10 thoughts on “Light Posting”

  2. I know Jeff reads this blog, so well reasoned Jeff. Well done.

    I’d probably take a little more pro-active stance towards a reorganization of NASA along goals, objectives and missions, with a de-emphasis on the latter. If we as a republic, through our representatives in government, decide that a moon base is a priority, then NASA can be tasked with setting that up, but not an exclusive mission program ala SLS but as a facilitator, ala Artemis. Contracting private industry to do the bulk of the development, but as you say, results based and with teeth. Blow the schedule and you lose more money. Invest your own money and develop a demonstrator, THEN qualify for NASA help. The objective might not be that a moon base remains a NASA facility in perpetuity, but might be handed off (or even sold! gasp!) to an industry consortium or even a single company at some point down the road.

    2. I’m very much concerned that the new Administration will have so much on its plate that it may need to throw Congress a bone or two, and NASA is likely to fall in to that category. So I didn’t want NASA reform to obscure much lower “political cost” measures that could be taken almost immediately.

      1. Well with today’s shocker on the new NASA Administrator nomination, I suspect times at NASA to get interesting soon!

      2. I agree heartily with your recommendation to get OCST out of FAA. Launch and reentry “licensing” ought to be ditched. As to the Experimental Permit, Virgin Galactic’s saga made it clear to everyone willing to think that not only is the EP actually more draconian than launch licensing, if an applicants has a prototype design and is building hardware but didn’t do a system safety analysis prior to first putting pencil to paper, then it is impossible to comply with the rule. Not just difficult: impossible by definition. Other companies have recognized this, and no longer try to use it.

        I could go on (and on), but will just say “nice job, Jeff.”

  3. I get carried away with discussions on space policy and often lose track of the more important stuff, sorry….

    Safe travels and a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours Rand!

  4. SPACE: Are Asteroids Really Worth a Fortune? Here’s What We Know.
    https://instapundit.com/
    link:
    https://www.sciencealert.com/are-asteroids-really-worth-a-fortune-heres-what-we-know

    I tend to think space are valuable, in order to mine water, and to use their impact velocity to shape a planetary surface [instead using nuclear explosive power].
    For water, the space rocks of main belt, rather than NEOs [which would have less in terms the total amounts of water].
    Recently wondering getting water from the moons of Mars, it seems it’s thought they could rubble pile- and rubble pile rocks are imagined they could more water.
    But it seems in terms asteroids nearby Earth, the Mars moons seems the easiest to explore.

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