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Does Obama Deserve Credit for Elon Musk’s SpaceX Triumph? Yes and No
In 2010 President Obama embraced a surprisingly laissez-faire approach to space flight. By bucking his central planning instincts, he ushered in a new dawn in American space flight.
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
https://fee.org/articles/does-obama-deserve-credit-for-elon-musk-s-spacex-triumph-yes-and-no/#Obama%E2%80%99s%20Greatest%20Legacy?
"The saga began early in 2010 when President Obama announced his intention to abort NASA’s Constellation program—NASA’s crew spaceflight program—correctly pointing out it was "over budget, behind schedule, and lacking in innovation."
The decision angered almost everyone. As Garver and Sheetz write, the program was “extremely popular with Congress, and the contractors who were benefiting from the tax dollars coming their way.” An impressive array of stakeholders from aerospace companies, trade associations, and astronauts to lobbyists, Congressional delegations, and NASA pushed back.
The resistance was immense."
"There’s no question Obama played a key role in bringing life back to America’s space flight future. By pulling the plug on NASA’s fossilized and bureaucratic shuttle program, he paved the way for private investment, innovation, and vision.
By doing so, Obama radically transformed America’s space shuttle future and ushered in a new era of space exploration.
Yet it’s SpaceX who ultimately deserves the credit for the Crew Dragon mission. NASA is involved in commercial crew flights; they provide the astronauts and certify the flights. But it’s SpaceX and Boeing who’ve shown they are capable of providing two spacecraft at one-fourth the price of NASA’s single spacecraft. The space shuttles are not just less expensive, they are superior and can be reused. While most of the funding to build the shuttle came from a $2.6 billion NASA contract, Musk has shown he can stay on budget while delivering."