Follow DIU Rather Than DOGE at NASA

Posted on by onespaceman2000

Years ago the Department of Defense (DOD) established the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to use the full force of private sector innovation to address DOD needs. This has been a successful initiative that has lowered costs while improving DOD efficiency. Whether it is working to create better batteries or micro-reactors for the military, it represents the best efforts to do more with less.

Compare that to the now ill-fated Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that only demonstrates that the government will need to do less because it destroys rather than creates. NASA deserves better, and it is possible Elon Musk and friends could have done much better if they first learned about government programs and then redesigned them to be more efficient. That ship has sailed and DOGE only means Destroying Our Government’s Effectiveness.

It is not too late to bring a DIU equivalent into NASA to work around the giant space companies and look for simpler solutions to big problems. It will need a new name to erase the stain of DOGE, but it is something the taxpayers deserve – the most efficient and effective space program.

Note: You can find the FY 2023 DIU annual report here with many of its accomplishments listed.

Happenings with the Chinese Space Station

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The successful launch of three astronauts to the Tiangong space station via China’s Long March 2F rocket on April 24. 2025. (Andy Wong/AP)

The Chinese space program continues to operate and advance as NASA faces daunting cuts and general disorientation under the Department of Government Efficiency (a misnomer if there ever was one).

On April 24, China sent three new astronauts (the Shenzhou-20 crew) to its Tiangong space station, while three astronauts (the Shenzhou-19 crew) safely returned from the space station last week after six months in space.

It is important to remember that the rest of the world wants to advance in space even if the US chooses to chase its tail and destroy its own asset and reputation. None of this is necessary, but that is where we are.

One might even say the US is undergoing a ridiculous DEI purge at NASA and throughout the government in the same way China went through its ill-fated Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s.

Paul Krugman had a good piece on this, stating:

Once you’ve seen the parallel between what MAGA is trying to do and China’s Cultural Revolution, the similarities are everywhere. Maoists sent schoolteachers to do farm labor; Trumpists are talking about putting civil servants to work in factories.

We need to focus on the future again, and soon.

Musk Gives Up His Day Job

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

Elon Musk has decided to step away from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after watching his reputation crater, his car company falter, and his rockets litter the Caribbean. Plus he damaged NASA, the space agency that funds his company SpaceX. Maybe he finally realized that a plumber has no business pretending to be brain surgeon.

The most disturbing part of Musk’s short time with the government is his lies about fraud, attacks on government employees, and horrible math regarding savings. For example, regarding the US Agency for International Development, he called it a “criminal organization” and then said it is “Time for it to die.” He never took the time to even understand the organization or verify his “findings”, most of which were wrong. I cannot believe a single Fortune 500 company would want this guy anywhere near its operations. So why would you trust any organization headed by this man?

We can only hope this means he will start to take the development of Starship seriously, since his company is still contracted to assist NASA with its Artemis mission to the Moon. So far in 2025, SpaceX has lost both of its Starship rockets (#7 and #8) over the Caribbean, though it was scheduled to conduct 25 tests in 2025, or twice a month.

Mr. Musk may know nothing about government programs, but he is supposed to know something about rockets. He cannot bully or lie his way out of this one. As with Tesla, performance and promises is everything, and he seems to be struggling.

And now before he can come close to meeting his NASA commitments, he is promising to send Starship to Mars next year, tweeting ““Starship will hopefully depart for Mars at the end of next year with Optimus explorer robots!”.

Maybe it is time to stop listening to this man.

Space Quote: Senator’s Warning About NASA Cuts

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. (NASA)

“When you pull the plug on major space science, it’s like eating your seed corn; it’s so damaging to our entire ecosystem when it comes to American leadership and innovation in this area…We will lose engineers, we will lose others to China. In fact, they are launching a major space exploration initiative.”

–Statement by Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen commenting on potential DOGE cuts after visiting NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center just outside the Washington, DC Beltway. The Center is home to the nation’s largest organization of scientists, engineers and technologists who build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe.

Democrats Question Musk on NASA Ties

Posted on by onespaceman2000

Timing is everything, and the Democrats opening an investigation into Elon Musk’s role at NASA the same week that the Senate grills the nominee for NASA Administrator smacks as bad timing for all the parties involved.

The ranking members of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform are concerned about Mr. Musk having a role in the deconstruction of NASA via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In a letter to NASA’s Chief Legal Officer, the ranking members state:

As of February 2025, Mr. Musk and his companies have received a combined total of at least $38 billion in contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits from the federal government and state governments…Mr. Musk continues to profit from taxpayer dollars and now finds himself in charge of determining which federal contracts the government will keep and which will be cut—an arrangement that runs afoul of the law.

The letter also discusses Mr. Musk’s financial relationship with Jared Isaacman (wrongly spelled in the letter cited below), the nominee for NASA Administrator, providing examples such as this one:

Mr. Isaacson’s fortune is tied to Shift4, the payments processing company he controls. In 2021, Shift4 entered into a partnership with Starlink, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mr. Musk’s SpaceX. Shift4 estimated that its partnership with SpaceX will generate $100 billion in Starlink subscription payments.

The letter is worth reviewing even if you believe the Democrats have an ax to grind. Would this type of activity, business relationship, and lack of transparency been allowed under the Biden administration? I don’t believe it would have been tolerated then, nor should it be tolerated now.

The standards in today’s government have fallen through the floor, but it doesn’t have to remain that way. NASA and the American public deserve better.

Note: The same Committee is also launching an investigation into the use of Starlink at federal facilities. A letter from the Committee ranking members to the White House states:

We write to express our deep concerns and request clarification regarding the recent installation of Starlink’s satellite internet service at the White House complex, the General Services Administration (GSA), and potentially other federal government agencies. Given Elon Musk’s dual role as the owner of Starlink and the apparent leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the Trump Administration, the expanded use of Starlink across the federal government raises significant ethical, security, and regulatory implications that warrant immediate attention.