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NASA chief suggests SpaceX may be booted from moon mission

(www.cnn.com)
404 points voxleone | 1 comments | 21 Oct 25 12:58 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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allenrb ◴[21 Oct 25 20:38 UTC] No.45661384[source]▶
There is just so much wrong with this from start to finish. Here are a few things, by no means inclusive:

1. We’ve already beaten China to the moon by 56 years, 3 months, and some change. And counting.

2. Nothing based around SLS is remotely serious. The cost and timeline of doing anything with it are unreasonable. It is an absolute dead-end. The SpaceX Super Heavy has been more capable arguably as early as the second flight test and certainly now. They could have built a “dumb” second stage at any time, but aren’t that short-sighted.

3. Blue Origin? I’ve had high hopes for the guys for two decades now. Don’t hold your breath.

4. Anyone else? Really, really don’t hold your breath.

This whole “race to the moon, part II” is almost criminally stupid. Land on the moon when we can accomplish something there, not just to prove we haven’t lost our mojo since Apollo.

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Waterluvian ◴[21 Oct 25 21:41 UTC] No.45662078[source]▶
Re: 1. I think the America of Theseus mindset is a bit troubling. A lot of people like to identify with achievements that they played no role in. Based on zero expertise whatsoever, I have a sense that this is a bit self defeating. To be born a winner, to be taught you’re a winner… how can that be healthy?

Today’s America scores zero points for its accomplishments of the past. But I think one way it can be a good thing is the, “we’ve done it before, we can do it again” attitude. Which is somewhat opposite to “we already won!”

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zdragnar ◴[21 Oct 25 22:36 UTC] No.45662614[source]▶
America cannot possibly win the space race again, because it has already been won. The first to get there has already happened.

The idea that we need to land on the moon once a generation just to say that we are as good at landing on the moon as our parents is absurd.

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themgt ◴[22 Oct 25 00:40 UTC] No.45663640[source]▶
America cannot possibly win the space race again, because it has already been won.

This is sort of like saying Leif Erikson and the Icelandic Commonwealth won the "the new world race" in 1000AD. Whatever Columbus et al were up to would surely be of trifling concern to future generations.

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Yeul ◴[22 Oct 25 00:52 UTC] No.45663729{3}[source]▶
It also ignores the fact that empires can decline.

(Although I think the moon landing is ridiculous there is no scientific reason for it).

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harrall ◴[22 Oct 25 04:09 UTC] No.45664814{4}[source]▶
The space race was not a scientific endeavor either. It was driven by a political need.

It was to prove that your economic system could muster the correct machinery to get to the moon. Once we got to the moon, nothing significantly changed scientifically, but politically it was a bombshell.

The act of getting the moon now is, once again, not a scientific endeavor. It is once again a holistic test of whether the country still can do it.

And from the looks at it, maybe not. America is not all aligned like we were during the Cold War. Then again, the stakes during the Cold War seems higher.

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karmakurtisaani ◴[22 Oct 25 05:55 UTC] No.45665334{5}[source]▶
Just to take your point further, imagine if China establishes a base on the moon while the US is unable to do so. How is that (world wide) discussion going to look like?
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krapp ◴[22 Oct 25 09:40 UTC] No.45666753[source]▶
Americans would be paranoid and xenophobic, but Americans are always paranoid and xenophobic, especially where China is concerned.

But this isn't the 1960s and the US has burned through its goodwill and ruined its credibility. I think the rest of the world would rather have a Chinese base on the moon than an American one.

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kenjackson ◴[22 Oct 25 10:31 UTC] No.45667108{7}[source]▶
As an American, is this really a true statement (“I think the rest of the world would rather have a Chinese base on the moon than an American one.”). I can no longer tell what our global reputation is.
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1. 4ggr0 ◴[22 Oct 25 14:33 UTC] No.45669744{8}[source]▶
TL;DR Depends on who you ask, but yes.

i had a conversation with a colleague today - we both said that we'd feel more comfortable to visit China over the US, and for his next vacation where he would have to fly via the US he's now considering to take a different flight-path which avoids the US.

as someone from europe one of my dreams as a kid was to visit the great United States. 20 years later this has drastically changed, still never been to the US, but would now rather visit other places.

people are trying to migrate away from US tech to other alternatives.

just last weekend i was joking with the person i watch Formula1 with - the last race was in the US. anyways, we joked that we used to laugh at races and events being held in Azerbaijan, just because it seemed weird to hold western sports events in dictatorships, similar to the football world cup in Qatar. now a world cup and F1 race in the US feels at least as bad as the other options.

but that's my POV. another friend still wants to visit the US for a third time and wants me to go with him and someone else i now even recently got married in the US.

but for me and the people around me - yes, the status of the US has taken a hard nose-dive, especially in the last 1-2 years.

also doesn't help to grow up and learn about the US history, by which i mean the overthrowing of foreign governments, global NSA scandals, needless wars for oil, trade wars etc. etc. etc.

no ill will against the average american citizen, but writing this comment made me a bit angry again. your country's government and some parts of the population cause so much pain on a global scale, but y'all seem too isolated and privileged to realize that. add to this that not even US citizens seem to benefit from this, i mean even y'all get swindled.

you know, i still feel like visiting the US. i want to meet the people and get to know the culture which influences my life in a big way. it just feels wrong, almost like visiting Germany in the early 1930s or late 1920s as a tourist. hope y'all calm down sometime, you'll maybe catch me on Route66, in one of the big cities or wherever.

that's kind of the essence of my rant i think. i could list soooooo many places in the US i'd like to see. but right now and since a couple of years, i'd rather not. the world is big, nice places everywhere. y'all have some great marketing, that's for sure.