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13 comments

[–] chmod 3 points (+3|-0)

I'm no fan of Boeing (except for their aircraft) but I have to agree with them here. What SpacEx is doing is great but they are no where near getting manned rockets approved by NASA. Nor does the Falcon Heavy have the payload capacity needed for meaningful Mars missions.

I work on Redstone Arsenal where the Marshall Space Flight Center is located. All my NASA buddies feel the same. SpacEx is good for LEO and even GEO payloads but that's all they have right now.

[–] Owlchemy [OP] 2 points (+2|-0)

Everyone has flaws ... delays ... limitations. I'm happy to see the commercial aspect going full bore though. I think that probably is the future of spaceflight. The government mismanages so much, plus they overpay their contractors for services a commercial outfit can do more efficiently and cheaper. But that's just my opinion.

[–] chmod 2 points (+2|-0)

Well, as a hideously overpaid contractor myself I can't disagree but NASA will never allow a manned spaceflight from a commercial outfit where they weren't able to see every nook and cranny of the design and build process.

[–] Owlchemy [OP] 1 points (+1|-0)

You're right about that - LOL. They own space and won't let anyone forget it (at least from a US perspective).