18 thoughts on “Mike Griffin”

  1. No joke. Mike actually did one or two useful things, but he’s bound and determined to make sure everyone remembers him for his CxP screwups instead of the things he did right.

    ~Jon

  3. Sounds like Gov. Perry has his new space advisor

    Yes, because Perry loves the Bush people sooooooo much…

    I see your understanding of Texas politics equals your understanding of space policy.

  4. If Griffin ends up as Perry’s space adviser, that is just one more reason to vote for Mitt Romney instead :-).

  7. I heard Griffin say that there was no cheap way to get to space in a TV interview. It sounded to me like a bearucrat defending turf.

  8. Sadly, there isn’t a cheap way to get to space. Maybe someday the launch costs will be split between more than 3-7 passengers.

  9. There are no cheap ways to get to space, there are however expensive ways (SpaceX) and ungodly expensive ways (NASA).

  10. someday the launch costs will be split between more than 3-7 passengers

    Yes that would bring costs down, but it’s not really costs that are holding us back. Those costs aren’t going to come down drastically anytime soon, so we have to deal with where we are and not where we wish we were.

    Focusing on costs is putting the cart before the horse. It’s a fraudulent show stopper. Cost is not preventing us from moving forward. Costs will naturally come down as we move forward with the right approach. The right approach is showing average people that they can make a life and it can be financed so they can afford it. First then, we must learn to live off the land. Meaning we must first get a research base with enough researchers on the land.

    One rich person alone could fully fund that research.

    Once that research is far enough along, we can open up the solar system because the financing is inherent to the venture. Nothing but mindset is holding us back.

  11. Perry needs to be asked point blank whether he would have anything to do with Griffin if elected.

    Romney is the only Republican candidate that would make me seriously think about voting Libertarian. I despise that opportunistic chameleon almost as much as Obama.

  12. Mark R. Whittington said:
    > So who is Mitt’s space advisor?

    I’m personally hoping that Craig Steidle will advise Republican candidates again, like he did back in 2008.

  13. Yes that would bring costs down, but it’s not really costs that are holding us back. Those costs aren’t going to come down drastically anytime soon, so we have to deal with where we are and not where we wish we were.

    That sounds very much like the president of DEC or HP, just before he kicked Steve Jobs out of his office.

    The right approach is showing average people that they can make a life and it can be financed so they can afford it. First then, we must learn to live off the land. Meaning we must first get a research base with enough researchers on the land.

    Oh, bog! Ken, do you really think spending a hundred billion dollars on a research base will show average people that they can make a life in space? Do you know a lot of average people who have a hundred billion dollars for their own research base?

    Did Apollo convince average people they could go out and buy Saturn V moonrockets?

    The only thing Apollo did was convince average people that they could never afford to go into space.

    The only thing that will convince average people that they can afford to live in space is seeing people do it affordably. That does not mean “affordable only to someone who has keys to the Federal Treasury.”

    One rich person alone could fully fund that research.

    Bill Gates or Warren Buffett could perhaps fund such a base, if he was willing to put his entire fortune into it. Neither of them is inclined to do so.

    It’s hard enough just finding rich people to fund a Google lunar X-prize attempt.

    Rich people will be much more inclined to fund things like this when launch costs go down and thousands of people are traveling into space every year.

    We have the technology to do that right now. We don’t have to colonize the Moon or Mars or Alpha Centauri first.

  14. Thank you for the great question Edward…

    like the president of DEC or HP…

    You think I’m against bringing cost down? I’m not. But to hold up the show (which is to expand our economic sphere exponentially) because many or most don’t have the vision to see that money can be made at current costs just seems stupid to me.

    Do you really think spending a hundred billion dollars on a research base…

    No, I don’t. What I do believe is colonization is key, but we can’t do it until they figure out how. That means very specific focused research. Not general knowledge. What if I showed you we could support a dozen researchers for $50 million, not billion?

    Soon SpaceX will be able to land over 10 mT on the surface of mars for about $100m. That’s a game changer.

    The only thing that will convince average people that they can afford to live in space is seeing people do it affordably.

    You nailed it Edward. We agree completely and absolutely on this point. I’m telling you it is possible today at todays costs with profit for all involved. That’s profit for the bank that makes the mortgage and profit for the colonist who has the morgage. With the right package, the whole trip is paid for and the colonist needs zero down… anybody that wants to could go. Today. (Well, in a few years when we have all the pieces already under construction.)

    It’s hard enough just finding rich people to…

    You are right. One of the reasons is because they don’t know the actual cost is much less than they’ve been told. Like the 90 day report, it’s a vision killer.

    Rich people will be much more inclined…

    Duh! But the first step has to take place.

    We don’t have [technology] to colonize the Moon or Mars or Alpha Centauri first.

    I’ll give you Centauri-A, but if we were determined that too is actually very much in reach. Now that I’ve discredited myself with too much fact, let me tell you…

    We have more than enough tech for mars or the moon. What we need are balls. Everything we know, we can mitigate. Going is the best way to know what we don’t know.

  15. By determined, what I mean is if we knew SOL was going nova in three decades killing everything in our system, we would find a way to send some life to nearby stars.

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