SEDS Forums

I recently had a thought about the benefits and disadvantages of privatizing NASA.

The main motivation, in my mind, behind doing this is that there would be more money invested; corporate and private investors are better financial support than the government. The serious drawback is, of course, that there would be much more corruption involved (corporations claiming resources on other planets, NASA being used to develop money making products, etc.).

What are your thoughts on this? Do you feel the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? Or is the current system fruitful, yet steady, enough already?

For my part, I see no way that any corporation would have the stupidity to invest their money in a privatized NASA...

Privatazation would leave the same NASA as now, capable only of wasting what it is given...

Better to just have Congress give prizes for actual hardware and results, rather than "attempts" by NASA.

I do have to admit that some of NASA's R&D is potentially very useful many years in the future, but hardly immediately profitable as any investor would need...

Dont underestimate the power of the name NASA.

I think some corperations would give alot of money to be able to slap their logos on the SRBs or liquid fuel tank for a shuttle launch.

Espescially with the Apollo era audience, the name of NASA still carries weight, even if those of us involved in space know that they are pretty inefficient.

To have their companies related to NASA in any way shape or form in their customer's minds might be worth it to many.

If NASA is privatized and other private companies come into existance (as they are beginning to do), then NASA will also be subject to the constraints of economics and competition. This would force corruption and wastefulness to be eliminated for it to be able to remain a force in the market.