Comments on: Shelton: time for “pause” in RD-180 debate

By: Egad

Egad — Thu, 22 May 2014 19:48:07 +0000

Oops, you’re right, I clearly had an arithmetically challenged moment there.

By: Jim Nobles

Jim Nobles — Thu, 22 May 2014 17:21:49 +0000

Elon got his picture taken with Obama and they were both smiling. That’s about all it takes for amightywind. Obama and the congress cancelled Constellation and everyone was talking up SpaceX: that caused amightwind to blow a rationality circuit. I’m not really qualified to say but it looks to me like some kind of post traumatic shock syndrome or something similar.

It’s a shame really, he can make some sense when he’s lucid.

By: Dick Eagleson

Dick Eagleson — Thu, 22 May 2014 13:49:22 +0000

I've said it elsewhere and I'll repeat it here. I think the Aerospace Corp. has more people shuffling paperwork to certify the F9v1.1 than SpaceX used to design the sucker.

By: Dick Eagleson

Dick Eagleson — Thu, 22 May 2014 13:44:29 +0000

Windy’s got this peculiar idea that Elon Musk and Barack Obama are golf buddies or something.

By: Ben Russell-Gough

Ben Russell-Gough — Thu, 22 May 2014 12:10:57 +0000

I have to agree here. It would be nice if the heads of major defence/aerospace companies were made to live by the testimony they so casually give before Congress!

By: DocM

DocM — Thu, 22 May 2014 10:49:23 +0000

NSF members repprt rumors of a pending Shelton retiremrnt. It’ll be interesting to see if he finds as comfortable a place to drop his landing gear as the procurement officer that signed the bulk buy. He ended up at AJR, which presents a whole other channel for chatter; a partner in RD AMROSS, ULA supplier etc.

By: Sean Lynch

Sean Lynch — Thu, 22 May 2014 01:09:32 +0000

Let LM/Boeing fund a new RD-180 replacement
I’m sure Shelton would love to keep the Atlas V flying. My response is:
not one taxpayer dime for an Atlas V specific RD-180 replacement!

Michael Gass assured the Senate on March 27th, ULA has everything it needs to build the RD-180. Put up or shut up ULA. It’s your Atlas V ULA; you build the existing engine for the Atlas V like you told the senate you could on your dime. You have the manufacturing license until 2022,and can pay Russia to extend the license as required.

It’s pretty cool to see so many friends from NSF posting here!

By: Gary Warburton

Gary Warburton — Wed, 21 May 2014 16:30:45 +0000

The only crony capitalism is what has been happening since the Apollo days among established firms and some governments. Mister Musk certainly has nothing to do with that or he wouldn`t have so much opposition that opposition doesn`t like being exposed.

By: Andrew Swallow

Andrew Swallow — Wed, 21 May 2014 15:12:31 +0000

Also why the certification cannot be done by 3 people in a week. A major program suggests they are doing lots of things that do not need doing.

Note: Only a person of much higher rank can change the process to something quicker, cheaper and more reliable.

By: Coastal Ron

Coastal Ron — Wed, 21 May 2014 13:45:30 +0000

amightywind said:

“Welcome to the crony capitalist world of Elon MUsk.”

Don’t be so blatantly ignorant – as pointed out above government contractors (including Boeing and Lockheed Martin) sue the government all the time.

Sheesh.