We'll Be Back In Space After This Commer cial Ad!

“A White House panel of experts wants to privatize many facets of the space program, wresting control over certain tech advances from the clutches of NASA. Although responsibility for manned space flight will remain with the space agency, the private sector will be rewarded with "appropriate property rights" over technology that they develop, creating what the White House panel says will be economic growth and develop into a national treasure. Commercializing the space program, they say, will ease the burden on the taxpayers.

On the other side of the coin, a broader role for private industry could re-ignite a debate about astronaut safety. The environment created by privatizing gives way to corporations driven to reduce costs, generate shareholder profits and meet contractual promises. When the investigation was launched into the Columbia disaster, NASA was critisized for for "substantial transfers of safety responsibility from the government to the private sector" amidst its greater reliance on private contractors since the mid 1990's.

The White House panel concedes that it anticipates "reasonable risk"...along with some failures. Experts are saying that this essentially signals an intention to hand over all space launches except manned missions to the private sector.

Reactions?? For myself, if this is going to increase the potential for danger to anyone participating in a space mission, then perhaps it's not a good idea. But, I guess the limitations are not yet set. One thing I know for sure, I will probably puke if I turn on my TV to see a rocket launched that has the "golden arches" logo on the side of the capsule. Or Chase Manhattan Bank, or Westinghouse, or [insert corporation name]...”

“Pizza Hut has already had their logo on Russian launch vehicles.

I find it humorous that former communists beat us to commercializing space exploration”

“As for me, I would love to see a supersized McSpace Shuttle®.”

“I don't want advertisements on our rocketships, If they have a little sticker on it somewhere, and use a picuture of it in their adverts that's cool. As for safety there needs to be somekind of safety ombudsman position or council that coordinates safety efforts and has the power to tell private contractors what is acceptable and what isn't.”

“I'm on the same page with you, Bison. Whenever safety is involved, I always believe that there has to be oversight of the procedures and some sort of checks and balances system. But, I get the feeling that what I am advocating is getting away from what might happen in reality. The idea of cutting costs, etc. seems to go against setting up a heirarchy like this...”

“Basic republican strategy- Deregulating will indeed lead to more failures as the almighty $$ will be more of a factor in the private sector than our tax dollars:) Overengineering is what helps us to make huge strides in the space industry- the last two Mars Rovers- case in point

Deregulation case in point-
Our Palo Verde nuclear power plant shut down a few days ago- WHY? Because ONE generator was not maintained. It blew 3 transmittors, caused another power plant to shut down- basically another grid failure on a smaller scale than the Major Northeast one. Our grid system is old. We rely on the power companies to do their own maintenance, instead of regulating them. Hence, failures.

But- haven't most industries put up their own satellites anyways?”