Anyone that’s been paying attention knows that SpaceX is being piled on by several of government alphabet agencies. It’s easy to think that they’re just trying to get even with Musk over the Twitter Files but that misses the mark by a mile. It’s all about NASA.
Back in the day von Braun ruled NASA with an iron fist. Say what you will about von Braun but the fact is that NASA ran like a well oiled machine. Not a single American died in space on his watch. (Yes, I’m aware of the launch pad deaths.) With von Braun’s death NASA started going to hell. Every time their budget came up for review some congress critter would block the budget unless a facility was built in their district/state. Soon enough NASA had a footprint everywhere with many facilities working at cross purposes to each other. They became another one of the poster child’s for ‘bloated bureaucracy.’ BUT, they still had a monopoly on access to space for civilian purposes. What isn’t talked about is that they charge, a LOT, for all of those services.
Along comes Bezos, Musk, and Branson. The most technologically advanced by far is SpaceX. They have the cheapest, most reliable, access to space of them all. It is a full blown commercial operation. No one can compete with them in the arena of launches available and price per Kg payload. What’s even worse from the governments (NASA’s} standpoint is that they’ve built their own launch facilities. All of that space access income, and the jobs associated with same, are now superfluous. SpaceX is effectively cutting NASA and all of its contractors out of the game. If NASA wants to compete they’re going to have to become a much slimmer, more efficient, agency than they are now.
Every congress critter, everyone in NASA, and all of the contractors know this and they’re scared shitless. Consequently every trick in the book is being used to trip SpaceX up. And that is why you’re seeing the FCC, FAA, and DOJ, among others screwing with SpaceX.
The reality is that SpaceX, and its success, is one of the best things that could ever happen from the taxpayer’s point of view.
Back in the day von Braun ruled NASA with an iron fist. Say what you will about von Braun but the fact is that NASA ran like a well oiled machine. Not a single American died in space on his watch. (Yes, I’m aware of the launch pad deaths.) With von Braun’s death NASA started going to hell. Every time their budget came up for review some congress critter would block the budget unless a facility was built in their district/state. Soon enough NASA had a footprint everywhere with many facilities working at cross purposes to each other. They became another one of the poster child’s for ‘bloated bureaucracy.’ BUT, they still had a monopoly on access to space for civilian purposes. What isn’t talked about is that they charge, a LOT, for all of those services.
Along comes Bezos, Musk, and Branson. The most technologically advanced by far is SpaceX. They have the cheapest, most reliable, access to space of them all. It is a full blown commercial operation. No one can compete with them in the arena of launches available and price per Kg payload. What’s even worse from the governments (NASA’s} standpoint is that they’ve built their own launch facilities. All of that space access income, and the jobs associated with same, are now superfluous. SpaceX is effectively cutting NASA and all of its contractors out of the game. If NASA wants to compete they’re going to have to become a much slimmer, more efficient, agency than they are now.
Every congress critter, everyone in NASA, and all of the contractors know this and they’re scared shitless. Consequently every trick in the book is being used to trip SpaceX up. And that is why you’re seeing the FCC, FAA, and DOJ, among others screwing with SpaceX.
The reality is that SpaceX, and its success, is one of the best things that could ever happen from the taxpayer’s point of view.
