Fixing the Station

The AP reports in the Washington Post that the astronauts have fixed the jammed solar panel.

Congratulations are in order, especially since this was an unrehearsed mission. Now that we have a team trained to work without rehearsal, we are sending them back to Earth.

If we built skyscrapers and bridges this way there would be no skyscrapers or interstate highways.

We could, right now, today, change how we do things. I am sure that by now all the components are ready. Let us consider, if not now, than at some future date, launching everything into space on unmanned rockets and putting up a crew to just put everything together. Don't rehearse every turn of the screw, just find a crew who knows how to do every action that would be required and set them lose at it. The station would be done in weeks, rather than years, and at substantially less cost.

This would also be a good SOP for doing the Luna and Mars colonies. Its time to at lease loosen, if not cut, the cord to misssion control. They may have a bit of separation anxiety, so send a few of them into space if required (kind of like on-site architects). Its time to get real on space development. There are way to many planners and not enough doers. Lets change that.