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From the Orlando Sentinel
And by the way: SpaceX is on-track for another Falcon 9 launch in August. This time it's a fully flight-qualified Dragon and the mission will be 5 hours long: launch and separate from Falcon 9, orbit the Earth, transmit/receive telemetry, demonstrate orbital maneuvering and thermal control, re-enter the atmosphere and recover the Dragon off the California coast.
And by the way: SpaceX is on-track for another Falcon 9 launch in August. This time it's a fully flight-qualified Dragon and the mission will be 5 hours long: launch and separate from Falcon 9, orbit the Earth, transmit/receive telemetry, demonstrate orbital maneuvering and thermal control, re-enter the atmosphere and recover the Dragon off the California coast.
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Let me explain the difference between SpaceX and the existing space program with this analogy.
You hire NASA to build a whittling knife.
NASA assembles its best and brightest. They add a screwdriver to the knife, and then a can opener and nose-hair trimmer. Soon they have a Swiss Army knife contraption with 67 attachments.
It will cost $3,000 and take two years to build. The work is divided among three NASA centers and 67 contractors in 67 different congressional districts. Memos and e-mails fly. A bigger knife is needed for the blades and attachments. So they enlarge it and add a mascara brush.
The knife now costs $15,000 and will take eight years to build. When completed, it is unwieldy and attachments keep breaking off, so you can only whittle once every two months at a cost of $250.
Now, if you decide to hire SpaceX …
It checks out what is best about other knives. It then designs one with a simple blade and handle, and builds it in-house for $20.
SpaceX is a mini-version of what NASA was a long, long time ago, before it morphed into an aging, bloated bureaucracy. NASA is could-do, SpaceX is can-do.
Let me explain the difference between SpaceX and the existing space program with this analogy.
You hire NASA to build a whittling knife.
NASA assembles its best and brightest. They add a screwdriver to the knife, and then a can opener and nose-hair trimmer. Soon they have a Swiss Army knife contraption with 67 attachments.
It will cost $3,000 and take two years to build. The work is divided among three NASA centers and 67 contractors in 67 different congressional districts. Memos and e-mails fly. A bigger knife is needed for the blades and attachments. So they enlarge it and add a mascara brush.
The knife now costs $15,000 and will take eight years to build. When completed, it is unwieldy and attachments keep breaking off, so you can only whittle once every two months at a cost of $250.
Now, if you decide to hire SpaceX …
It checks out what is best about other knives. It then designs one with a simple blade and handle, and builds it in-house for $20.
SpaceX is a mini-version of what NASA was a long, long time ago, before it morphed into an aging, bloated bureaucracy. NASA is could-do, SpaceX is can-do.