Comments on: China launches another 11 satellites for one of its mega-constellations

By: Dick Eagleson

Dick Eagleson — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 08:24:06 +0000

Space Force will be spending quite a bit of money with NewSpace companies - particularly SpaceX. That's because Space Force has decades of USAF stupidity to make up for and not a lot of time to do it. Golden Dome, to cite the paradigmatic example, is supposed to be at least at minimum viable product level within three years. Legacy aerospace simply has no ability to tackle such a project on such a schedule. It would have to start from scratch and would probably consume three years just in getting requirements defined and the contracts drawn up. NewSpace - particularly SpaceX - does have such capability as most of what is needed to implement Golden Dome is already extant in the form of Starlink. Not all government spending qualifies as "pork." Pork is, specifically, a term applicable to government spending that produces nothing useful and is done simply to benefit politically-favored contractors or government establishments in particular Congressional districts. SLS, Orion and Gateway are useless and expensive and benefit no one except OldSpace contractors and MSFC. Golden Dome will be extremely useful as well as decades overdue when it goes on-line.

By: Jeff Wright

Jeff Wright — Sun, 10 Aug 2025 09:09:21 +0000

Just remember this—even with NASA cuts, SpaceForce is helping to prop up NewSpace companies with more government money—not less.
Contrary to what anyone named Rand will tell you, pork isn’t spelled MSFC after all.

If a NewSpace firm survives due to Space Force—then it is little different from Chinese companies.

But always—and forever—pork is defined as money that goes to the other guy’s project.

By: Blair Ivey

Blair Ivey — Sun, 10 Aug 2025 04:32:16 +0000

Curious if there is a business case for recovering Chinese salvage; I mean, if they’re going to deliver it . . .

By: Cotour

Cotour — Sat, 09 Aug 2025 20:17:48 +0000

American private companies are launching more than twice what the China and Russian governments are launching combined!

108 V 52

Interesting.

And as a bonus Elon has apparently gotten over his billionaire hissy fit and is making nice with Trump. And Trump is amenable to it. A viable third American political party? I think not.