and this has been said to you already
Where? By whom?
is that you seem to see things in binary fashion, true or false. They are shades of grey between white and black, and it is how the world affairs are constantly running.
Yes, and I am sure this magically makes everything potentially disagreeable about actions within the US space program, totally acceptable and something to support, as always.
:facepalm:
This is even more true with spaceflight, because rockets and aerospace systems are bind to weaponery technology (missles, etc...).
Which has very little to do with the problems that spaceflight is experiencing, which are mainly caused by corporate and political interests rather than military ones.
Unless there is some reason why launching EFT-1 on a DIVH benefits the USAF in some way, considering that they are its only user.
Why Gagarin was sent into space ? Khrutschev didn't gave its authorization because he was curious about science, but because he wanted to say to the USA : "Look, I can put a 4-tons spacecraft into orbit and bring it back to Earth safely, so I can easily do the same with a nuclear bomb. You are defenseless against that, I own the world so show me respect !".
Two nations trying to out-compete eachother with impressive actions is
not the same thing as politicians benefitting their "campaign benefactors" or compromising an administration's purpose for their own gain.
It is a really annoying analogy.
(Also, I don't know where the "Vostok as demonstration of ICBM technology" theory comes from, as this stuff was being tested for years before Vostok 1. Sputnik and Vostok relied on missile technology, not the other way around.)
So are you hoping that some kind of "saint" suddenly rises and leads the US space program ?
No, I am hoping to not just say "lulz, this thing is so awesome!!!" just because I like it so much, like you do.
Everything has to do with interests and struggle for power.
Just because something happens, does not mean it should be deemed acceptable!
I mean, really. Just because I don't want to sit around and say "Orion is awesome! NASA is awesome!" without questioning their actions and motives (which does not mean automatically "I think this is bad"), you effectively endorse shady politics, and now the whole thread derails into off-topic.
Maybe we need a new mega-thread: "Are shady corporate actions and politics acceptable"...