Reaktionen auf den fast unüberbietbar kontraproduktiven Entscheid der US-Regierung, den äusserst erfolgreichen privaten Anbietern für Transporte in den Weltraum nur allzu durchsichtige Hürden in den Weg zu legen. Hier die in den USA von Zuschriften bereits unisono sehr deutlich kommentierte Nachricht. Schliesslich meine englisch formulierte Stellungnahme, die ich Freunden in der ganzen Welt habe zukommen lassen.
The politicians know what we knew all along: Boeing’s CST-100 capsule won’t be ready for an indefinite time. Washington uses this obviously false track as an excuse to delay SpaceX together with them, because they have promised Boeing from the beginning to launch commercial crews “first” at whatever cost – for the taxpayer of course. At the same time it allows some moles in Washington to keep promises given to Moscow – again at whatever cost.
Something I would like to know: why doesn’t SpaceX develop and test launch their Crew Dragon totally on their own, like the Falcon rockets, find and train astronauts to fly to the ISS or elswhere if NASA doesn’t let them in the station? This would ridicule the politicians in front of the whole planet. When I read the comments in the above link, it seems that everybody agrees with me even before SpaceX can offer the final proof in 2017.
For 57 years I asked myself why Sputnik was launched before Wernher von Braun was allowed to launch his first satellite. NOW I KNOW. Washington applied FIFA soccer rules, and 1957 the Russians were in the game already. For similar reasons the Apollo lunar infrastructure was destroyed after 1972 – to give all losers a chance.