Ain’t It Wonderful?

Y’all, sometime this year, SpaceX will launch its latest spaceship, the Falcon Heavy. I could tell you all about the rocket, but you’ll get a much better description—with facts, figures, and videos—if you go to

http://www.spacex.com/falcon-heavy. You gotta admit that the facts are truly awesome.

What fascinates me most is that Falcon Heavy is a free market endeavor. As I understand it, the rocket was financed by willing investors. The guvmint—that’s us—didn’t have to pay for it.

If the rocket is successful, the investors will make a profit—maybe even a huge profit—and I hope they do.

Won’t it be wonderful if the free market takes over space exploration—including planning, building, launching, and recovering—just as it took over the automobile, airlines, and other industries?

But people ask—what if they get it wrong? Some will, of course but, uh, that’s their problem. Not mine.

Another big advantage: If profits are made in space investment, it will attract more investors into the industry. Competition will grow and competition breeds improvement.

Let the good times roll! We may be moving into—quite literally—a brave new world…uh, make that a universe.

New Subject: Aviation news is seldom funny, but today AW&ST sent an email including, “Hey, Siri, How Do You Fly An F-35?”