Perfect booster landing on the pad. Capsule on the way to ISS to bring our astronauts home.
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Amazing technology.
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Truly amazing.
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Yes and when I saw the first booster landing on a barge and then later a capture with the chopsticks I was and still am, blown away. NASA could never do this alone in spite of the number of years they have spent wasting money and time.
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Seriously? NASA went to the moon, put up space stations, made space planes, sent probes to other planets, and we’re ogling a rocket landing on a boat? Give NASA some credit.
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Agree. If nothing else, spacex exists because nasa paved the way. We can celebrate achievements of one without bashing the other.
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NASA hasn’t done much ground breaking in a good while. Their budget from 2000 - 2024 was $381.5 billion. They are not the same as SpaceX but $25 billion is a lot of money to spend
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You can’t really compare the budgets because they don’t have the same scope or mission.
Either way, I stand by what I said and don’t think it was controversial at all.
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Really.
- OSIRIS-REx:
Returned a sample of asteroid Bennu to Earth in September 2023 and is now traveling to asteroid Apophis as part of the OSIRIS-APEX mission.
- Psyche:
Launched in October 2023 to visit the metal asteroid Psyche, which may be the core of an exposed planet.
- Lucy:
Launched in 2021 to explore asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit.
- Lunar Trailblazer:
Launched on February 26, 2025, to orbit Earth’s Moon and detect and map water on the surface.
- Europa Clipper:
Will conduct detailed reconnaissance of Jupiter’s moon Europa and investigate whether the icy moon could have conditions suitable for life.
Oh and there is JWST and DART too.
Webb launched on Dec. 25th 2021. It does not orbit around the Earth like the Hubble Space Telescope, it orbits the Sun 1.5 million kilometers (1 million miles) away from the Earth at what is called the second Lagrange point or L2.
NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission successfully impacted the asteroid Dimorphos in September 2022, demonstrating a method to potentially deflect asteroids that could pose a threat to Earth by intentionally changing its orbi
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That would be a first. How long will that stand? I am hoping for the best. Let’s wait and see.
The last space shuttle flight was the last NASA meaningful landmark. Multiple administrations did not foresee what Musk, Bezos and others see in the future of space discovery. This is a choice that opened the door for an alternative to NASA. Multiple private companies understand the potential. I see it as a plus plus for all especially when Boeing has been in a free fall for close to fifteen years. This can only motivates the McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed Martin to step up. Like it or not we are in a space race again. Multiple administrations did not see this coming hence NASA being asleep at the wheel. We can only be grateful for all of the US. and European space companies involved. The last thing that we want would be to have unfriendly countries/regimes to control space.
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Don’t forget the space telescopes.
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Let’s cheer on all the companies involved in the new space. Just pray the competition is friendly and cooperative. I think the current mission is an example of that.
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It wouldn’t be a first for me. And a comment like mine can and should stand forever.
OSIRIS-REx:
Returned a sample of asteroid Bennu to Earth in September 2023 and is now traveling to asteroid Apophis as part of the OSIRIS-APEX mission.
Psyche:
Launched in October 2023 to visit the metal asteroid Psyche, which may be the core of an exposed planet.
Launched on a Space X rocket
Lucy:
Launched in 2021 to explore asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit.
Lunar Trailblazer:
Launched on February 26, 2025, to orbit Earth’s Moon and detect and map water on the surface.
Lauched on a Space X rocket. [5] Soon after launch, NASA lost contact with the spacecraft
- Europa Clipper:
Will conduct detailed reconnaissance of Jupiter’s moon Europa and investigate whether the icy moon could have conditions suitable for life.
[/quote]
Launched on a Space X rocket
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Let’s compare apples and apples. SpaceX and Boeing competed received contracts to develop man rated rockets and spacecraft Boeing received $4.3B and SpaceX received $2.5B. SpaceX now has a successful, man rated launch system and Boeing has…
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Actually NASA created the door and funded the early startups to help private space launch companies.
You know, the same old government subsidies, that helps technology mature, and here abhor.
In August 2006, NASA announced that two relatively young aerospace companies, SpaceX and Rocketplane Kistler, had been awarded $278 million and $207 million, respectively, under the COTS program.[65]In 2008, NASA anticipated that commercial cargo delivery services to and return services from the ISS would be necessary through at least 2015. The NASA Administrator suggested that space transportation services procurement may be expanded to orbital fuel depots and lunar surface deliveries should the first phase of COTS prove successful.[66]
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Translation:
Hey we can’t handle this. Do you mind saving us butt by saving the public $B’s
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You asked how long could my comment last and were hoping for the best, then you were the first to go against it.
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