I said the day after the election that I had a great feeling of relief, and this sort of explains it. It’s almost like when Saruman’s spell over Théoden was broken.
Bob Zimmerman says the the emphasis should be on doing the Moon best, not on doing it first. I think we could do both, if we can end our risk aversion.
The former NASA administrator is the gift that keeps on giving, if you’re into flaming piles of dog poop.
Former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin recently released an updated version of his dual-launch Artemis plan to get humans to the Moon. It relies on two SLS Block II launches and a lander that doesn't exist.https://t.co/O1YPM97jnI
I’ve lived here for over four decades, but I hadn’t noticed that it’s apparently become a major new tech hub, with a new nickname, despite the hostile California business environment. El Segundo itself is too small to contain all of the new innovation, so it’s spilling over into Hawthorne, Torrance, and even down to Long Beach. But it seems emblematic that SpaceX started here, over two decades ago, before they outgrew it.
[Update a while later]
Sort of related: How American entrepreneurs can keep us ahead of China in space. General Kwast told me a few years ago that he keeps a copy of my book on his desk.
“The American empire may be creaking, and Trump may be extraordinarily unattractive, but an alliance with his new administration is still surely preferable to being dependent on Russian energy, Middle East oil producers, or the cadres in China.”