NASA Space Exploration is Not 'Crony Capitalism' (ContributorNetwork)

Space blogger Rand Simberg has published a critique of the current space exploration plan which he titles "Shuttlyndra," an obvious attempt to relate it to the ongoing Solyndra controversy now wracking the Obama administration.

While Simberg makes a few good points, including the efficacy of NASA's use of "cost plus" contracts, he also makes a great many questionable ones. The main point that needs to be called into question is the supposition that the Space Launch System and the Orion Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle constitute "crony capitalism."

"Crony capitalism" is much in the news, thanks to Obama administration scandals such as Solyndra and opposition to the practice by prominent conservatives such as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. However the term has a specific meaning. The Business Directory defines crony capitalism, in part, as, "An economy that is nominally free-market but allows for preferential regulation and other favorable government intervention based on personal relationships."

The problem is that the arrangement under which the space launch system and the Orion is being built does not fit that definition. The SLS and the Orion are being built to fulfill an exclusively government function, much like aircraft carriers or tanks. There is nothing capitalist about it.

The "crony" part, Simberg is more on solid ground. Lobbyists from industry swarm Congress regularly to petition for lucrative government contracts. The aerospace industry is not exception to this. That is a practice that encompasses everything that the government does when it involves spending money. People and companies want a piece of the action. They will make their case to the government as to why they should get it. There is little prospect, under current interpretations of the Constitution, that the situation will change.

There is a program NASA is now sponsoring that does better fit the definition of crony capitalism. The commercial crew program, which is designed to enable the growth of a commercial space launch industry, fits the definition to a t. The government is shoveling huge amounts of subsidies and is offering lucrative contracts to commercial companies to build and operate private space taxis.

One of those companies is SpaceX, whose CEO is Elon Musk, a South African born entrepreneur who made his fortune founding PayPal. Musk has not been shy about traveling to Washington and roaming the halls of Congress asking for more money for space taxi subsidies. Musk is also a donor for President Barack Obama and other Democratic candidates and interests. One Republican Musk has raised money for is Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a supporter of the commercial crew program that has benefited his company.

There are legitimate reasons for NASA to try to commercialize space travel between Earth and low Earth orbit. And Musk may have good, political reasons aside from his company's ties with Washington to give campaign donations to the people and organizations he has chosen. It should be noted, however, that previous to the Obama administration, Musk gave roughly equal amounts of money to Democrats and Republicans. Now his generosity almost exclusively benefits Democrats, with the exception of Rohrabacher. The situation, to coin a current Washington phrase, does not have good optics.

Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker. He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the L.A. Times, and The Weekly Standard.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111003/us_ac/10133605_nasa_space_exploration_is_not_crony_capitalism

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