Andrea wrote:
> On Wed, 1 Nov 2000, K Street wrote:
>
> > How about that International Space Station, huh? Seventy
> some billion
> > dollars and a lot of delays later, they've finally sent up
> the first
> > crew!
> >
> > Could be the start of something big.
>
> I hope so.
>
> I'd like to believe what that NASA guy said on Monday, that
> October 30
> could be "the last day we don't have humans in space".
>
> I'd like to think that we can use this experience, of living in space
> for extended periods, to move on to better things; a return
> to the Moon,
> and someone on Mars. I'm twenty-four, and nobody in my lifetime has
> gone beyond Earth orbit. I find that unutterably sad.
> Maybe, hopefully,
> this is the start of something.
IMHO, probably NOT.
But. But.
There are teams out there developing commercial reuseable launch vehicles
that will probably be ready before NASA's efforts. And how long will it be
before some of those multinations decides to establish, say, a Mars base.
They can afford it, and it would probably pay itself off in pure scientific
research before long. Not to mention the shere PR value!
As much as I hate the idea of the big companies cashing in on space, I think
they will, and sooner rather than later!
Andy
