SpaceX CEO Elon Musk today sent out a blast e-mail rallying opposition to "senseless pork" included in a NASA reauthorization bill that the U.S. House of Representatives could vote on Friday. The vote has not yet been scheduled.
The House Committee on Science and Technology last week approved a 2011 spending plan for NASA that offers little funding for development of commercial crew taxis and instead promotes continued development of Constellation program vehicles.
After the space shuttle's retirement next year, American astronauts will rely on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for rides to the International Space Station until either commercial or government rockets are ready.
"Despite the imminent retirement of the Space Shuttle, H.R. 5781 authorizes over five times as many taxpayer dollars to fly NASA astronauts on the Russian Soyuz than it invests in developing an American commercial alternative, moreover at a time when jobs are sorely needed in the United States," Musk writes. "Quite simply, this bill represents the sort of senseless pork politics that has driven our national debt to the point where our economy can barely service it."
Musk says support for an emerging commercial spaceflight industry -- as promoted by the Obama administration -- is "only hope for the average citizen to one day travel to space" and calls for "your urgent help" contacting representatives.
Even if the House approves the bill in a floor vote, it would not necessarily become law. Senate authorizers and appropriators have passed bills that would provide more funding for commercial vehicles and are considered to have broader support.
NASA is unlikely to receive new direction until the fall, possibly not until after mid-term elections.
SpaceX is preparing to launch its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from Cape Canaveral in September on the first in a series of demonstration flights for NASA.
The Hawthorne, Calif.-based company hopes to begin flying cargo to the space station next year and is a likely contender to fly astronauts if NASA awards contracts for commercial crew taxi services.
IMAGE: On June 4, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket blasted off on its inaugural flight from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. By Mike Brown, Florida Today.
36 comments:
Don't worry Mr. Musk. Obama is on your side, for better or worse. Just keep giving him huge chunks of money and you will get whatever you like. In no time at all you'll be receiving pork as well, of course you'll not call it that when you are the recipient.
So, Mr Musk, you launch one new rocket and keep quiet about its performance ( pitch and roll problems that need to be ironed out), and now you want to be a glutton and take as much money from the American taxpayer as you can for a yet unproven reliable man rated space delivery system.
Since you want all the public funding, that means you have to open up your questionable design and safety practices to the public. Which is going to be very difficult to do coming from a scam artist.
Space X ceo Musk should fund his own for profit/commercial spacecraft! Tax payers should not subsidize this project! Use your own money for R and D. Sell off some stocks, and/or other investment holding to pay for your spacecraft/space x. Find other investors if you must! My tax money already goes to NASA and my support is for the Ares/Constellation project!
"Musk says support for an emerging commercial spaceflight industry -- as promoted by the Obama administration -- is "only hope for the average citizen to one day travel to space" and calls for "your urgent help" contacting representatives."
LOL...you've got to be kidding me!!! Is this the best you can come up with? If your rocket is so great why don't you have all private investors and no gov't support?? Answer...smart businessmen/women no there is NO PROFIT in commercialized space!! I'm sure "average citizens" will be able to afford a flight on your rocket anytime in the next 50-100 years??!! Sucks when you put all your support into a politician and they don't deliver on the funding they promised doesn't it? Welcome to the space industry Musk!!!
Is theis real or is this a Saturday Night Live news report? What melons Musk must have to complain about government handouts. Only in America.
He is right, to get more for our money, NASA has to be limited and commerical spaceflight has to go forward. NASA wastes to much money. Look at Cape Can AFS, it launches rockets cheaper, faster and just as reliable with a quarter of the people. We can have just as many people or more employed in the future, but with a dozen different vehicles or more being used. We should be launching not just 3 shuttles a yr but 50 plus commerical launches a yr. Have to think beyond NASA, to much waste from bottom to top.
What!! Mr. Obama had the nerve to do something you don't like Mr. Musk. Shocking!!!! So now you know how it feels. Welcome to our world. You know, the little people!!!
why in the hell should my tax dollars be spent so some millionaires can ride into space 10 years from now ?
I SUPPORT NASA!!
I don't think Space X is a viable means to an end for reliable citizen transport and will not be for many, many years. Maybe Owen Garriot can afford a few spaceX flights.
NASA has proven time and again they can get the job done.
I want to see the funding transferred for Soyuz flights back to NASA.
Man are you guys insane? Support for constellation?? The cost of that program is astronomical compared to any kind of funding proposed for commercial space. Not to mention the new space companies are all very happy to work on fixed price contracts to provide a service, just like you would pay UPS or American Airlines to transport cargo or people.
Of course SpaceX will make money if they are awarded contracts, but if you have read anything about their CEO he is really in favor of commercial space access from ANY company. If these companies can provide the government with what they need at a good price and still make a profit, what's wrong with that? Is it a better idea to allow NASA to micro-manage all space infrastructure development with huge cost-plus contracts where vendors are rewarded for escalating costs??? The idea is to open up access to space with a robust US based commercial industry. How will the average person or business entrepreneur be able to get to space if NASA owns all the launch vehicles which are hugely expensive to operate because congress decided to design the rocket so as to generate maximum jobs in their states instead of letting smart engineers design the most efficient system?
SpaceX and other new space company have put large amounts of their own money into developing these launch systems and spacecraft, and now are asking to be allowed to compete fairly on the open market to provide the government with services. The house bill is a disaster and anyone who has the slightest amount of factual information should see that. Here's a very good summary of the new bill, I'd challenge anyone to dispute the facts outlined here or draw a conclusion that the house bill is at all reasonable after reading this: http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/nasa/nasa-senate-appropriations-constellation
Can you spell a-g-e-n-d-a? Like in serving your personal agenda. While I think it's absurd to have to rely on and pay the Russians to get our astronauts to the space station...oh, and subject our astronauts to unnecessary risk, I don't believe paying for someone else's self-serving agenda is the way to go either. I totally support space exploration, but it's best left where it always has been...we just need to get back to the same mindset that got us to the moon...a solid plan, total commitment (funding) to the plan (not doing so will cost more and lead to the very same discussions we've having ever since we went to the moon), and employing the right folks to get the job done.
Ole Musk wanted that pork all for himself...poor, poor little piggy!
But it's okay to use those pork dollars on his craft. Why does he need pork seed money from the tax payers? If this was truly a commercial effort, all monies would be private! This is fascist just like wall street or the car industry.
My simple understanding of the Constellation program as it is today is this: One team of NASA that is following original contract R&D's new equipment and one team that was put together by Bolden is taking constellation apart. So in short you have two groups doing nothing for fear of what one will do to the other! So really any kind of investment in space is majority waste, yes?
Pitch problems, Roll problems, Cabin pressurization anyone? And no heat shielding data, heck no released data at all except that the rocket launched on camera!
Soulution, give Musk more money? He is like Crazy Eddie, He's INSANE.
I reluctantly suggest that Mr. Musk begin moving his operations out of the business unfriendly U.S. so that Space-X can continue it's innovations and leave the government space program to crumble under its own bureaucratic weight.
I say this with deep regret and am ashamed of our so-called political process.
Elon, Elon, Elon...STICK IT!
I don't know if Space X is the answer. But the Aries I sure isn't the answer either. I wouldn't launch a pet hamster on the POS. I love the Orion capsule. But it needs a better launch platform than the Aries I.
Apparently only comments supporting Constellation are allowed.
What happened to my first post?
Too controversial for FT?
clearly one sided, he wants his money and screw everyone else out there. Pork oh please. Yeah its pork cause you loose your money for a dumb pointless rocket that has no use in the U.S. future.
Im seeing a lot of complaining about taxpayers subsidizing commercial space in these comments. So Im assuming everybody here is perfectly fine with taxpayers money being sent Russia and purchase seats on Soyuz for who knows how long?
We need to make the Cape more accesable to commercial launches. We can not just focus on manned flights but must try to make launching here more cost effective so as to compete with Russia's facilities for the launch of commercial satellites.
We can either seek to make the Cape more accessible and afordable to commerical launches or we can watch Musk and those like him follow most other commercial space companies and launch from Russia.
I'll ride on a Soyuz any day over a Dragon. I've already called my Congressman and told them to vote YES to HR 5781. A naive billionaire who plays with his Tesla electric car company and green energy company Solar City (he received mucho government pork for both of them!) seems to lack focus. Or are we too stupid to recognize this and just keep throwing our hard earned tax $ at him so he can profit even more? Wonder what his ex thinks since she now owns half of almost everything???
If I donate $10,000,000 to Democrats can I have my own government program too?
United States Of America July 4th, 1776 - January 20th, 2009
People's Socialist Republic of Amerika January 20th, 2009 -
Pork is in the eye of the beholder...
Also, I know this article is about SpaceX, but they are NOT the only player out there in the commercial space arena. In fact, if the money for commercial crew goes through, Boeing / Lockmart / ULA will probably get the biggest slice of it because they have a proven track record with a larger product line. People seem to think there is a choice between NASA or just handing over a pile of money to SpaceX - That's *FAR* from the case. If NASA is allocated money for commercial services, they will put out RFQs and then select the best proposals - that way all the eggs aren't in one basket - either NASA's basket or a single commercial company's basket. Multiple paths ensure we have the greatest chances of success, and using commercial fixed price contracts enable that to happen within the current budget. The original constellation program is just too expensive, plain and simple. It cannot be successful in any reasonable timeframe without huge funding increases which aren't going to happen.
Musk wants entitlements
A Democratic president who wants to cut a huge government pork-barrel program and help small companies develop commercial markets that might actually benefit America. Republicans who want small government and tax cuts attack the President when he tries to return NASA to its original mission of acting as a partner to private industry, not just a customer.
When ideals conflict with personal interest, it's not pretty.
NASA is the only ageny that landed men on the moon, created a reusable Space Shuttle and International Space Station.
What government agency achieved such accomplishments!
The problem are the idiots -- Presidents, Senate and Congress.
Anyone with common sense would have continued the Space Shuttle program, started a reusable 2nd generation Space Shuttle and built a vehicle to go back to the moon.
We had a National Aero-Space Plane program in development and it was cancelled. We had a heavy lift vehicle (Ares V) in development and now it will be cancelled. Time and $billions lost.
It is time to layoff the President, Senate and Congress for continued failed policies and lack of funding.
End the two wars, foreign aid and rebuilding of Iraq. Use the saved money for saving U.S. jobs, the U.S. manned space program and rebuild U.S. technology.
Musk can go to Russia or back to South Africa where he came from. He's milking millions from the American taxpayer for both his little rocket and his electric car. Suddenly he now is against the pork in the bill. Take a hike Musk!
Space X is the only viable solution for a commercially funded project as it is now. NASA had it's chance and lost. the time for change is now.
Wake up and other like him::: did you ever read the goverment reports on the money we the tax payer gace Space X just to get where they are today.. $435 MILLION is out part, $134 millions was Musks.. This tax payer funded project is no better than giving a private business like Space X a free loan... this is not an amusement ride pal.. space is serious business and we can't wait for the COTS people to build something that has the capability we had 30 years ago to do now..
Who do you think bulds and flys the missles and space shuttle now.. its not NASA.. it is a commercial contractor.. we are them.. the same folks getting laid off now..
I want a professionally run space program over seen by NASA and an adminstration that understand ALL the facts about this business.. it is not a profitable business may never be, but the information and spinoffs from it are priceless.. we need to move forward not backward..
If Mr. Musk wants to do this.. do so entirely on your own money.. when you make money at it, then come and see us.. we might buy a payload from you..
Congree is starting to get it right.. finally..
Let's set the record straight. Musk will be paid when he delivers a vehicle and payload to the ISS. The Constellation contractors have been paid over $10B already, including $400M for a pusher-rocket launch abort system that wasn't even intended for use, and another $400M for the Ares 1-X test.
The original mission of NASA was not to fly expensive missions to arbitrary destinations, it was to provide the R&D and technical support that American industry needed to lead the world. Who is the customer for Constellation? What will it produce that is worth more to the country than investment in medical research or new manfacturing technology? Musk is the first person in over a decade to have contracts for real commercial launches from US soil. If the US launch business is to survive we need customers other than the taxpayers, because the taxpayers want tax cuts, not tax increases.
commercial space YES you know ,for all the glories of nasa , shuttle etc, why does storymusgrave hubble repairer on the 1st hubble repair mission say the shuttle in key ways was money not spent wisely . nasa as set up for the past 40 yrs needs an absolute overhaul - shuttle is a failure in so many key ways no reductioon in cost to orbit many times more costly than reusable nasa needs to be gutted top to bottom and those senators in all those pork states need to get over all their bs with true space access provided by private commercial space
If most of these posters spent 5 minutes researching Mr. Musk and his many accomplishments this thread would have a much more positive slant. I admire few people alive, even fewer rich celebrity types - but Mr. Musk is one of those that I do. Sure he made a mint in something that most consider an every day Internet task - but instead of buying an island and partying on it day and night with the whos who from around the world - he took the profits and invested in 2 very impressive technologies, electric cars and space launch capability. Either of these is a must for our country, how can anybody suggest he is in it for the government handouts - when you create as many jobs as he already has (high tech, high paying jobs) - then maybe you will get a visit from a movie star - and they will ask you advice on you persona. Until then, please stop your incesive whining and get up and do something useful.
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