Space, the Final Frontier, with Eli Dourado

In today’s Exformation episode, Will and Caden invite special guest Eli Dourado, Senior Research Fellow at the CGO, to discuss the future of Space exploration, commercialization, and NASA. The last few decades of space exploration have been dominated by NASA. In the face of moonshot messaging the agency has become bloated with expensive inefficiencies. More recently, however, private companies like Space X and Blue Origin have led the way in sending up ambitious new rockets and satellites at a fraction of the cost. The direction BIll Nelson chooses to take NASA now could mean the difference between a private and public space exploration in the near future.

Show Notes

  • Eli’s pieces
    • The Space Launch System is an irredeemable mistake (Jan 2020) [link]
    • The Space Launch System is part of a swamp that needs to be drained (Jan 2020) [link]
    • Eli on Invest like the Best (podcast) (Jun 2021) [link]
    • Benchmark – A 2006 NASA program shows how government can move at the speed of startups [link]
  • Will’s pieces
    • National Review “Bill Nelson & NASA: Flawed Vision” (April 2021) [link]
    • AAF – The Options for the Future of the International Space Station (2018) [link]
  • Miscellaneous Piece:
    • Radioactive Hardened Computer Chips [link]
CGO scholars and fellows frequently comment on a variety of topics for the popular press. The views expressed therein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Center for Growth and Opportunity or the views of Utah State University.