Joe Biden‘s disdain for the working class has already been made apparent, but this time, he’s gone even further, cutting a major piece of President Trump’s plans for the United States’ space program. Are these actions an attempt to erase Trump’s legacy, or an attempt to cripple America’s space program to benefit China?
SpaceX Launch Canceled
As the Washington Times reported, “Joe Biden is making his space policy preferences increasingly clear: America will remain grounded for the time being.”
Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, was planning to initiate another test of its Starship rocket on January 28, with the objective being to get the rocket up to 12.5 kilometers (seven miles) above Earth, then spin it around to make a vertical landing.
The eventual goal to get Americans to Mars was just crushed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Under the Trump administration, the FAA had allowed SpaceX to carry out their test flights, but under Biden they have ordered Musk to cancel the prototype test.
No reason for the order was given, though many assume it was due to safety concerns. In a December 2020 test of the experimental rocket, the Starship prototype made it to a height of 41,000 feet (over seven miles), but the landing failed. The rocket did a bellyflop, which led to a massive explosion.
SpaceX had learned several lessons from the failure, and was planning to apply the new information to its launch in January. “In science, the only lasting failure occurs when one does not test a new idea or hypothesis,” says the Times article.
What is Biden trying to do?
Many assume that the FAA’s order is related to the Biden administration’s obsessive need to undo everything done by President Trump during his time in the White House. Some say that this is just more evidence of Democrats detesting any advancements made in the private sector, as they prefer to rely on government programs for progress.
Others point to a more insidious plan: As the Trump administration’s efforts to resume the space program were directly aimed at countering Chinese advances in their space program, Biden may be forcing the United States to stall their program to help China.
“It is not only Mr. Musk who suffers from the FAA’s cancellation of the SpaceX test flight. We, the American people — and the entire effort to beat China to Mars — suffer. The Biden administration’s decision to increase regulations on the private space launch services sector and slow down their operations, as evidenced by the recent Starship launch cancellation, will only help China in its ongoing mission to defeat America in the new space race,” the Times article concludes.
No matter what the reason is, this move will definitely effect SpaceX’s bottom line, leading to job losses in the very near future. Some news outlets assert that at least 50,000 jobs could be lost due to this decision. It’s clear that Joe Biden doesn’t mind destroying American jobs.
