When it comes to rocket tech and space travel, I find that the nature of the people leading the charge on it and what they plan to do with space travel makes me wholly uninterested in that entire field. The endless “Say what you will about Elon Musk, but that guy dreams big and SpaceX is doing awesome work.” comments that ignore the plans that Musk is trying to set up irritate me to no end.
Trying to separate Elon Musk’s words and actions from what his company is trying to do is wrong. When Musk glibly commits SEC violations through Twitter posts, calls someone a “pedo guy” in a fit of manchild rage because somebody said “No” to his whack job publicity stunt, and reinvents indentured servitude for the 21st century, the motives of Musk and SpaceX as a whole should be thrown into question. With people like Musk, Bezos, and Richard Branson being the poster boys of modern spaceflight, why should I ever cheer on a future where space becomes a commoditized playground for the uber-rich, who are waited on by debtors?
I guess this just a long-winded and roundabout way for me to ask: What exactly gets y’all so excited about the current rocket and spaceflight landscape when the major players in the public eye are all horrible people? Have any governments, space agencies, or the UN discussed safeguards to prevent corporations from having free reign of space? And lastly, are there any alternative rocket organizations or companies in this sector that I can feel comfortable following and rooting for?
