Comments by "Digital Nomad" (@digitalnomad9985) on "The Real Reason China Is About To Take Over Space!" video.

  1. The lunar south pole is not too big to take over (where most of the volatiles are). You talk like China isn't acquisitive. They have border disputes with all their neighbors, and they're trying to bite off chunks of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and constructing artificial bases to enforce their claims. If they are claiming water on Earth, why not on the Moon, too? Control of the Moon's water is control of the Moon. Control of the Moon is control of Earth's high orbitals with a source of materials. That, in turn, is the ability to blackmail the whole Earth with the threat of orbital bombardment. Also they can forestall us circumventing their monopoly on rare earth ores and acquire precious metals. The Moon has a plethora of military, industrial, and propaganda uses. They are still the Tortoise to our Hare, but remember the Soviets got a lead the same way and it took us 20 years to catch up. When the Hare gets lazy and overconfident the Tortoise wins.
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  2. I'm afraid China is reaching out to cover acquisitiveness. I agree that Bridenstine would be more effective and get us there for less money. I agree that Nelson is fishing for a blank check for Boeing and the old guard military/industrial complex via a new "cold war space race". That doesn't mean he's wrong about the Chinese. "Even paranoids have real enemies."
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  3.  @DucaTech  "what's SpaceX funding coming from?" In the future, Starlink. The only funding for Starship they got from NASA is a pittance for the lunar variant and for a development of LEO refueling. SpaceX was the low bidder for delivering crew to the lunar surface (by a long shot). SpaceX is investing in Starship with the short term goal of cheaply deploying the rest of the Starlink constellation. Deploying Starlink sats with Falcons is a stopgap. According to what I have heard, Musk is gambling the whole company on Starship working. The only lunar base NASA plans to build is planned in cooperation with SpaceX (among other contractors). SpaceX has a fixed price contract from NASA for the crew and cargo variants of Dragon (for less than they paid Boeing to fail), and they are swallowing up launch contracts, scientific, commercial, and military, by underselling other providers with reusability, so he has a revenue stream, but he's put all his chips on black. Basically, he knows that the old guard aerospace contractor is the "house" in this game, and the house wins all ties. He can't wait for Boeing to catch up with him on reusability, because if they can come close to his price, Boeing's political contacts will secure the contracts (at least the government contracts). He has to stay way ahead to survive.
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