On Sat, 30 May 2020 17:58:38 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/30/2020 5:40 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 30 May 2020 16:05:35 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:



...was spectacular.

This "new" era of the USA's space program is
mind-boggling for those of us who remember
Alan Shepard's first suborbital flight
in "Freedom 7" 59 years ago.

Even more unique is that America's private
industry has taken over the role of designing
and building this next generation spacecraft.

Still blows my mind that they can land the
first stage back on a small, floating barge
to be re-used.

Congrats to SpaceX, NASA and to Elon Musk,
a true technical visionary.

Should also mention that there are at least
three other private companies developing
spacecraft and rockets for future use.



Thirty years ago who would believe
1. The Russians would be our only way into low earth orbit.

2. Some guy from South Africa would become a multi billionaire from
the internet.

3. That guy would build the rocket NASA couldn't come up with.

4. A record store guy would make space a tourist destination.

Maybe the days of big government doing anything are over. They are
just accounts receivable for technology companies.


We'll never know but had NASA not plowed the early paths to space,
developed the heavy lift rockets to go to the moon (working with
major aerospace companies) and worked out the myriad technical
issues, I wonder if Musk and SpaceX would even exist today.

You have to give NASA credit. As exciting as today's launch was,
landing men on the moon 51 years ago .... (that still amazes me)
and returning to the moon 5 more times over the next 3 years
is still one of mankind's greatest technological achievements.

I blame the shuttle. It was such a black hole or money that it sucked
the whole manned space program dry. We stopped making man rated
boosters.
I also think it really helped the knowledge of space tremendously
because it caused us to send a bunch of robots that did more science
than a few manned missions ever would.
Robots are looking at the whole solar system for a mere fraction of
what a stroll on Mars gives us and a lot of science from everything in
the way.
Let Musk go to Mars, I think we need more robots looking at all the
planets..