Access to space is power. I can only hope the companies allowed to have this access are highly respectful of the people of this nation. We don't need 'loose cannons,' if you will, deciding to expand their capacity to other venues of national priority.
The first time is always the most difficult when security is an issue as well as accomplishment, but, this is a big one. This is more than Blackwater or whatever they call themselves these days. This is also a corporation and if it wants to sell and/or merge there needs to be some military regulations that mediate that process and monitor the activities of this industry. Power is a strange thing, it has its own life and can be dangerous as a instrument in the wrong hands. I hope our military is aware of the activities of these companies. I think it is important they do know what transpires with our national assets and space is one of them.
But, I congratulate these young engineers and their future ventures. It makes the nation proud of them.
Workforce
SpaceX has a workforce of about 1,800, (click here) mostly in Hawthorne and Cape Canaveral. And much like the early days of NASA, the company has a cadre of young engineers -- the average age is in the early 30s -- who have turned down jobs at larger aerospace companies.
