My problem with the whole thing is that NASA seems to have been put on a path with many problems unresolved. Much money was spent on the constellation program before they figured out how to supply water for a mars mission or moon base. That all seems backward. It seems similar to defense programs that the pentagon does not want but is forced on them because a state does not want to lose the federal dollars it sends their way. That is the heart of the problem everyone wants spending cuts as long as it does not effect spending in their state.
I do doubt the private sector can do what government has done in space, it simply does not produce the profits they desire. It does benefit in the long term but only government really supports research meant for long term benefit. Drug research is a perfect example, the industry produces profitable drugs (viagra and others) but the non-profitable drugs are left to government (antibiotics and flu vaccines). Without government research in these areas we would quickly have public health crisis. We are greatly in need of a new generation of antibiotics and their development just will not happen without government research. I did see a news story about virgin airlines has some 300 people having paid a deposit for the 5 min ride in space. The total cost is $250,000, it has no research value only a thrill ride. Should space exploration be left up to the government and not private
enterprise? That's exactly what I'm saying. And I am certain it will be. The only question is, which government? If I had to bet on whose space agency launches the first moon base, I would bet on China's. But the publicly-financed European Space Agency is making progress too; ESA's funding comes from member countries based on proportions of their gross national product. Meanwhile, when the Chinese or ESA astronauts are building a moon lab, we'll be playing around, spending billions to help some penny-antie company experiment with the sort of capsule that has been around for many decades.
A full-throttle commitment to space exploration is necessarily for such a huge enterprise. Like fighting a war, it can't be left to privatization. Any profits from a private space company will be paper only, hiding the substantial infusion of tax funds. We will pay for private space use, regardless of what the politicians and company owners call it. If a private company is used to launch supplies to the space station, the costs of sending those supplies will come from tax dollars, so how does that benefit us?
For 50 years space exploration has been a fine inducement for Americans to get into the sciences. I don't think many kids are dreaming about doing space science for some corporation.
Unless the American people as a whole decide to back space exploration as it should be, we'll do a lousy job and someone else will do it better. -- Thanks, Joe
--- On Thu, 12/9/10, Patrick Wiggins <paw@wirelessbeehive.com> wrote:
From: Patrick Wiggins <paw@wirelessbeehive.com> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Privatization (Was: SpaceX âSecretâ Payload) To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Thursday, December 9, 2010, 4:57 PM Joe, are you saying you feel that space exploration should be left up to government and not private enterprise?
patrick
On 09 Dec 2010, at 14:40, Joe Bauman wrote:
Space X wants Congress to fund it with an additional $1 billion so it can work some safety features into the program. Excuse me, but didn't Congress pay for NASA to do that decades ago? We're reinventing the wheel at the expense of the greatest space program the world has ever known. And yet people find it impressive that Space X can do what NASA did 50 years ago? All this blather about private enterprise doing the job for less doesn't make much sense, does it? -- Joe
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