iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Replies

Chase Million @millionconcepts.com · 04/09/2026

This is pretty much exactly the opposite prediction that just about every industry-watcher is making, and has been making. And I think it's the correct prediction! And I am so surprised to see any NASA Administrator say it aloud.

[7] I have been very open that, in the near term, I do not know whether there is a sufficiently large LEO market where NASA can truly be one customer of many, but we will do everything within reason and within our budget to set industry up for success and ensure there is a home beyond the International Space Station. I do know demand for commercial LEO destinations will be heavily influenced by transportation cost, and those costs are likely to go up in the near term rather than down. Now, you can argue

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Chase Million @millionconcepts.com · 04/09/2026

Just about the only thing I disagree with: I don't think it will. But we agree that there's a lot of uncertainty! And he's not being intellectual dishonest about this. If you want to try to jump start a new market / industry / economy, this is not insanity.

further industry investment. The same uncertainty exists on the Moon. I cannot promise today that the economic value extracted from the lunar surface will exceed all of the input costs. What we can do is create a demand signal for landers, rovers, power, communications and other infrastructure, do so in a logical way that affords iterative design, and give a lunar economy every opportunity to emerge. I believe it will, but there are no guarantees. The mission is to return to the Moon and build the base for scientific, technological, national security and even inspirational reasons, and along the way, we hope enormous economic potential is unleashed.

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Chase Million @millionconcepts.com · 04/09/2026

[8] If the objective is to force an economy out of every NASA endeavor, then NASA should probably sit inside the Department of Commerce. But NASA is an independent agency with a broader mission: to extend humanity’s reach farther into space, pioneer breakthrough technologies, undertake the near-impossible and unlock the secrets of the universe. While at times that is sure to leverage commercial capabilities and stimulate economic activity, it is not a prerequisite to achieving every mission.

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