I have always suspected that the big aerospace contractors would push SpaceX out of the way as soon as they get their own capsules into service. They have the connections and lobbyists to get the contracts.

Wall Street ruins space travel?

Let's ruin Wall Street!

Of course, it's a basic human right to travel in space. Where's the altruism?

So, investors not being willing to throw money into extraordinarily risky endeavors with limited possibility of profit = wall street "ruining funding for commercial space travel".

This is what farklibs actually believe.

This coming minutes after SpaceX successfully docked their Dragon capsule to the ISS??

Coincidence?

Debeo Summa Credo:
This is what farklibs actually believe.

Take it to the politics tab.

Any kind of hardware dependent business does not have "unlimited upside potential" (so dot.com, I know), therefor no one will ever invest in it. Do you know Apple was trading a $9 a couple decades ago and almost went out of business?

I will certainly buy into space companies when the time comes. I might not live to walk on the moon, but I fully expect them to be money makers long-term and my wife is much younger than I am.

The real money is in two things:

1: A craft capable of capturing an asteroid that passes close to us. Much easier than going out and bringing one back, you just need to land on it and then alter its trajectory enough to put it in earth's path on its next go-round. Then you drop it into an earth orbit and have an instant space station, plus whatever minerals it provides.

2: A craft capable of mining anti-matter from the Van Allen Belt. Anti-matter is constantly being created in the belt around the earth, the trick is to come up with an electro-magnetic containment device to trap it before it vaporizes. That is the energy that will power future space exploration.

vpb: I have always suspected that the big aerospace contractors would push SpaceX out of the way as soon as they get their own capsules into service. They have the connections and lobbyists to get the contracts.

That's one of the reasons Space X is trying to do everything on the cheap. If they hit their numbers, even China won't be able to match their cost per Kilo to orbit. That will give them a niche that they can serve, that the big boys can't.

If they are successful in their manned missions, it also gives them a powerful tool in lobbying, that is, cost per seat. Hard to argue in favor of giving the contract to someone else who charges millions more per seat, from a budget perspective.

Ill go next!!!

"Hi, um, we've been up here on the ISS for 3 years. Can we come down now?"

"Nope, sorry. The company that makes the rockets went out of business, and the Russians cancelled their space program. Enjoy the rest of your short life!"

that entire article reads like a press briefing from a rival company about how its really not THAT great that spaceX managed to link with the ISS

theinsultabot9000: that entire article reads like a press briefing from a rival company about how its really not THAT great that spaceX managed to link with the ISS

Yeah, it's probably influenced by NASA. They are flat out terrified of Space X, it threatens vast oceans of pork.

Antimatter: vpb: I have always suspected that the big aerospace contractors would push SpaceX out of the way as soon as they get their own capsules into service. They have the connections and lobbyists to get the contracts.

That's one of the reasons Space X is trying to do everything on the cheap. If they hit their numbers,

They won't.

Incontinent_dog_and_monkey_rodeo: theinsultabot9000: that entire article reads like a press briefing from a rival company about how its really not THAT great that spaceX managed to link with the ISS

Yeah, it's probably influenced by NASA. They are flat out terrified of Space X, it threatens vast oceans of pork.

You don't know anything about NASA's budget, do you?

Tyrone Slothrop:
You don't know anything about NASA's budget, do you?

I know NASA tries to spread every project across 48 states to protect their budgets. I know Space X can launch for 1/10th the cost per kilo.

Incontinent_dog_and_monkey_rodeo: I know NASA tries to spread every project across 48 states to protect their budgets. I know Space X can launch for 1/10th the cost per kilo.

There is the winning comment.

Although, I don't think it is NASA that enforces the pork. NASA wants to do science, Congresscritters on the other hand...

I talked with Administrator Bolden a little over a year and a half ago. I expressed concern that the United States was loosing something fundamentally important when our country lost the ability to put people into space. I may be remembering poorly, but he was very excited about privatization, and I got the impression that he felt like NASA would be able to focus further outward. The shuttle tied a lot of money into an inefficient and expensive surface to leo platform. Why hire the Russians to do something when we can hire an American company to do it? Congress might not be as happy, but at least the money is staying in the US.

Incontinent_dog_and_monkey_rodeo: theinsultabot9000: that entire article reads like a press briefing from a rival company about how its really not THAT great that spaceX managed to link with the ISS

Yeah, it's probably influenced by NASA. They are flat out terrified of Space X, it threatens vast oceans of pork.

Quick, who is SpaceX's number one paying customer?

Did you guess NASA? You should have.

Antimatter: vpb: I have always suspected that the big aerospace contractors would push SpaceX out of the way as soon as they get their own capsules into service. They have the connections and lobbyists to get the contracts.

That's one of the reasons Space X is trying to do everything on the cheap. If they hit their numbers, even China won't be able to match their cost per Kilo to orbit. That will give them a niche that they can serve, that the big boys can't.

What about Reaction Engine and their Skylon?