SpaceX launched its prototype Heavy in Texas on Saturday. The test failed, again. In the April test, SpaceX destroyed the launch facility (whose design deliberately eschewed best practice advice) and launched debris into environmentally sensitive surroundings. The Federal Aviation Authority, which regulates launches, didn't seem to give a shit about any of it. So they OK'd this weekend's failed test.
That test shot material into the Earth's atmosphere that came down somewhere. And that litter did something to the environment (atmospheric or terrestrial or marine).
This needs to stop.
On the one hand, SpaceX is a company run by the white nationalist and antisemite Elon Musk. No tax-payer funds should be spent in a way that goes into his pockets or funds his efforts to support fascism.
In addition (because there is no 'other hand'), while it might appear that government regulation increases costs to efforts like those that SpaceX has shopped to NASA, those costs are investments in safety and performance. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." More money on the front end prevents destructions, environmental impacts, pollution, and other unknown impacts on society.
It's time to step back from private space exploration, and reinvest in NASA. #space #spacex #NASA
@jasonemiller wow, no, you're very wrong.
Firstly, the test didn't fail. I don't know what you think the goal of the test was, but it accomplished the milestones that SpaceX set out for it ahead of time. From lift off through staging the test succeeded in milestone after milestone.
They weren't aiming to get the rocket into orbit here. That was intentionally not on the table
But it sounds like you're also ignorant about the tremendous interest that the FAA and other regulatory agencies put into reviewing these activities before approving them.
Yes, the regulators gave quite a shit about all of this, as SpaceX was blocked for quite a long time by the regulatory agencies who were reviewing their operations.
So it sounds like, I don't know who you're listening to, but somebody is giving you wrong information.
