Rand Simberg ) wrote:
: 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.

: I've come to realize that we do in fact have launch systems that work,
: most of the time, even if they're expensive. We have a space station,
: if we could just muster up the gumption to finish it, and start to
: turn it to the useful ends for which it was intended. Shuttle is
: risky, but any new frontier is risky. We need to work hard to continue
: to minimize the risk of losing our priceless astronauts, even if we
: don't fly it for another three years. We have a president with a
: vision, a Congress willing to support it to a degree, and a new NASA
: administrator (a genuine rocket scientist--something we've never
: before had as a NASA administrator, and isn't it about time?) with
: great ideas about how to get us back to the moon quickly (or as
: quickly as the stingy folks on the Hill are willing to fund).

: Maybe it's just because I'm getting old, or don't feel well, but I
: know now that relying on guys in garages, operating on shoestrings, is
: never going to get us into space. The skeptics are right--Rutan's done
: nothing except replicate what NASA did over forty years ago.

: Furthermore, I realize now that it's not important that I get into
: space myself--what's important is that the opportunity is there for my
: children. Or my grandchildren. Or my great-grand children. It may take
: a long time, because we know that space is hard.

: What's important is that we have to keep striving, keep supporting
: these vital efforts, never let our interest flag or wane, in getting
: our people back to the moon, and on to Mars, no matter how long it
: takes, no matter how much it costs. Yes, it costs a lot, but we are a
: great country, and a rich one. There are so many other things that the
: government wastes money on, it's very frustrating that we can't get
: the support we need to ensure that this NASA human spaceflight
: program, critical not just to our nation's future, but to that of
: humanity, can't move faster. I now realize that Mark Whittington is
: right, and that there's a very real chance that the Chinese will beat
: us to the moon, and lay claim to the strategic high ground. But we
: must accept that, and work to change that potential outcome, whatever
: it takes.

: Ad Astra, and good night.

Wait, April Fools Day, right?