two ships, and why is the company in a public tiff with the NASA administrator? Crew Dragon is SpaceX's answer to a problem that began after NASA retired its space shuttle program, with its last flight in July 2011. At the time, the space agency didn't have any other space vehicle ready to ferry people and supplies into low Earth orbit where the International Space Station sits. (Since then, NASA has relied on Russian vehicles to travel to the ISS.)

[SunkenCiv]

Elon Musk and NASA chief give an update on SpaceX's astronaut spacecraft -- 10/10/2019

[SunkenCiv]

DeepFake - 2021: A Space Odyssey with Elon Musk (Impressive But Chilling Video) | Ctrl Shift Face | Aug 28th, 2019 | me | Posted on 08/28/2019 5:38:35 PM PDT by gaijin

[max americana]

NASA is jealous of how big Musk’s rocket? Sounds like high school stuff..

[Da Coyote]

Everything associated with our current gubmit is corrupt. IMHO, the military is least corrupt, but not to worry, Dorkbama the Muslim eunuch quota chicken has placed more than a few milquetoast officers in each branch to start the infection. Hopefully they can be...er...well, pick a word.

[SunkenCiv]

Space dot com is a tiresome website more concerned about their business model than about reporting space news -- which is in part because there isn't really all that much space news from day to day. If they had any sense, they'd serialize transcripts of events like the video I linked up there.

Bridenstine was just doing his job, part of which is to show how responsibly NASA is now using taxpayer money, now that muzzie outreach and global warming horse**** is out of the agency. If anything, he and Musk should get a room, geez. :^) It's no wonder though that Musk gets pissed off, although I think he handled it well, must be new meds or aromatherapy or something.

[SunkenCiv]

Uh, redacted? That’s not the word I picked first, but I redacted that one.

[Vaquero]

I love his new giant stainless steel rocket. Looks like a 50s sci fi Rocket.

[DoodleBob]

Let me state upfront, that I believe NASA is on questionable Constitutional footing. There is no enumerated Article 1, Section 8 power granted to the Congress to establish NASA or its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Indeed, NACA grew out a desire for "scientific study of the problems of flight with a view to their practical solution." Maybe there is a military angle to NASA's existence, but the libertarian in me thinks NASA should be privatized.

That said...

I'm VERY impressed with how the New Horizons program was managed, run, dealt with a Safe Mode problem a few days before the Pluto flyby (and in the midst of July 4 celebrations) and delivered the goods....and THEN moved on to Ultima Thule.

If the rest of NASA was as "progressive" as New Horizons, that would be awesome. But it NASA is privatized, please keep Musk away from it.

[airborne]

Behind schedule and over budget?

[SunkenCiv]

We think alike. And I'm on board with the idea of a big-assed booster, although I'm neither figuratively nor will I be literally on board with sending a couple busloads-worth of gullible marks to certain death on Mars.

[SunkenCiv]

Yes, behind schedule, over budget -- what's the gubmint complaining about? That's not a four leaf clover.

[Viking2002]

The more I look at his big, fancy chrome ship, the more I can see that thing coming apart in-flight.

[SunkenCiv]

Stainless steel, heavier than carbon fiber, but requires less weight in heat sheilding, costs less, and can be fabricated in a shirtsleeve environment, or even outdoors.