If the Navy can prove they can beam down energy with some kind of demonstration then space solar could become the next big thing by saving the planet from global warming. Of course it is not practical to lift a couple million tons of solar power space station out of Earth’s gravity well.

But manufacturing them on the Moon and placing them in geosynchronous orbit IS practical.

How do you build a factory on the Moon? First I would suggest excavating several sports arena sized caverns underground with H-Bombs. We have a couple hundred tons of plutonium on this planet we cannot get rid of. It takes around 11 pounds of plutonium to make a hydrogen bomb (this amount does not get much larger no matter how large the bomb). Do the math.
A bunker buster weighs a couple thousand pounds. When I was in elementary school there was a book in the library by Dandridge Cole called “Beyond Tomorrow, the next 50 years in space.” In that book (on page 76- I checked it out from the public library) is an illustration of creating artificial lunar caves with nuclear devices. It has been exactly 50 years since this book was published.

Times up.

I misspoke — I meant government subsidy. It was money given to SpaceX by DoD and NASA (to the tune of $800 million) to develop Merlin, Falcon 1 and Falcon 9. Most “private sector” companies capitalize their own R&D efforts. I discuss the story of the Falcon 1 here.

Now that you’ve had your say and defended SpaceX, begone.

Of course Space-X and OSC’s Cygnus are actually delivering cargo and Space-X is returning it too. Definitely inferior using inferior and obsolete rockets and fuel-but of course they are actually doing the job whereas others are planning it some time in the indefinite future.

Falcon is scale-able to much larger capacities and much higher orbits and dragon was designed from the outset for planetary missions and planetary missions returns (unlike Orion which was designed for lunar missions and there is even doubt it can do an asteroid mission as currently designed).

You need to stop spreading biased misinformation.

I’d like to see Dr. Spudis answer the questions about grants being given to Space-X.

I believe it is more misinformation. Space-X has been delivering on its contracts and to my knowledge has not defaulted on any down payments.

It sounds like it but the Falcon is by space travel standards an inferior lift vehicle using an obsolete propellent. The Dragon has an abort system-that-is-not-an-abort-system and the pair can only make it to Low Earth Orbit. That destination was reached in 1957.

The goal is to leave Earth and that was accomplished using a 7.5 million pound thrust Heavy lift Vehicle. SpaceX is going nowhere. The Shuttle derived SLS is the only ticket to ride.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that Elon won’t sue NASA if the ULA (Atlas V), Boeing (CST-100), and Sierra Nevada (Dream Chaser) get an exclusive manned spaceflight contract from NASA:-)

Marcel

This goes past the point of being ridiculous. 1 to 3 above are payments to develop capabilities that might be used in the future, exactly what Dr. Spudis described as “grants” (I would call them subsidies). They have nothing to do with your number 4.

This constant attempt to play word games to obscure the truth is both embarrassing and boring.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/about

Being a gear geek I am not politically savvy but it occurs to me since according to wiki the OSTP was founded due to the space race that maybe they should mention something about space on their website. The only thing I could find was a mention of exoplanets and Kepler.

Does Dr. Spudis have the credentials to replace Holdren in the next administration? I know I don’t.

There really is no hope without raising spaceflight budget or creating a new department of space security or something with a catchy acronym. I know this is possible because I was there at the beginning of the Department of Homeland Security. Maybe something with “interplanetary” or “Deep Space” or a “Space Defense Force.” Or a “Department of Space Energy” to end global warming. Or a “Department of Lunar Resources.” The Chinese are talking about a Moon base and that might be used to advantage. Whatever will get us on the Moon.

I am just thinking that NOW is the time to do something and take advantage of the next opportunity. I would have to go back in the archives but I recall several years ago on several occasions commenting that it would be good to be prepared to take advantage of the next impact and make the most of the opportunity to establish some defensive measures. Well…..Chelyabinsk came and went and nothing happened. The next election is going to decide whether we have a space program or not.

One example is the F-22. Running close to a quarter billion dollars each it was targeted by both candidates in their campaigns and promises were made. No more F-22’s. The trick is get some promises made about getting the U.S. back in space and back on the Moon.

“Elon Musk’s rocket company gets subsidies from U.S. and France”

http://washingtonexaminer.com/elon-musks-rocket-company-gets-subsidies-from-u.s.-and-france/article/2547874

“Private Sector Space”?

I would be interested in seeing some references that detail the “grants” that you say Space X received.

I am aware of contracts which required that Space X demonstrate the delivery of vehicles with cargo and in the future with crew; I am aware of down payments made to Space X for future services to reserve launch vehicles, and I am aware of milestone payments which was money paid to Space X after contract requirements were completed. Those are contracts for services.

None of these are grants; you are no doubt familiar with grants which is money, usually given by the government, for some kind of activity but which do not necessarily result in the completion of any specified service (how much of space science operates). Maybe I am wrong but I thought Space X has only been given money (other than down payments) once they have completed services for the government.

Please show us where there was a grant program financed by the government to demonstrate soft landing of a first stage or other development efforts.

$800 million sounds like a bargain for a series of new engines, new rockets and new unmanned and manned spacecraft which have now flown multiple operational missions; especially since so much is produced domestically.

By comparison Constellation, Orion and SLS have so far consumed something like $16 billion over the last 10 years by my reckoning, For that the government has an incomplete barely functioning command module (not an entire spacecraft), concepts for a Shuttle derived SLS (no hardware), and an Ares 1X which was a modified Shuttle SRB that had limited suborbital capacity.

“His expense” on this test is buttressed by over a decade of government grants to SpaceX for vehicle development, to the tune of over $800 million from DoD and NASA. So peddle the “private sector space” line elsewhere.