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From: philipl@bronze.UUCP (Philip Lantz)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: High cost of space
Message-ID: <664@bronze.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 30-Jul-83 01:17:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: bronze.664
Posted: Sat Jul 30 01:17:06 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 24-Jul-83 07:06:34 EDT
Lines: 18

I think TOM MCGUINNESS has a good point about how expensive the development
of space is.  Not that I begrudge the money NASA gets; I think that the more
they get, the better (as I'm sure do most of the people who read this group).

However, they could do a lot more with their money if they were willing to
take higher risks.  We haven't had a single American die in space, which is
something to be proud of, but has it been worth the cost?

In the early days of air flight, a lot of non-government development was
done, and a lot of people lost their lives in the process.  It should be
possible for equally rapid (and profitable) development to happen with
space flight, if people (both astronauts and investors) are willing to put
up with the high risks.

So far, no one has.

Philip Lantz
tekmdp!bronze!philipl