Astroneurs: The Private Sector Goes to Space

Through the 1990s and into the new millennium, advocacy groups such as the National Space Society (full disclosure: I was in charge of policy and legislation at the NSS starting in 1989 and was executive vice president from 1991 to 1995) worked to advance the position of private-launch companies, encourage friendly government regulation, promote the growth of a strong private-sector presence in space, and fight the “dumping” (sales below cost that would hurt the development of American companies) of Chinese government-launch services.

The thinking was straightforward: A government-based space program would always be subject to political winds and whims. Not being self-supporting, it would always face competition from other programs that gave a more direct payoff to various political interest groups. In addition, even when funded, a government program would tend to dissipate its resources and efforts in bureaucratic payroll padding and empire building. A commercial enterprise, disciplined by shareholders and the bottom line, would have to focus more on producing results and, more crucially, on lowering costs and improving performance — something that NASA had not distinguished itself in achieving.

For the full article, click here.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About This Voice:

Get more from this voice

About Bright News

You are not getting the truth from the media, so you can get it here. Bright News is a new web aggregator that brings you raw, fresh perspectives that will make you more informed to ask hard questions and fight for your community. Learn more

Stay Informed

Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap