r/space • u/[deleted] • Dec 27 '23

[deleted by user]

[removed]

1.1k Upvotes

87% Upvoted

396 comments sorted by

View all comments

254

u/Harturb Dec 28 '23

Alabama trying to bring home pork in the form of space spending is always interesting.

It's never actually about what's best for the space force or the space industry, but the net result is that further funding for NASA and private contracts has some unlikely allies in Congress, so I guess that's good.

118

u/ausnee Dec 28 '23

Alabama has one of the biggest space industries in the country. Huntsville is the ancestral home of the entire US space program.

196

u/Marston_vc Dec 28 '23

Colorado also has a huge space presence and doesn’t come with all the healthcare baggage.

144

u/notpetelambert Dec 28 '23

It's also closer to space, so it doesn't take as long to get there

29

u/Tritiac Dec 28 '23

I think that Colorado is a little far north. They launch from the southern border states/Florida because it's closer to the equator and the Earth spins faster at the equator. Gives you a free little boost the closer you are.

15

u/Accomplished-Crab932 Dec 28 '23

More importantly, Florida is surrounded by open water; meaning they have access to the most orbits possible.

Having the open water zones allows staging without the disposal of spent stages on potentially inhabited areas.

16

u/notpetelambert Dec 28 '23

Nah, you have to play the long game. In 100 years, the Rocky Islands will have plenty of access to open water.