[caconym_]

Imagine a world where e.g. a moderately well-funded university science department can launch instruments into space. It sounds absolutely fucking amazing. Near-Earth space is going to fill up regardless, and I'd like to live in a world where big corporations and governments aren't the only entities that can afford to put stuff up there.

Meanwhile, our space exploration program basically exists as an excuse to rob the American taxpayer to fund massive, obsolete rockets and get politicians re-elected. That's not to say that the instruments themselves aren't examples of the finest technology ever created by the human species, but their way of doing business needs an overhaul. They need some competition, and SpaceX and other new space companies are bringing it.

[themagician]

Not sure what world you live in. I went to a state school where a number of people worked on instruments for Cassini.

Not sure what politicians get elected over NASA projects in the last 40 years. Maybe for cutting their budget.

[caconym_]

> Not sure what world you live in. I went to a state school where a number of people worked on instruments for Cassini.

Good for you. I went to a small private school where such things were a pipedream, and I expect in poorer countries than the USA the outlook is even bleaker for universities sending hardware to space.

> Not sure what politicians get elected over NASA projects in the last 40 years. Maybe for cutting their budget.

Are you seriously claiming that space pork doesn't exist?

I mean, e.g. Richard Shelby hasn't come out and said "I use my political clout to shackle science and exploration missions to the SLS because it is an economic boon to my constituency at the general expense of the American taxpayer", but if you have eyes to read between the lines it's not a difficult leap to make.

[dlivingston]

Slightly OT (payload rather than instrumentation), but I was able to work on a CubeSat [0] project as an undergraduate at a small state school, which was an absolutely amazing experience.

I later went to ASU where I worked for the School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE) which is a world-class department for students interested in aerospace.

Awesome aerospace R&D is certainly not solely the realm of Ivy League private schools.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CubeSat

[caconym_]

> Slightly OT (payload rather than instrumentation), but I was able to work on a CubeSat [0] project as an undergraduate at a small state school, which was an absolutely amazing experience.

This is a great example of how downward-trending costs of putting things in space have already opened doors. There are certainly more dimensions to that trend than SpaceX selling cheap launches.

When I went to university, CubeSats were barely a thing, unfortunately.

Also, the idea of filling up space with little chunks of non-government science and engineering seems to go against the stated position of the guy I've been replying to.

[themagician]

> Good for you. I went to a small private school where such things were a pipedream, and I expect in poorer countries than the USA the outlook is even bleaker for universities sending hardware to space.

Sounds like we should probably invest more in improving the public school system.

[ShorsHammer]

A bunch of Canadian students and their lecturers built a world class telescope while in university using off the shelf technology.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonfly_Telephoto_Array

https://www.dragonflytelescope.org/

It's all published and anyone can make their own too. Using off the shelf products.

Having a colossal budget to blow isn't always the answer to everything in fact it's sometimes more of a hindrance which is clear to anyone ever involved with government procurement and how it works.

[caconym_]

Your point isn't clear, but that's certainly a true statement.

Sometimes, it's best just to walk away.