The private-sector space program "setback": BFD!

News stations going wild with the explosion that kills three, stating it's a "profound" setback to the private-sector's pursuit of space, to which I reply, Nonsense!

The whole reason for having a private sector on this is to get beyond needing to endure a "national tragedy" every time somebody gets killed.

If people are willing to take the risk, you let them try.

No tragedy.

Comments

[Ted O'Connor]

Remember when we used to send mice and monkeys into space? Probably get a lot of grief from PETA if we tried that now. The reality is that we had an incredible run of good luck starting with John Glenn. He had about a 50/50 chance of coming back alive from his historic first mission. The public never realized how dangerous those early missions were.

[John Kavanagh]

Agreed. Scaled Composites is just one player in the emerging private spaceflight market. A delay in Scaled's SpaceShipTwo project doesn't setback competitors elsewhere in the sector. Unlike U.S. government human spaceflight (exclusively dependent on one government-operated space transportation system: space shuttle) the private spaceflight market will produce alternatives. This will drive down the cost of spaceflight and assure space access to those who need it.

[bdunbar]

No tragedy.

Not a national tragedy, I agree. No one I'm aware of 'in the business' thinks that it is. This is the Press reaching for the hyperbole button on their keyboard.

But to the folks that work in that industry ... it's a small community. People know each other and are connected in ways that larger industries are not.