Saturday, May 23, 2009

New NASA General: Sign of the Times


Retired military men find cushy spots as lobbyists and corporate board members in Eisenhower's Military-Industrial Complex (MIC). Never mind Dwight's MIC morphed into the Government-Industrial Monstrosity, thanks to trillions in federal spending steroids.

NASA's new leader is a Marine General and former space shuttle astronaut. I'm sure he's a great person and highly qualified, but Gen. Charles Bolden starts his new job with an ethics waiver. It's needed from his time as a lobbyist for ATK and board member for Gencorp, Inc.

The other sign unspoken sign is the militarization of space. America has clear plans and black box programs in this arena. The Obama team undertook a review of space policies. Reuters reported:

The new administration would work through the complex military space issues during a defense review to be completed by September, and as part of a space report due in December.
Depending on how the report turns out, it doesn't hurt to have a military man in charge of NASA.

Update 2-3-10 NASA announced it would privatize human space flight. Charles Bolden paraded a host of private contractors as the new face of space exploration. Gencorp was not among the initial winners, but give Gen. Bolden time. He'll come up with a plan.

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