Private space companies are luring young researchers away from NASA

Houston Press : As the next generation of scientists and engineers interested in space exploration graduates from college, many are taking jobs with private space companies, such as SpaceX, rather than following the traditional route to NASA. In recent years, NASA has been plagued with problems, among them financial insecurity, lack of administrative direction, extensive bureaucracy, and cancellation of several major projects, such as the space shuttle program. As a result, young researchers are increasingly taking jobs with commercial launch companies, which they feel offer more autonomy in seeing projects through from start to finish and greater possibility for future space travel. NASA, however, maintains that space exploration has always depended on collaboration among government, academia, and the commercial sector. And with other nations planning Moon missions, such collaborations may become even more necessary to ensure the US’s place in space.