NASA is a sovereign entity that has been around from before Musk was even born. 1958 to be exact.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA does a lot more than Space Exploration. When President Kennedy announced the ambition of landing on the moon, the first astronauts were actually test pilots for military jets and planes. There is a reason every space mission by NASA has a pilot. It is the way this sovereign organization provides for continuity in its achievements. There is always someone ultimately responsible for the crew, ship, and their mission.
I don’t have to discuss the accomplishments of the incredible organization, they make the USA proud. One of its achievements is actually a sacrifice that many wonder if it was a good sacrifice and that was encouraging private sector space companies. A portion of NASA’s budget goes to payment of private space companies to develop and be viable. Those monies leave NASA’s ability to move projects forward when there are cost overruns and there are always cost overruns. Why? Because it is always a developing science and NASA likes to retain their experienced employees for obvious reasons.
Elon Musk would like to do away with NASA and replace it with private space companies. That is a great folly. I remind, this administration is very fluid in it’s loyalty to the USA Constitution and our enemies would love to have the USA without a sovereign space/rocket program.
The USA must always have a sovereign program for national defense and exploring the frontier that is space.
Elon Musk is not a scientist. He is a businessman and his resume proves he is a successful businessman that frequently would involve his brother. Musk’s history is taking novel ideas and make money. He is successful at that. Now, in a change of ambitions yet again he is moving into politics and why? It would appear his current ambitions are about raiding the USA treasury. Never enough money for him, I suppose.
Elon Musk is not the Director of NASA. A very adept Director, Bill Nelson (click here) has been frivolously replaced by Janet Petro. We know nothing about her and her ability to lead. It isn’t like Former Director Nelson was asked for recommendations. I have a lot of questions about these frivolous changes to our government infrastructure and how our national security is impacted.
Does Petro know and favor, holding bias of Musk over our sovereign NASA?
The USA cannot exist without a sovereign space program. The Space Force doesn’t come close to the role that NASA plays in our national defense. I don’t know what is going on administratively with such an abrupt replace for Former Director Nelson, but, it can’t be good. Things are transpiring under the radar and our country may be less secure.
NASA is NOT a business. It was never a business and as I have said before any President that has tried to treat space EXPLORATION as a business has killed astronauts and destroyed space ships. Exploration cannot be rushed.
It is highly unlikely any private space program can do what NASA does. The private industry has different dynamics and has to answer to stockholders. NASA does not. NASA sets priorities and moves on them. Their Mars Rover Program has provided return exponentially. The continued communication with the Voyagers is astounding providing information we could not even have dreamed of knowing, now in interstellar space.
There is no question as far as I am concerned; the USA is a great country spawned by ideas garnered from knowledge acquired from our great universities. This is our brain trust at work.
Let me state that again.
This is our brain trust at work.
THIS IS OUR BRAIN TRUST AT WORK!
We did this. Our great country has gone from breaking the sound barrier to entering interstellar space. That is amazing. It would be very, very wrong to interrupt that success with an idea that private companies can do it so much better. They can’t by their very nature, they haven’t, and their mistakes are still frequent and problematic for OUR sovereign programs.
THE USA MUST NEVER DISSOLVE IT’S SOVEREIGN SPACE PROGRAM.
There needs to be an investigation as to why Director Nelson is no longer leading these magnificent professionals. The president should NEVER be allowed to weed through the ranks of our talent and decide who is a scientist best qualified to do a job. Never. There is never a president that talented.
