Quote:
|
Originally Posted by roachboy
not meaning to rain on this parade, but....
while it is kinda cool that this project has managed what it has, the fact is that it would not have been possible, at any level, had it not been for the previous development of space programs on the basis of state funding.
|
This is true; federal funding helped build up the whole aerospace establishment and, for all I know, development of the lightweight composite materials that the spacecraft were made of. And government need for high-performance electronics in military and space applications helped make Silicon Valley possible.
But what the government does in such cases is fund basic research and development to meet certain of its specific needs. When those needs are met, government loses interest; but it leaves behind some highly trained people and piles of curious technologies that can be combined in interesting ways by private industry. Government has no incentive to do this, but private industry does (if it's smart).
Where private industry is succeeding here is operationally; NASA the organization has all the technology and smarts in the world, but is bogged down by bureaucracy and conflicting goals. Entrepreneurs don't bog; or if they do, they're not entrepreneurs for very long.