Technomaly

NASA and the Obama administration says the future of space travel will depend more on private companies to do the legwork in creating new technology and building the technology for future space travelers.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the move is expected to be a part of President Barack Obama’s next budget. After the success of the various X-prizes, these types of deals are becoming more and more intriguing.

The idea of outsourcing a portion of NASA’s manned space program to the private sector gained momentum after recommendations from a presidential panel appointed last year. The panel, chaired by former Lockheed Martin Corp. Chairman Norman Augustine, argued that allowing companies to build and launch their own rockets and spacecraft to carry American astronauts into orbit would save money and also free up NASA to focus on more ambitious, longer-term goals.

The plan does come with its critics, and some of them have very valid points. NASA brass says that while these private initiatives can help in some areas, every dollar taken from NASA’s budget makes it harder to pursue the future of space travel. Putting science funds in private hands could be great for things like space ferrying to and from the International Space Station, but the critics are right. Space exploration is difficult and fraught with unseen problems. If NASA cuts its margins with private exploration, that is less money for projects that exceed budgets — nearly every project.

These smaller margins aren’t likely to spark great ideas from NASA scientists, it’s bound to spark panic and the cutting of corners.

A more academic approach to NASA funding seems to be much more preferable, allowing scientists to ponder, fail and move on or change direction. The greatest technology comes from imagination and time, not a business plan. So dumping funds into private companies can tweak existing technology, but there won’t be the grand leaps that academia can create.

[Via Wall Street Journal]