On Wed, 27 Aug 2003 09:37:41 -0400, Alex Fraser <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> How would ERPS behave with a $10,000,000,000 budget? Carefully. :-) 1) Hire an investment manager 2) Invest $9,990,000,000 in a low yield municipal fund 3) Hire XCOR to do the propulsion system 4) Hire Armadillo to write the flight control software 5) Move to Mojave 6) On the $200,000,000 annual interest, test, test, test. >OK let me sum up as the coffee is wearing off. We must be carefully >about jumping on the bash NASA bandwagon. It could back fire into a >general anti space exploration movement. So what? The biggest problem with publicly funded space projects is the perceived need to keep the public happy. Well the public isn't happy, they're apathetic. So publicly funded space projects are in trouble. So what? ERPS does not depend on public funding, public perception, public feeling, or public anything else. It's a private organization. Back when I worked in a hospital and I happened to mention I was going down to Mojave over the weekend to launch a rocket, I then had to explain all about ERPS to one of the operators. Her response was, "Some people think we shouldn't be spending money to go into space." I snapped, "It's none of their business!" She recoiled, and I had to apologize. I continued, "It isn't their money. It's our money. We get no government funding of any kind. We pay for everything ourselves, every little fitting and valve. If we want to spend our money on rockets, it's a free country. It's our choice. I don't ask you to spend your money on my rockets, and all I ask in return is that you don't ask me not to spend *my* money on my rockets." "It's your own money?" "Every dime." "You spend your own money on rockets?" "Yep." "You crazy, honey. But that's all right, the good Lord made all kinds of people. You be careful now." "Always." -R -- Son: Dad, I have a question about women. Suppose I Dagwood: Apologize anyway. Son: Yeah, that's about what I figured Dagwood: It saves time _______________________________________________ ERPS-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.erps.org/mailman/listinfo/erps-list
