@michaelgemar @lkngrrr @mattblaze @TransitBiker
#WallOfText

As someone who remembers watching the hearing on C-SPAN where they decided to make this possible, this is interesting. Musk was asking to launch things for N.A.S.A. only to be politely told the laws had to be changed before that could happen. As someone who paid more attention to space than most & had a friend work for N.A.S.A. after graduation, I had been frustrated by the public money bottleneck into space. Adding a non-state option seemed like a good thing.

Later, on the radio, during an unrelated interview, another (not Musk) business-owner was asked if capitalist motivations wouldn't kill an regular civilian eventually. The businessman shouted back enthusiastically, "yes!" They wanted so many workers & homesteaders that the first pedestrian death in space would be inevitable. Like with the billionaire submarine recently, like with the recent Boeing software glitch, & like with the Challeneger at N.A.S.A., the problems were introduced by managers who lacked expertise within their own fields. (For those keeping score: Stockton Rush, McDonnell Douglas' executive team, & Ronald Reagan's staff.) All of them overrode an engineer(s) who knew better. This is why competent management is something you shouldn't leave to business majors. They think you win by bullying everyone, but lose when they try to bully the physics. The engineer with a passion is the only important voice in safety because they know where the matter breaks.

#NodsKnowingly
#BudgetAccountability
#SpaceX
#NasaHistory