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Originally Posted by Vexx
Aye, I keep an eye on the private ventures... however, so far none have actually *put* anything in orbit and the actual costs are still unknown.
Going to the moon... isn't a stunt. There's a lot of science to do on the moon (e.g. farside radio telescopy... big ones). Its excellent practice for going farther (like Mars/asteroids/Titan but with some possible of recovering from errors while testing technologies). It is true that there's little point in climbing out of one gravity well to drop into another... but its a much cheaper gravity well for launching large deep space craft.
The rest of the world is appalled that we're considering shutting down the ISS... something they've ALL contributed to - our first real multi-nation experience - just as we're finishing the main construction.
Not the end.... but definitely not a good moment and there's something to be said for loss of momentum.
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I feel like we already lost the momentum quite a while ago. Things might look grim from the U.S. point of view, but I still feel that all it would take for us to get back into it is for someone else to take the next giant leap.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xellos-_^
so are you also in favor of private companies selling piece of real estate on the moon? that is what is going to happen if a private company gets base setup first vs the government.
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First of all, do you think this is really NOT going to happen? Even if the government is the first to set up shop, if they can prove that living up there is possible and there is a market for selling real estate, you can damn well be sure that it's going to be taken over anyhow.
I'm not really in favor of private companies at all, but at this point I've come to accept that there is a slim chance for an alternative, at least for the U.S.
First and foremost, I want to see us actually make the move. Get our asses out there in space. You have to do that first before you worry about anything else.