privatized space tourism
an interesting article on wired.com describing how multiple space tourism startup companies are approaching the space travel industry in a distinctly different way than that taken by nasa. mostly the article covers the pros and cons of using retro rockets for landing [like we always see in the movies] versus wing systems and repackable parachutes, however, i think articles like this one showcase the trend of space tourism becoming more and more privatized over a relatively short period of time. eventually, i see nasa in the space industry the same way i see the u.s. postal service or the dmv now: people will only use them if and when they have to, and when they don't really care about any kind of functional eta, or quality of service [which is scary when applied to spaceflight].

it will always cost nasa millions of dollars more to do what the private space industry will do [in a very short amount of time also] because nasa's money isn't really theirs. its ours. and if they fuck up, oh well. they still get funding next year. if a private startup company fails, they're out of business. their livelihood is gone. because of this fact, private businesses will always be more successful than that which is solely government-funded. in fact, i say, as these startups continue to pop up, developing newer, quicker, more efficient and more cost-effective ways to enter space and return in reusable, refuelable spacecrafts, you'll see a few things happen. first, you'll see nasa seek fault in the methods of the private companies. then you'll see nasa start copying them. all the while, you'll see nasa deteriorating until it can finally no longer compete at all with the privatized versions of itself, at which point it will relinquish its stranglehold on space, buy someone else's fleet of ships, then find some role in space management. u think i'm kidding, but the first u.s. fleet of spaceships will probably have been outsourced to the guy who got rich off the doom and quake series. he's already in it. good times. good times. Matt @ 11:57 PM