In a column for The Guardian, Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders lauded the 1969 moon landing as a triumph of the state, a shining example of political will and democratic socialist ideals. Now, he says, the capitalists have moved in after a “huge effort” to privatize space exploration, with the risks being “socialized” and shouldered by taxpayers. The “huge effort” to privatize space exploration was, in part, the result of efforts to defund NASA, which Sanders voted to do in 1996, 2000, and 2012. The Vermont senator repeatedly voted to defund NASA, opposed public private space exploration, and said Bezos and Musk shouldn’t be rich enough to fund space exploration. Bezos similarly sank some $7 billion into his Blue Origin space exploration project before getting its big moon lander contract with NASA.

Source: The Guardian April 27, 2022 02:30 UTC