On Sat, 1 Apr 2006, Rand Simberg wrote:

Date: Sat, 01 Apr 2006 20:33:33 -0500
From: Rand Simberg
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy, sci.space.moderated
Subject: Reconsideration

OK, I've had a long day, I'm coming down with a cold, and I'm tired,
but I've got one more post before I go to bed, and the day is over.

I've been really depressed for the last week as a result of the
failure of the SpaceX launch attempt. It was a major blow and
disappointment not just to SpaceX, but to the whole notion of private
space. I've gone through a lot of soul searching, and am starting to
question everything I thought I believed about the best way to open up
the new frontier.
.... much snipped .....

Well, one failure should not be cause for that much dismay, although I too
was very much looking forward to a successful launch. The one major thing
that really bothered me about SpaceX, however, was their developing a new
engine. Why in God's green earth did Elon do that? A Russian NK-39 is
not all that much bigger and has far higher performance (Isp of 349 vs
305). He could have come twice as far for half the money had he chosen to
use a Russian engine, and then could make the structure much heavier and
more robust leading to easier reusability.

-- Larry