Isn’t privatization of space launches a good thing?
Yes, it will be. When commercial orbital transport for humans and cargo becomes available, NASA should be first in line to utilize their services. Commercial launch services, including Space X’s remarkable Falcon 9 booster, appear close to being ready for cargo launch, but transport for humans is farther away. But even when such services come on line, they should be complementary with NASA-operated launches, each doing what they do best. Former astronaut Tom Jones suggests in his blog that it is “premature” to depend on commercial rockets for crew transport. Launching rockets safely and successfully is hard.
