# Why Don't We Privatize NASA? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 15, 2011, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078 "2011-07-15T00:14:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078/21 "2011-07-15T03:24:29Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > You are forgetting the military. My friends at NASA tell me every shuttle mission was a military mission. It was just a matter of degree with each flight. Please have your friend explain how the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Wake Shield Facility, the Magellan Venus Radar Mapper, the Galileo Jupiter Orbiter, and the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (to name just a few scientific payloads) are “military” missions. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078/22 "2011-07-15T16:14:46Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Actually, I would argue that there is no organization, public or private, which has the capability to assuredly (much less efficiently) undertake a mission to transport people to Mars and back. The technology of space propulsion, habitation, and resource utilization simply does not exist at this time or in the budgetable future (e.g. in the next decade) to make such a effort practicable. We’re in agreement – it would take lots of very risky research and development to get anywhere near a human mission to Mars. There are all sorts of interesting design studies on how to do such a mission, but no one has any practical experience sending humans through deep space for that length of time. And that practical experience has to be earned, with lots of R&D and test missions, all with a high chance of failure. > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Please have your friend explain how the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Wake Shield Facility, the Magellan Venus Radar Mapper, the Galileo Jupiter Orbiter, and the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (to name just a few scientific payloads) are “military” missions. If I may attempt to infer what **Duckster** is passing on from his friend, it’s not that every shuttle mission is primarily military. I do know that the Shuttle (used to) carry all sorts of odds and ends of instruments and components besides its primary payload. These might be for research experiments, or prototypes for a satellite in development. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some bit of military hardware on each shuttle mission. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078/23 "2011-07-15T16:30:11Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > Why doesn’t the government privatize NASA? Sure, Uncle Sam can retain a token office as a NASA HQ for business management. But, why not place NASA in the private sector? Then, we might actually send a person to Mars in a reasonable amount of time, for one! Imagine the possibilities! Competition does wonders! Bull’s-eye! I’m sure glad America has voters like you. Privatization is always best; among myriad of proofs I’ll just offer [one of the benefits of privatizing prisons](http://www.infowars.com/judges-took-bribes-to-send-children-to-privately-owned-juvenile-detention-centers/). ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078/24 "2011-07-15T16:59:54Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > I’m not saying a manned mission to Mars using rockets is not profitable. I’m saying a manned mission to Mars using rockets is not useful. Even if we could just teleport over to Mars for free, right now, what would humanity get out of it? It would satisfy your curiosity, but there is no reason to believe that it would do more than that. It’s not like Columbus trying to find a better trade route to China and India - it’s just a big, cold, dry wasteland. We’ve got those here on Earth. The reason to go to Mars and beyond is not trying to find a trade route, it’s to escape Apophis (the asteroid, not the guy from Stargate, through he apparently inspired the name for the asteroid). By distributing humans on more than one tiny place (cosmically speaking), we heighten our chances of survival. The first step in that direction many propose though is not the rocket, but the space elevator (which is cheaper long-term, once we solve the material problem) and probably Low Earth Orbit habitats, like the space station. Because building and starting a rocket in Orbit is much cheaper than starting from the gravity well of Earth, and living in a space station already is a good preparation for the +2 years it will take to reach Mars. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078/25 "2011-07-15T17:02:29Z")
Stranger already explained well that most of NASA is already private and in competition; I just wanted to add the anecdote that in the early days of the Moon mission, a reporter asked one of the astronauts how he felt like before lift off. The astronaut answered (paraphrased) “I know that I sit in a rocket made from 5 000 parts, and each was chosen from the lowest bidder.” ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078/26 "2011-07-15T17:14:34Z")
I vaguely remember something about the moon suppossedly has some shit on it called H3. A substance that could be a highly effiecient fuel source. I wonder if Big Corp could make a profit off of that if they tried? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078/27 "2011-07-15T17:30:35Z")
NASA has been listed on Craig’s List for months now. So far no offers for cash. One offer to trade for the USPS. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078/28 "2011-07-15T17:38:28Z")
I thought the whole purpose of space exploration was blind jingoism. Unless you’re developing space weapons or running a really high end space tourism industry, I fail to see the private appeal. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078/29 "2011-07-15T19:17:57Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > I’m not saying a manned mission to Mars using rockets is not profitable. I’m saying a manned mission to Mars using rockets is not useful. Even if we could just teleport over to Mars for free, right now, what would humanity get out of it? It would satisfy your curiosity, but there is no reason to believe that it would do more than that. It’s not like Columbus trying to find a better trade route to China and India - it’s just a big, cold, dry wasteland. We’ve got those here on Earth. We don’t know what we’d find, which is what research is all about. However, research projects get evaluated also, based on potential return, cost, and risk. Using these, a Mars trip makes no sense at all right now - but that is different from saying it would be useful if it were free. There is water there, who knows what else there is? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078/30 "2011-07-15T19:56:09Z")
I’m dead set against it. It’s been well established for at least several decades that a private corporation performing its own space exploration is going to be evil and inevitably unleash unspeakable horrors upon us all. Didn’t you see _Alien_? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078/31 "2011-07-15T19:59:30Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > I vaguely remember something about the moon suppossedly has some shit on it called H3. A substance that could be a highly effiecient fuel source. I wonder if Big Corp could make a profit off of that if they tried? It’s not like anyone’s stopping them. So what does that tell you? ---
**Author:** ![Amber\_in\_Treasury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Amber\_in\_Treasury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amber_in_Treasury)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078/32 "2011-07-15T22:48:20Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Lots of people have this idea that “privatization” is a good thing, without the slightest background in actual Economic Theory as to why this should be so. Unfortunately, it is an idea pushed by a lot of Conservatives and Libertarians, some of whom are propagandised into pushing it without understanding it. > > Companies exist to make a profit. Privatizing any kind of essential service or non-economic enterprise is a BAD IDEA, as it introduces the Profit Motive, and incentives for companies to skimp, cut and cheat to make money off what would otherwise not be a profitable enterprise. Hear, hear! And it’s not only conservatives and libertarians, some “liberals” are almost as bad. (As an aside, here in Europe, privatization is also often called “liberalization”; a “liberal” in Luxembourg or Germany is a free-market enthusiast!) ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078/33 "2011-07-15T23:28:30Z")
What a nutty, anarcho-capitalist idea. The space program is one of the necessary functions of government along with the military, police, and administration of justice. Only the full resources of an entire country can fund the tremendous research and work needed to land men on Mars for example and the last thing we need is humilatiion by the Chinese in returning to the Moon or landing on Mars. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078/34 "2011-07-16T04:13:05Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > If I may attempt to infer what **Duckster** is passing on from his friend, it’s not that every shuttle mission is primarily military. I do know that the Shuttle (used to) carry all sorts of odds and ends of instruments and components besides its primary payload. These might be for research experiments, or prototypes for a satellite in development. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some bit of military hardware on each shuttle mission. Thank for the clarification. Keep in mind that NASA, like other federal agencies, would have a public agenda, as well as a hidden agenda. Just because a particular mission is announced covering such and such public and scientific activities does not mean that’s all that particular mission is doing. When I was part of the Columbia Shuttle Recovery we all received extensive training before going out in the field. Most of it was basic searching techniques and how to identify potential shuttle pieces. Not everyone received additional training in looking for specific things. At least one person with the extra training was attached to every search group. So while all the searchers where out looking for shuttle parts, there was always someone in a group to verify, “Yup a shuttle part,” vs. “Hmm, looks like a shuttle part. You can leave now, while I tag and bag this anyway.” ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078/35 "2011-07-16T04:27:16Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > When I was part of the Columbia Shuttle Recovery we all received extensive training before going out in the field. Most of it was basic searching techniques and how to identify potential shuttle pieces. Not everyone received additional training in looking for specific things. At least one person with the extra training was attached to every search group. So while all the searchers where out looking for shuttle parts, there was always someone in a group to verify, “Yup a shuttle part,” vs. “Hmm, looks like a shuttle part. You can leave now, while I tag and bag this anyway.” Well, this is evidence indeed of the great conspiracy to cover up the fact that _Columbia_ was[LIST=A] [li]taken down by an alien death ray, [/li][li]carrying a top secret Zionist space weapon payload, or [/li][li]actually a 1:17 scale _papier-mâché_ model.[/li][/LIST] Not, perhaps, that NASA didn’t want forensic evidence contaminated or coveted by private collectors. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078/36 "2011-07-16T08:41:37Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > I thought the whole purpose of space exploration was blind jingoism. Unless you’re developing space weapons or running a really high end space tourism industry, I fail to see the private appeal. You ignore that fans of privatization aren’t really interesting in _saving_ taxpayer dollars, but in _redirecting_ the dollars. You can bet the taxpayers will be asked to fund a new program (perhaps not called “blind jingoism”) to ensure the space privateers are richly rewarded. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-privatize-nasa/589078.md?page=1)