Did SpaceX make too many waves trying to save the U.S. taxpayers some space dollars? It certainly looks that way as congressmen from multiple states tied to the status quo rocket program ask more and more questions of SpaceX,
criticizing the firm for an "epidemic of anomalies" in a letter to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. It seems the Dragon and Falcon projects make these congressmen nervous. They write:
In the interest of full disclosure and accountability to the American
taxpayer, we request that NASA publicly release all anomalies and
mishap information, un-redacted, so that Congress can gain a better
understanding of what has occurred and ensure full transparency...Again, because the
vehicles in question were funded by American taxpayer dollars, there
should be no issue in making this report publicly available.
The only problem is that the Falcon did not involve U.S. taxpayer dollars, not that technicalities like this ever bothered the Congress. And I cannot help wondering if SpaceX's current lawsuit challenging the Air Force's purchase of Atlas and Delta rockets from a competitor located in the states of these congressmen has anything to do with it.
I would like to think this Congress sees the space program as more than a jobs program, and understands that cheaper rockets and related missions means even more missions for other space priorities. Then again, this is an election year, so space can wait, again. Maybe funding space museums should be our new priority since we do not seem to interested in bringing the space program into a new era of competition. I am sure congressional members with museums in their districts will agree.
