Wall Street Journal on Commercial Space and Obama

"The USAF and Big Aerospace already did much of what you suggest in developing the 2 EELV vehicles."

I agree that the Air Force attempted to do so just as NASA attempted to do so when they originally developed the space shuttle. There was a lot of interest initially by private industry about buying their own space shuttles. But both vehicle configurations are far too complex and too expensive for commercial use.

"NASA doesn't necessarily need to pick tech favorites or "national" boosters."

I also agree. But but there's been nothing stopping private international industries and their investors from around the world from developing their own manned space craft configurations! The struggling Sea Launch company is a good example of what believe will eventually be a successful private venture in the long run.

But NASA and the Air Force along with US private contractors are experts at developing new rocket technology for manned space travel. And they're also experts at what works and what doesn't work-- through their own successes, failures, and mistakes! That's why I believe that NASA and the Air Force need to need to develop a simple shuttle derived (Jupiter lite) single stage to orbit rocket that would be useful for NASA, the Air Force and for private commercial industry.

But if private international corporations and their investors think they can build a cheaper and safer manned space craft than NASA and there is a private market out there for their manned space flight plans that wouldn't require tax payer dollars in order to keep it alive, then they should do it!

But so far, over the past 50 years since the dawn of space travel, private industry's attempt to create a viable commercial manned space program-- on the cheap- hasn't worked. Sometimes you have to spend money in order to make money! But right now, private industry is just not spending enough money on developing their own manned space flight programs in order to reach their goals.

Marcel F. Williams