Duct Tape and Rockets
SpaceX flight a flashback to our future in space, commentary, Orlando Sentinel
“Congressional burnouts such as Bill Nelson keep telling us that we are losing our space program to budget cuts. SpaceX is demonstrating that we can afford a space program, but only if we get NASA and its army of Washington pork groupies out of the way. The most amazing thing happened before Wednesday’s launch. Engineers found cracks in the nozzle of the upper-stage engine. Living with the shuttle, we are accustomed to such anomalies resulting in launch delays that can go on for weeks and cost millions. Instead, SpaceX engineers whipped out their metal snips and trimmed off the edge of the nozzle where the cracks were situated. It was the proverbial duct-tape fix of the Mercury era.”