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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!hao!hplabs!sri-unix!REM@MIT-MC
From: REM%MIT-MC@sri-unix.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: MAYBE WE NEED A NEW DIRECTION
Message-ID: <3347@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 22-Jul-83 11:55:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.3347
Posted: Fri Jul 22 11:55:00 1983
Date-Received: Mon, 25-Jul-83 22:32:24 EDT
Lines: 32

From:  Robert Elton Maas 

Jamestown and Plymouth were founded by those persecuted who wanted to
escape. Earlier, Columbus staffed his ships with prisoners who would
get a pardon if they volunteered to sail off the edge of the Earth.
Rotting in jail was more painful than instant edge-of-earth death, and
there was always the possibility that the ship might get stranded on
some island before reaching the edge, or they might escape somehow, so
they chose the voyage.

Do we want to do the same now, force death-row people to fly to space?
Warning, in those days, you went to jail for life because you were
bankrupt, your debts were greater than your assets, often because
somebody cheated you and you couldn't prove it. Thus for the most part
those crews were good people in desperate situations. Nowadays most
death-row innamtes are multiple murderers who killed for money, not
the best crew for space adventures. Or do we want to return to the
days when bankrupt people went to jail and rotted there?

I really don't think we can afford to send people up on risky flights.
Normal people will refuse to go, and criminals will be criminals and
sabotage the launch so they have a chance to escape or just be totally
incompetant to get useful work done. Thus we have to go with
moderately safe vehicles, although perhaps not as safe as NASA has
traditionally enforced.

/----------------/

Regarding the question of space development vs. sensors&weapons: I
agree, although Einstein/Uhura and IRAS were/are wonderful, and
space-based defense against ICBMs may be necessary for our survival,
we really need to work on materials and habitat too!