“Yes, but one flight does not make a manned spacecraft.”

At least SpaceX has real hardware they are testing. So far the SLS/MPCV is still in powerpoint or preliminary testing mode. Even when the SLS/MPCV does fly, it will change hardware configurations after each flight, so no full-up flight heritage will be able to be established for a long time.

By comparison, SpaceX will be flying the same rocket and will be flying 12 of the same configuration of capsules, so they will have a lot of flight heritage to base their crew configuration on.

No. Never. Way too difficult while I am creating value money for my clients: I actually print bills in my basement.

“SpaceX does not have any government loans.”

Well this is all mumbo-jumbo for subsidies and they got a lot of subsidies. All of them, that’s what they do. They get subsidies and take all the money away from our dearest contractors who are losing their rightfully and painfully earned sole source contracts.

“I wonder if you feel the least amount of shame for making stuff up,”

Nope.

” or if your obsession with Obama is driving this?”

Oba-who?

“They [SpaceX] aren’t spending their own money.”

Do you do ANY research before you post? SpaceX does not have any government loans.

I wonder if you feel the least amount of shame for making stuff up, or if your obsession with Obama is driving this?

The 2015 date was never expected to be the date ISS splashed down, it was merely an initial date in anticipation of future extensions. No plan was ever set forth hinging on the budgetary benefits of sinking ISS. Given that even at the dawn of VSE the ISS wasn’t expected to be complete until 2010 (hence the decided upon date for STS sundown) that would have been a remarkably bad budgetary decision. Given that Europe, Japan, Canada, and Russia all had contingency plans to keep all of their assets flying in the event we splashed ours down, it would have been exceptionally bad planning that would hand yet another capability to the sole ownership of other nations. This ISS splashdown fantasy of yours is getting more and more detached from reality as time goes on.

“No tax increases, minimal defense cuts, steep spending cuts. (Any of you self-styled Tea Partiers willing to back me?)”

Thats the Republican Party line, not the TEA party. The TEA party backs hefty defense cuts as well. They also support commercial crew and oppose Big Government Rockets. I wouldn’t expect them to jump in line with you, windy.

Why should they? They aren’t spending their own money. Solyndra had a lot of folks on the payroll too.

Don’t normally respond to trolls but this one’s too good an opportunity. Here’s a question for you awind: what did Shuttle cost even if it didn’t fly? Per month that is because there were periods of months when she didn’t. LOL
Perspective is everything.