• GregorGizeh@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Just for clarification, why is him pocketing the American public funds supposed to go to nasa an accomplishment? he took something that every American shared in, even the whole world shared in during the space race, and made it his private plaything he can exploit for profit in the future m.

    • Bimfred@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Because NASA, with nearly 30 billion in funding and using technology designed half a century ago, took 11 years to build a Shuttle cosplaying as a Saturn V. They were legally mandated to. That’s not a dig at NASA, it’s a dig at the morons who hold their purse strings.

      In roughly the same timeframe, SpaceX developed two brand new engines, both of which have amazing performance in their weight class. They developed a reusable medium lift rocket that’s now one of the most reliable launch vehicles ever. Now they’re working on a fully reusable super heavy launcher that’s capable of interplanetary missions. And they did all that without NASA’s budget.

      Private launch companies, of which SpaceX is only one, allow for faster development, faster innovation and cheaper launches. They’re actually saving taxpayers money. And the amounts that NASA does pay them don’t just vanish into the CEOs’ pockets the moment the payment clears. It goes to engineers, maintenance workers, construction workers, caterers, everyone employed by these companies and their suppliers.