SpaceX Is Going to Blow Up a Falcon 9 Rocket Just After Launch

I believe that Nasa's commercial cargo [1] and crew[2] are the result of vision from past administrations.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_Resupply_Services

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_Crew_Development

> It really is a testament to NASA that they managed a moon landing without this level of testing.

NASA definitely did this exact same testing for Apollo, I'm not sure why you assumed they didn't.

https://invidio.us/watch?v=AqeJzItldSQ

It's unbelievable how much red tape there is for any federal government agency, from IT, procurement, to HR. Unless you've seen it first hand you would never believe it. Easy things become hard, hard things become impossible.

I tend to interpret this as indicating that the funding pool is too small. Most of the observation time of how the body responds to microgravity necessarily happens on space stations. The engineering challenges of human space travel are also a driver of technology. There is also an important diplomatic component to the ISS and the powerful symbolism of the nations of the world collectively building and maintaining something peaceful and truly awesome.

> I can't think of a single important scientific paper from it

Surely you're kidding?

https://www.nasa.gov/twins-study/research-results

Buttons don't always do what you hoped.

Looks like it is a lot less dense than water, so it would just spread out and boil away.