The President's Space Initiative Speech

"Wdtabor" wrote in message
...

Same place Jefferson found authorization for Lewis and Clark.


What place was that?

Jay Honeck wrote:
Who else BUT the Federal government could do it?

Well, Burt Rutan comes to mind (see also: Scaled Composites,
specifically SpaceShipOne). Or perhaps John Carmack (Armadillo
Aerospace). Or any of the other twenty-three teams (listed at
http://www.xprize.org/teams/teams.html) registered as competing for the
X-Prize (http://www.xprize.org).

Perhaps Boeing, or Lockheed, or TRW, or Hughes might be interested?
(Hint: those names weren't chosen at random.) Who am I forgetting?
Dennis Tito (and other wealthy people, almost including Lance Bass)
certainly seem willing to pay a share.

That's the true miracle of the system; *anybody* can do anything, all he
has to do is assemble the right talent. I've talked to many people
about starting a venture (including the entrepreneurs and the funding
sources), and they all say that getting money is the easiest part.
Think about the technology that comes from a venture like this. Think
about the name recognition and PR value. There is no reason the private
sector can't put a man in space; the real question is "how much cheaper
will it be, as compared to the Federal Government's cost?"

Dave Buckles

http://www.flight-instruction.com

"Dave Buckles" wrote in message
news:rj3Ob.4959$dd6.3784@lakeread02...

Well, Burt Rutan comes to mind (see also: Scaled Composites,
specifically SpaceShipOne). Or perhaps John Carmack (Armadillo
Aerospace). Or any of the other twenty-three teams (listed at
http://www.xprize.org/teams/teams.html) registered as competing for the
X-Prize (http://www.xprize.org).


Burt Rutan and the other X Prize competitors are attempting to do something
that was accomplished over forty years ago. I don't think launching humans
on suborbital spaceflights is particularly useful. If it was, I think NASA
would still be doing it. The X Prize has been compared to the Orteig Prize,
but when the Orteig Prize was announced nobody had flown nonstop between New
York and Paris.

On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 12:39:29 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

I'm willing to pay for a real space program. I'd rather pay
for that than a lot of the stupid stuff Congress jams into
the budget that just ****es our money away.

The Federal Gubmint (thanks to our own Senator Grassley) has appropriated $5
million (it may be more) to build a RAIN FOREST here in Iowa City.

You heard me right -- a goddam RAIN FOREST. Most people around here are
dumbfounded, since the developer was unable to drum up any local support for
the cockamamie idea.

Still think we can't afford to cut the budget enough to pay for a real space
program?


If the funding ever does materialize for these initiatives do you
really think that it will be at the expense of "pork". I think not.
If anyone in Washington is really serious about this, they had better
start rethinking their fiscal policy.
Rich Russell