NASA Awards Multiple Contracts for Manned Orbiters

RT:  NASA agrees new contracts with SpaceX, Boeing to transport ISS crew


SpaceX and Boeing are well on their way toward launch testing their manned orbiters which will transport crew to the International Space Station or whatever other targets NASA may have in mind.


There's also major competition to develop heavy boosters which parallel the capability of NASA's Space Launch System which is intended to be used for everything through to transport to Mars.  The huge competition for prime time space capability is fierce and highly-aggressive.

The first observation is it costs too much and these are private corporations but they still get huge support from the government.  The more significant point is a tremendous part of their support does not come from the government and that's the change which didn't exist previously.  The path to keeping all the profits is pushing the government away and that's the evolution.

Ed:  lookit who's the li'l capitalist now!

Insofar as capitalism funds the competition, it's good; whether it's the best way to fund it is arguable ... but not now.


Carry through some sci fi to the Gold Rush of '49 only this time it's on Mars.  Eventually something will turn up on Mars which is ridiculously cheaper to obtain on Mars than on Earth or maybe it doesn't even exist on Earth.  Saddle up, young man, only this time we're going up instead of west.


Maybe interesting to you is Jeff Bezos has been huge in development of clever launch systems and his outfit has managed a soft landing for a booster just as did SpaceX.  They're also building a heavy booster but we don't hear of them playing too much with production launches.  Maybe we have just missed that coverage but it seems unusual when SpaceX and Orbital ATK (i.e. Boeing) have been highly visible with multiple production launches.


The competition really is fierce and you may not smell gold in space but it seems apparent multiple visionaries do and they're deeply committed to finding it.


The thinking in this article and the one previous about life on Mars is because we're fed-up to the nostrils with hearing of how we're all screwed and we're all going to die.  After that rubbish covers the nostrils, we drown so we need some more impetus to push elsewhere.  We need some more speed since the future looks radically cool even when we're fully cognizant some aspects suck jagged boulders.  (Ithaka:  Welcome to Living on Mars - NASA Langley Concept)

I remember when Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon and billions of us went with him.  You absolutely will go to Mars even if you never set foot on the planet.  There are millions to be made simply from the reality show in broadcasting 24-hours with "What's Up on Mars" as people would likely eat it up just watching whatever happens in the ice dome.

Ed:  until they get tired of it!

When they get tired of it, the reality of it will have become commonplace which will mean there are multiple ice domes on Mars and the game is won or is at least successfully reproducing.


For the Gold Rush of '49 to work, we have thirty-two years to pull it off but we got to the Moon almost from a standing start in ten years so this should be a snap, right?

Here at the Rockhouse, we have no doubt it will happen.  Climb aboard.