Re: I Dream of Jeanne

From: Joann Evans (bondage_at_frontiernet.net)
Date: 09/25/04 

Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2004 14:07:35 GMT

Richard Schumacher wrote:
>
> This it: the end of the shuttles, and with them the end of the arthritic
> NASA bureaucracy.

   To be automatically followed by...what?

   And name something that isn't already happening, or that couldn't
happen in the presence of NASA. There are such things, but the set is
smaller than you seem to believe. The barrier is money. Period.
Government money. Private investment capital, etc. NASA may spend it
inefficently, but if it isn't there at all, even a half-assed project
doesn't happen. The private sector can do better, but you have to
convince those with very deep pockets that you have a good idea.
Shutting down the shuttles won't necessairily put one more penny into
either another government space project, or into the private startups.

   Remember, transatlantic travel by ship didn't become obsolete by
sinking those ships first, it naturally became so, when something better
(long range commercial aircraft) came along.

   Better access to LEO won't happen by merely grounding the shuttles,
it'll happen by building and flying something that can do it better.

   And that means meaningful up-front investment, wether you think you
can build a decent orbiter now, or want to approach it incrementally
with higher and faster suborbitals.

   Find the money (if you can), find the talent (there seems to be
plenty out there), make it happen. Dancing with glee over NASA's woes
acheives nothing. 

-- 
   You know what to remove, to reply....

Relevant Pages

  • Re: OT: NASA to privatize space station flights?
    ... > With the space shuttles due to retire, NASA is looking for private ... > three shuttles, which are due to stop flying by 2010. ... > the station even before they retire to pay for development of a new ... is ready to turn the effort over to private industry. ...
    (alt.religion.islam)
  • Re: VAX software available for download
    ... I seriously doubt that any business would be willing to ... > purchased one of the first licenses offered in the US for a private ... It is impossible to compete with NASA which has pretty ... That's a tough business model to compete with. ...
    (comp.os.vms)
  • Re: VAX software available for download
    ... I seriously doubt that any business would be willing to ... > purchased one of the first licenses offered in the US for a private ... It is impossible to compete with NASA which has pretty ... That's a tough business model to compete with. ...
    (comp.sys.dec)
  • Re: Space Leaders Work To Replace Lunar Base With Manned Asteroid Missions
    ... NASA really needs to prove itself in the area of cheap earth- ... U.S. private interests buy some payload space w/ Ares SRB's. ... and NASA to subsidize competing launch systems. ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: How do we keep Hubble up there?
    ... > Prior to that private firms such as Ebay or the New York Times or the Los ... > NASA probably won't get peanuts for it in the market. ... should also be sold to private enterprise. ... > The Moon base and private projects are plenty of work for all. ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)