That Burt Rutan memo to Congressman Wolf in full

by | Feb 26, 2010 | Seradata News | 2 comments

Burt Rutan has given Hyperbola permission to print in full the original memo the founder of Scaled Composites sent to Congressman Frank Wolf that was the basis for the Wall Street Journal article that has sparked so much comment including from Rutan himself. Rutan’s further comments that he released on 26 February can be found here in Hyperbola’s previous blog posting about this episode in the US national debate over what NASA should do next

I occasionally banter with my friend, Mike Griffin on subjects that
include golf, the AGW scare and NASA policy.  After sending him my
latest tirade, he shared with me his recent letter to you regarding
taxpayer-funded space research.  I promised him that I would send you my
thoughts on the debate, which follow:

From my past comments on NASA’s post-mid-70s manned space
efficiencies/accomplishments, an observer might think that I would
applaud a decision to turn this important responsibility over to
commercial developers.  However, he would be wrong.

No question, it would be good to see commercial companies quickly
succeed at orbital access and to take that capability beyond low earth
orbit.  However, I am fearful that the commercial guys will fail; i.e.
they will do little more in my remaining lifetime than NASA accomplished
in 3.5 years with Gemini in the mid 1960s.  That would be a very big
mistake for America to make, as we move into an era of real competition
in space exploration as well as risk the loss of our leadership in
nearly every other technical discipline.

Mike Griffin’s excellent statement says it best; “I too want, in the
strongest possible terms, to have government policies which serve to
stimulate private development of space. But at the same time, I too am
reluctant — with an analogy to instrument flying — to give up an
airport where I know I can get in on the approach, for one where I
might”.

What I would like to see is a decade or two of overlap – an initial push
in the commercial arena of manned spaceflight (Development programs, not
Research programs), while NASA flies risky new ideas (read, true
Research programs, giving at least a chance of discovering an important
new Breakthrough), and at the same time pushes the forefront of
Exploration beyond the earth’s moon.

Imagine how much better America could motivate our youth if we were
spending the billions of Stimulus Package money on making real progress
in our efforts to someday colonize off the planet.

Two years after Neil and Buzz landed on the moon, America led the world
in awarding PhDs in science/engineering/math.  Today we are not even on
the first or second page and most of our University’s technical
graduates take their skills back to their own countries to compete with
us. The motivation of our youth is the most important thing we do for
our nation’s long-term security and prosperity.  NASA’s role in that can
be as critical as it was in the 60s if the taxpayers fund true Research
and Exploration.

The attachment is a photo I took at the Shuttle STS-130 launch –
Caption: “Reaction when told about the President’s NASA directive to
abandon manned spaceflight”.

As always, I am ok with the distribution of my thoughts without
limitation.

While I usually offer candid remarks at the drop of the hat, I am not
interested in Congressional testimony, since under duress I occasionally
have been known to blurt out the truth.  I have no interest in being in
the same room with John Holdren….. Taking a line from a very old play:
“I must turn away, least I soil my hands with the blood of a fool”

Burt Rutan

About Seradata

Seradata produce the renowned Seradata database. Trusted by over 100 of the world’s leading Space organisations, Seradata is a fully queryable database used for market analysis, failure/risk assessment, spectrum analysis and space situational awareness (SSA).

For more information go to https://www.seradata.com/product/

Related Articles

Gold rush for lunar comms attracts Lockheed Martin which sets up subsidiary to operate satellite relay pair

While landings on the Moon have been done before and are now regarded as a known technology, one aspect of Read more

Suspected maritime surveillance satellite Yaogan 34-04 sat launched by China

A Long March 4C (CZ-4C) launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China, at 0627 GMT on 31 March. The Read more

China launches four SAR satellites for commercial EO constellation

At 1050 GMT on 30 March a Long March 2D/2 (CZ-2D/2) rocket lifted-off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China, Read more

SpaceX launches next batch of Starlink satellites: Group 5-10

SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, USA at 2101 GMT on 29 March. The vehicle carried a Read more

Soyuz 2-1v single stack rocket launches fourth EO-MKA sat

At 1957 GMT on 29 March 2023, a Russian Soyuz-2-1v launch vehicle lifted off from the Plesetsk launch site in Read more

Space Insurance: Premium rates remain stable for now but underwriter sentiment turns against Arianespace

Twice a year, Seradata takes a survey of space underwriters to find out what typical premium rates are for rocket Read more

Damaged Soyuz MS-22 returns to Earth without its crew aboard

On 28 March 2023 the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-22/ISS-68S spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) Rassvet module at 0957 Read more

Israel makes retrograde Shavit-2 launch of new Ofeq-13 satellite – believed to be for radar reconaissance

Israel has launched a Shavit-2 launch vehicle from the Palmachim launch site in Israel at circa 2110 GMT on 28 Read more

Categories

Archives

Tags

nasaspacexecoreviewsissesaArianespacevideochina25virgin galacticfalcon 9ULARoscosmosDGAaviation weekaresevasoyuzIGTspacewalkFalcon 9v1.2FT Block 5BeidouawardsInternational Space StationspaceSatellite broadcastingBlue OriginrussiamoonStarlinkCargo Return VehicleresearchboeingmarsblogAirbus DSOneWebRocket LaborionISROimpacthyperbolamarsdelayjaxaspaceshiptwodemocratgoogle lunar prizerocketlunarhypertextobamaEutelsatlaunchVegatourismconstellationbarack obamafiguresSESnorthspaceflightnode 2fundedthales alenia spaceRaymond LygoIntelsat2009romeAtlas VExpress MD-2dassault aviationss2Elon MuskLockheed MartinaviationLucy2008wk2sstlukradiotestmissilesuborbitaldocking portexplorationVirgin OrbitinternetChina Manned Space Engineeringsts-122Ariane 5 ECASLSmissile defensenewspapercotsgalileospace tourismflight2010Ariane 5Express AMU 1spaceportbuildspace stationaltairElectronshuttleProton Minternational astronautical congressNorthrop GrummanIntelsat 23Cosmosscaled compositesEuropean Space AgencyLauncherOnehanleybudgetrulesnew yorksoyuz 2-1aLong March 4CLong March 2D/2Ariane 6Vietnamatvspace shuttleshenzhoucongressMojaveboldeniacGuiana Space Centercnesnew shepardOrbital ATKLong March 2CUK Space AgencyksclawsSpace Systems/LoralUS Air ForceILSInmarsatLong March 4BprotonTalulah RileyApollodarpaeuSkylonAstriumlanderastronautbaseusapicturedragonSSLVega Cfiveeventlunar landerfalconSea LaunchWednesdayinterview50thSNCAprilKuaizhou 1ASpace InsuranceTelesat7customeratlantisLong Marchlinksuccessorgriffin