Comments on: Griffin on commercialization

By: keith Cowing

keith Cowing — Mon, 09 May 2005 22:35:19 +0000

Futron is a company that is paid money by the government and aerospace companies for services rendered. Jeff works for that company. He is paid to do analysis for Futron’s clients. He also goes to events – as press – including launches. He is also quoted as an industry expert.

By: Phil Smith

Phil Smith — Mon, 09 May 2005 05:57:57 +0000

Just for the record, Futron does not “take” money from government sources. It earns it through contracts which are competed.

Futron is a commercial company, not an FFRDC, a think tank, or a non-profit. Often, Futron is misunderstood. As for Kieth’s comments about Jeff’s disclosures, this is a dead horse that keeps getting beat on. I have no idea how or when this will be resolved to anyone’s satisfaction. One thing for sure, the nature of our interactions in this Information Age are becoming increasingly complex and difficult to characterize easily…

By: Donald F. Robertson

Donald F. Robertson — Fri, 06 May 2005 18:37:32 +0000

I have to agree with Kieth on this one (and Jim Muncy in an earlier post). We are talking about spending the public’s money. Politics is, and should be, involved any time we plan to spend public money, on spaceflight or anything else. Duh, indeed.

— Donald

By: Matthew Brown

Matthew Brown — Fri, 06 May 2005 17:56:54 +0000

Well not “DUH” on everything a long long time ago back when i was in high school, I had a “brillant” plan to start a company that developed technologies
required for Space Habitation that had signifigant viablity on Earth. But i’d develop the earth uses and make money from that. And use the profits from one technology to start the next and so on. Well I thought, automatic hydroponics, that wouldn’t ruffle anyones feathers would it? (Well i should have asked myself that question at the time, before i spent a signifgant amount of my own money at the time tinkering with hydroponics) Then i read a book about the big 3 Agriculture companies and there lobbys. I then realsized exporting to desert countries would be blocked by them. And subversive space technologies was not even viable. AT the time i had a temper, I still have a bit of one but i’ve mellowed lot since then.

Politics is still a foreign concept to my highly technical mind. WHich is why I’ll never be well off but that others who can do the politics will get rich off me and my ideas. But i decided in the end i don’t care, as long as we do become space faring. I can see the walls, but i never can see the gate. And the gate is what i hope to see with this blog.

By: Keith Cowing

Keith Cowing — Fri, 06 May 2005 00:51:21 +0000

Brown: “Every plan I’ve come up with to help us become spacefaring always runs into politics.”

DUH.

By: Matthew Brown

Matthew Brown — Thu, 05 May 2005 23:42:04 +0000

Interesting hypothesis you are implying but stating directly. So I’ll state it as i see it.

That Futron suppliments Jeff for his work on this site and he uses his Futron creditals to get where others can’t. And that its government Money being spent to do so. Two questions at that:

How long has this site or Jeffs other endevours along these lines been around and how longhas Jeff been working for Futron? Might it not have been because of this and other works of his is how he got the job. I got that Game development job because of my personal intrest.

How much of futron is governmental contract and how much is private sources? (Tough question to answer because of NDA agreements think tanks have to deal with)

even if there is a collusion, what does futron get out of this? I know what I as a tax payer gets out of this.. Information I never would have gotten other wise. I live in the other Washington, i can’t make trips to DC everytime a talk like this occurs. (Which is why i wish transcripts were avaiable) I also get out of this insight to how it all works so I can keep the hope that the human race and culture and history and art will survive long after we are dust. Every plan I’ve come up with to help us become spacefaring always runs into politics.

Futron gets the same thing I, you, and everyone else who vists this site. A source of information and an eventual historical record of how things played out in the past. And a place to discuss our Opinions, thoughts, and yes annoyances.

By: Keith Cowing

Keith Cowing — Thu, 05 May 2005 22:47:11 +0000

No envy, Matt. Nor any grudge. Just annoyance that Jeff and Futron won’t simply admit the obvious.

By: Matthew Brown

Matthew Brown — Thu, 05 May 2005 22:14:24 +0000

So if I post on my blog which has no advertising no revenue coming in about some niffty new tech i find out about at a conference my company paid to me to go to, i have to disclose that?

What commercial site does he run? I’m unaware of the site and would like to see if he discloses there. If you mean this site, well Spacepolitics.com is not a commercial website. Commercial indicates revenue. The “.com” in the domain is no longer a desgnation of a comercial domain just like .org no longer means a non profit organzation. Those desgnations stopped meaning anything a long time ago. Around the time of your worm watch program I miss the worm.

If you don’t see it that way well we can only agree to disagree. Just don’t see see any reason for you to force the issue then out of envy of someone who doesn’t disrespect others, or perhaps some sort of grudge, which you seem to keep for a long time. From my only exposure to your comments here and your editor’s notes on NASA watch.

By: keith Cowing

keith Cowing — Thu, 05 May 2005 21:26:01 +0000

Matthew et al: as I said before, Jeff runs a commercial news website, is quoted as a launch policy analyst (recent Space News), shows up at “press” sites for launch events, often attends events on company time which he then writes about, and is paid to analyze the things he reports on by a company which takes federal funds as well as money from the very launch companies whose efforts his company (Futron) analyzes. I have no problem with him doing this per se – as long as he is open about who pays him to do what. I just think he needs to be a much more forthcoming about who is subsidizing his activities – and his access to events – regardless of where he posts.

By: Matthew Brown

Matthew Brown — Thu, 05 May 2005 18:57:30 +0000

Griffin is building up Political Capital right now making everyone feel good. I still would like a full transcript. I think it was a correct thing to say right now. The “stay tuned” part has me on the edge of my seat like i haven’t been since the first couple of flights of the DC-X. Lets just hopes he spends it soon.

And Keith:

Spacepolitics.com is not a commercial site so why should he need to disclose here? He discloses on his articles on thespacereview. I don’t seem to recall your disclosures Keith when Nasawach wasn’t a commercial site. Just a whole lot of whining that the PAO wasn’t giving you press credentials.

So while we are all disclosing:

Former member of Artemis Society
Former member of The Planetary Society
Former founding member of The Mars Society
Former Game Develpoer for Mare Crisium
Current Systems Enginneer for Earthlink Inc. (I am currently on my lunch break)
Current Independant Space Activist trying to find the keystone that will wake up the people to that our very survival depends on cheap acess to space.

Why am I not a member of any space organization? Because none of the groups out there has enough public outreach that really matters. Nor do i have the skills or apptitude for those skills (i’ve spent years trying to get those skills) to spear head it in such an organzation.Plus it allows be to speak my mind without making a black mark on such organizations with good intentions. Or closer to the truth my time in those organzations have made me a bitter cynic.