Not sure what my Author Scrapheap is? I introduce the idea on the Author Scrapheap archive page.

With SpaceX making news recently, I thought it was a good time to bring up a scrapheap story idea about NASA.

NASA TV

With budget cuts finally about to break NASA’s back, a Hollywood producer with a love of spaces steps forward with a radical idea to save the agency: NASA TV.

With a 24/7 network dedicated to making space exploration and the space program cool again, shows like America’s Next Astronaut, Stuff In Zero-G, and Rocket Man become money-generating hits. Astronauts become household names.

Agency old guard can’t stomach the “cheapening” of their grand endeavor, but the higher-ups can’t run the science without the glitz to pay for it.

This idea dates back to a time when NASA budget cuts were in the news and the reality TV wave was in full swing (is it still in full swing? I pay so little attention to shovelware television).

With the rise of SpaceX and the privatization of space travel/exploration, it seems like the core idea of this one had been rendered moot.

Still, given a choice between a send-up of government austerity and scientific funding troubles and actually getting to see rocket launches with people on board, I’ll take the latter, thanks.

We can’t colonize the stars if we can’t get our people off the planet!