From: utzoo!decvax!cca!Jim@sri-unix
Newsgroups: net.space
Title: Re: Brazil in Space
Article-I.D.: sri-unix.2056
Posted: Mon Jul 12 17:33:49 1982
Received: Tue Jul 13 09:41:36 1982


Subject:  Brazil in Space

	From: Gail Zacharias 
	Indeed, why would they conceivably want to do something on
	their own if they can be dependent on us instead!

Indeed, why would they?  For commercial transport they should depend
upon us (or rather hopefully US companies) just as people do for most
high tech services.  The only real justification for having an
independent capability, especially one developed at a cost of billions
of dollars, thousands of man-years of scarce scientists and engineers,
and decades behind other nations, is for military reasons (national
pride does NOT justify such a fantastic outlay - a smaller one
dedicated to joint missions with the US or the USSR is another matter
of course).  In particular such technology can be used for ICBM
development.  Given that Brazil is ruled byy a military government, I
really doubt they are going to expend all those resources and expect
no new militaryy capabilities in return.

Jim

PS note that the same can be said of the US auto and steel industries,
although here at least we make no bones that a major reason for having
such large domestic capacity is to supply the military in times of
crisis.  I object to Brazil's blatant falsehoods about "peaceful" uses
of space (along with India's about "peaceful" atomic "devices"), since
misinformation is something that should be reduced whenever possible.
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