The NASA Connection.

by T.D. McCay, Ph.D.

It is interesting that NASA and Florida Tech are the same age, going on 53 years old. It is not a coincidence since Florida Tech (the Brevard Engineering College) was founded for the purpose of educating NASA employees; degrees were limited but highly valued.  Now our old friend has come under a lot of criticism because space flight has become so expensive and some of the new commercial ventures (SpaceX for example) are offering low cost alternatives to the NASA overseen space flight opportunities.  I had the chance a couple of years ago to spend a few hours wit the SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk , and must admit he is exceptionally bright and focused.  We should not forget, however, that he is standing on the shoulders of giants and his company has taken advantage of the many  years of development activity conducted on behalf of the space agency.  So before we throw out the baby with the bathwater we should at least give the agency a chance.  What do you Florida Tech graduates and students think?