THE NEW SPACE RACE: With access to space on the line, the U.S. is eating its seed corn. “Sometimes, success has unforeseen consequences. The United States Space Force and Air Force (and NASA) have, in essence, decided they will simply procure space launch as a service from SpaceX. This isn’t an actual decision but is nevertheless true enough, as it has become the default situation. Cost and availability — the comparative ease of getting a launch slot — have resulted in tremendous business success for SpaceX.”

Well, I love SpaceX but I wish Blue Origin, ULA, etc. were better competitors. They’re not. Ideally, NASA should still be doing the bleeding-edge research, but are they even up to that? I mean, given the realities, reliance on SpaceX makes sense. But of course, like all institutions SpaceX will eventually ossify and become less creative, especially without significant competition.