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NASA chief suggests SpaceX may be booted from moon mission

(www.cnn.com)
404 points voxleone | 5 comments | 21 Oct 25 12:58 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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xnx ◴[21 Oct 25 18:57 UTC] No.45660033[source]▶
The best outcome would be the cancellation of manned moon missions. The original space race was a pissing match between the US and USSR. I would've hoped we had matured past that.
replies(1): >>45660104 #
1. themafia ◴[21 Oct 25 19:01 UTC] No.45660104[source]▶
Which would be a salient point if _nothing_ of value came out of the space program. That's about as far from reality as you can get.

The primary, chartered, goal of NASA is to create a commercial space industry. Ignoring this is a sign of extreme immaturity.

replies(2): >>45660393 #>>45660542 #
2. xnx ◴[21 Oct 25 19:21 UTC] No.45660393[source]▶
Space exploration is great, but manned missions are dictated by vanity and congressional pork more than scientific needs.
replies(2): >>45660815 #>>45661342 #
3. notahacker ◴[21 Oct 25 19:31 UTC] No.45660542[source]▶
The thing is, NASA has already a great job creating a commercial space industry, much of it since the Space Race. The more salient question is whether manned return to the moon missions on vanity timelines are a better way to boost the commercial space industry than the research programmes that got slashed.
4. ApolloFortyNine ◴[21 Oct 25 19:51 UTC] No.45660815[source]▶
Yea, it was an insane achievement in 1969, but today the technology exists, it's really just the money that's missing.
5. themafia ◴[21 Oct 25 20:34 UTC] No.45661342[source]▶
> but manned missions are dictated by vanity

We were last on the moon in 1972. We haven't been back since. That's nothing even remotely like "vanity." I think there's a vanity involved in making this type of comment.

> and congressional pork

If the public wants it then it's not pork.

> more than scientific needs.

"Scientific needs" is not a well defined category. Those who proclaim to represent it while expecting it to hold a higher value than the will of the voters are misanthropic bullies.