At least no one can complain about a waste of taxpayer funds. I am also inclined to believe that the goals will be more practical.
with a NASA partnership. NASA provide the requirements, private companies build them and execute the program. For other space adventures with more scientific value. It should remain as government projects.
Positives:
- Willingness to try new approaches like the reusable rocket stages of SpaceX
- Less chance of Congress keeping useless initiatives alive just because of which districts they are located in (look at SLS)
- Less expensive access to space
Negatives
- As Jim pointed out, Elon's microsats could be a real problem for earth-based observatories and eventually for other satellites
- Safety will undoubtedly be compromised in human spaceflight. NASA is extremely cautious.
- I don't think private spaceflight will advance pure research other than perhaps making a launch less expensive for Mars probes, etc. NASA does an amazing job in scisnce missions.
We would need to actually criminalize space access to private entities to stop things like that. But that wouldn't actually stop them. They could just launch from somewhere else...and next thing you know, they'd be designing and building their sats in China.
Privatization of space program? Why would you want that? Private companies joining the space race could be good. What might not be good is the accumulation of space junk orbiting the planet. I hear it’s a hazard. I can’t see adding to that problem a good thing.
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when private concerns can do their thing either in conjunction with NASA or just go it alone.
My thoughts are, is a space program all that practical in the first place outside military concerns and why would anyone venture into space other than that?
Not being a downer but the cost is, well, astronomical.
The other main concern is, the more we put into space the more litter we put there. The more of it there the less safe for travel into space when there is need. Not sure when that is. Satellites already create a mess and corps pay NASA to put them there creating a source of income for the country and NASA itself.
So I’d say to privatize NASA gets a big NO. from me.
You seem to be arguing for no space program (no more junk) vs. private/public space junk.
You must be real fun to live with.
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so they need to come to a place like this to work out their anger and show how smart they are. Sad way to live.