While it's hard for me to appreciate "a promised land I won’t live to see," your infectiously optimistic view of these things actually stimulates interest I would otherwise never have had, which (for me, at least) is saying quite a lot.
Jerry Pournelle and I were pen pals in the 80's and 90's while I was in the Army. I used to write him letters from the driver's hole of my tank. The first one I wrote was a 19 year old private who never expected one of his absolute favorite authors to write him back. But Jerry did and we ended up writing back and forth on the military, our dreams of space, and much more over the years. In the 90's that changed from physical letters to emails, but it continued on well into the 2000's. I'm sure Jerry is out there somewhere looking down on all that is happening, happy as a clam! And Robert Heinlein, too! I'm 59 now and my own dream of living on the moon seems to be unlikely, but I WILL live to see humans on the moon and mars, of that I'm finally certain.
It is readily apparent that Elon Musk just thinks way differently than virtually everyone else on the planet. You capture the scope of his thinking in this great article. And you show your obvious enthusiasm for the future. It is infectious!
Jerry Pournelle had many rare gifts: A visionary hard scientist (Star Wars) who could also create stories and, indeed, universes where deep, identifiable characters entertained us. "Falkenberg's Legion", "Footfall" (with Niven), and many others. Definitely a man whose brain utilized both sides to the fullest. Have to think Elon benefited from any interactions they had. Let us never forget Elon's purchase of X. Perhaps one of the most impactful acts stemming the tide of progressive barbarism seen to date. Two men cut from the same cloth, to be sure.
I truly think this a superpower "... how Elon Musk has managed to hire so many utterly competent people, both engineers and non-engineers for his companies "
The universe offers a lifetime of wonder. Through my $550 Seestar I am photographing NGC 2903, 25,000,000 million light years from earth, which has to be an immense structure to be viewable from that distance, and looking back in time 25,000,000 million years. Too bad we cannot yet look forward that far.
These images and distances underscore the unfathomable vastness of the universe inhabited by untold intellects of which we are probably among the least developed. It's just the beginning really and as this post reveals, Elon is opening the door thanks to the greatest country on earth and capitalism. I am sorry NASA, you did some good stuff but a government bureaucracy could never accomplish what Space X is offering.
It's unimaginable that life could travel these distances even at the speed of light, so if there are other worldly creatures visiting and observing us, they must have figured something out well beyond our crude understanding of physics. Certainly mine anyway. So much wonder for future generations to discover if we don’t blow it.
I'm not a fan of battery-electric vehicles for a bunch of technical and economic reasons, so have wondered when Elon would concede the energy density math of batteries vs liquid fuels. And start building series-hybrid EVs. (Small genset + small battery + large fuel tank in place of a BEV's battery.) I would buy such a series-hybrid.
But as you write: "It’s like he’s been thinking about this stuff all along. It’s like that because he has."
I'm convinced Elon has explicitly rejected fuel burning vehicle designs because his real intended uses are in environments without free oxygen in an atmosphere. Only on Earth is a hybrid vehicle design paired with nuke-powered liquid fuel synthesis a long-term win. Everywhere else in the solar system, all components of chemical energy storage must be present, contained in the vehicle. Elon needs BEVs to be as finely engineered as possible, and that is best accomplished with markets on Earth.
Sigh. I still want a CyberTruck with a genset and fuel tank.
Eight years before I was born, Apollo 17 returned from the moon (1972). I sadly missed the most exciting adventure humans have ever experienced. Since I was young I've dreamed of being able to witness the next big milestone. We've seen no further manned missions outside Low Earth Orbit in my years, but this is about to change with SpaceX and Blue Origin pushing humanity back into the new space race alongside NASA. Other wonderful new companies such as Rocketlab are increasing the excitement with smaller payloads as well. This is an amazing time to be alive and I want to share all I can with you. Historically I'm a huge fan of Kerbal Space Program (KSP) which is where my Youtube channel started. KSP2 is around the corner, so we may well get back into that at some point soon as well.
Congress required NASA to build the SLS to protect jobs and keep money flowing to specific states and contractors. After Obama canceled the Constellation program’s Ares rockets in 2010, senators from key NASA states like Alabama, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and Utah pushed back hard through the NASA Authorization Act. 
They basically told NASA: use existing Space Shuttle and Constellation hardware “to the extent practicable,” keep those workforces employed, and build a heavy-lift rocket with specific lift requirements. It wasn’t NASA’s idea—Congress wrote it into law to avoid massive layoffs in aerospace districts and sustain contracts for companies like Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and Aerojet Rocketdyne. 
It’s classic pork-barrel politics: lawmakers directing federal dollars to their districts. Critics call it the “Senate Launch System” for a reason. It’s expensive and slow, but it spread work across all 50 states, creating a strong political coalition that’s kept it alive for years.
“It needs another flight or two so they can pretend it wasn’t a failure, then they’ll fold it up.”
This is not entirely accurate. The SLS will get another flight or two because Starship isn’t ready yet. The current head of NASA will drop SLS like a hot potato first chance he gets.
I like the way you inverted the RAF slogan. To the Stars thru adversity is better than Thru adversity to the stars IMO because the first clause is the objective
“Damn, how I wish Jerry Pournelle could be watching this.”
Oh, he is. I'm morally certain of it.
While it's hard for me to appreciate "a promised land I won’t live to see," your infectiously optimistic view of these things actually stimulates interest I would otherwise never have had, which (for me, at least) is saying quite a lot.
Jerry Pournelle and I were pen pals in the 80's and 90's while I was in the Army. I used to write him letters from the driver's hole of my tank. The first one I wrote was a 19 year old private who never expected one of his absolute favorite authors to write him back. But Jerry did and we ended up writing back and forth on the military, our dreams of space, and much more over the years. In the 90's that changed from physical letters to emails, but it continued on well into the 2000's. I'm sure Jerry is out there somewhere looking down on all that is happening, happy as a clam! And Robert Heinlein, too! I'm 59 now and my own dream of living on the moon seems to be unlikely, but I WILL live to see humans on the moon and mars, of that I'm finally certain.
It is readily apparent that Elon Musk just thinks way differently than virtually everyone else on the planet. You capture the scope of his thinking in this great article. And you show your obvious enthusiasm for the future. It is infectious!
Jerry Pournelle had many rare gifts: A visionary hard scientist (Star Wars) who could also create stories and, indeed, universes where deep, identifiable characters entertained us. "Falkenberg's Legion", "Footfall" (with Niven), and many others. Definitely a man whose brain utilized both sides to the fullest. Have to think Elon benefited from any interactions they had. Let us never forget Elon's purchase of X. Perhaps one of the most impactful acts stemming the tide of progressive barbarism seen to date. Two men cut from the same cloth, to be sure.
Wholeheartedly agree with all your points; exciting times.
one nit, the fuel is CH4 (methane), not methanol.
Crap, you're right. Brain burp. Will fix.
From what Jerry told me around 2015, he had Elon's ear for several conversations. X project like development and all the rest of SpaceX is pure Jerry.
I truly think this a superpower "... how Elon Musk has managed to hire so many utterly competent people, both engineers and non-engineers for his companies "
The universe offers a lifetime of wonder. Through my $550 Seestar I am photographing NGC 2903, 25,000,000 million light years from earth, which has to be an immense structure to be viewable from that distance, and looking back in time 25,000,000 million years. Too bad we cannot yet look forward that far.
These images and distances underscore the unfathomable vastness of the universe inhabited by untold intellects of which we are probably among the least developed. It's just the beginning really and as this post reveals, Elon is opening the door thanks to the greatest country on earth and capitalism. I am sorry NASA, you did some good stuff but a government bureaucracy could never accomplish what Space X is offering.
It's unimaginable that life could travel these distances even at the speed of light, so if there are other worldly creatures visiting and observing us, they must have figured something out well beyond our crude understanding of physics. Certainly mine anyway. So much wonder for future generations to discover if we don’t blow it.
I'm not a fan of battery-electric vehicles for a bunch of technical and economic reasons, so have wondered when Elon would concede the energy density math of batteries vs liquid fuels. And start building series-hybrid EVs. (Small genset + small battery + large fuel tank in place of a BEV's battery.) I would buy such a series-hybrid.
But as you write: "It’s like he’s been thinking about this stuff all along. It’s like that because he has."
I'm convinced Elon has explicitly rejected fuel burning vehicle designs because his real intended uses are in environments without free oxygen in an atmosphere. Only on Earth is a hybrid vehicle design paired with nuke-powered liquid fuel synthesis a long-term win. Everywhere else in the solar system, all components of chemical energy storage must be present, contained in the vehicle. Elon needs BEVs to be as finely engineered as possible, and that is best accomplished with markets on Earth.
Sigh. I still want a CyberTruck with a genset and fuel tank.
For those interested in Space X, Blue Origin (aka flying dildos)
Marcus House
https://www.youtube.com/@MarcusHouse/videos
Eight years before I was born, Apollo 17 returned from the moon (1972). I sadly missed the most exciting adventure humans have ever experienced. Since I was young I've dreamed of being able to witness the next big milestone. We've seen no further manned missions outside Low Earth Orbit in my years, but this is about to change with SpaceX and Blue Origin pushing humanity back into the new space race alongside NASA. Other wonderful new companies such as Rocketlab are increasing the excitement with smaller payloads as well. This is an amazing time to be alive and I want to share all I can with you. Historically I'm a huge fan of Kerbal Space Program (KSP) which is where my Youtube channel started. KSP2 is around the corner, so we may well get back into that at some point soon as well.
I assume this is the Pournelle who wrote sci fi books with Niven. Great reads.
So Congress requires NASA to use SLS technology, over 50 years old? I wonder why that is? Maybe somebody’s rice bowl is being protected?
This is from Grok:
Congress required NASA to build the SLS to protect jobs and keep money flowing to specific states and contractors. After Obama canceled the Constellation program’s Ares rockets in 2010, senators from key NASA states like Alabama, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and Utah pushed back hard through the NASA Authorization Act. 
They basically told NASA: use existing Space Shuttle and Constellation hardware “to the extent practicable,” keep those workforces employed, and build a heavy-lift rocket with specific lift requirements. It wasn’t NASA’s idea—Congress wrote it into law to avoid massive layoffs in aerospace districts and sustain contracts for companies like Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and Aerojet Rocketdyne. 
It’s classic pork-barrel politics: lawmakers directing federal dollars to their districts. Critics call it the “Senate Launch System” for a reason. It’s expensive and slow, but it spread work across all 50 states, creating a strong political coalition that’s kept it alive for years.
Just like Congress enshrining the tri-service F-35 into law. That worked out the same!
“It needs another flight or two so they can pretend it wasn’t a failure, then they’ll fold it up.”
This is not entirely accurate. The SLS will get another flight or two because Starship isn’t ready yet. The current head of NASA will drop SLS like a hot potato first chance he gets.
I like the way you inverted the RAF slogan. To the Stars thru adversity is better than Thru adversity to the stars IMO because the first clause is the objective
Glenn, nice integration of the Musk enterprises. But you didn’t mention Neuralink — how do you see that fitting into Musk’s aspirations?
"Oath of Fealty" by Niven and Pournelle addresses this.
It is how they will control robotic construction off planet.