Posted on 06/19/2006 7:23:48 PM PDT by KevinDavis
One of the long-running challenges faced by proponents of space exploration has been finding compelling reasons to sell such effortsparticularly big-ticket government programsto the general public. This is a challenge in large part because, at least in the United States, there are few coherent attitudes about space. Public reaction to space in general and NASA in particular is a mix of wonderment, primarily in response to images returned by the Hubble Space Telescope, Mars Exploration Rovers, and other missions; and skepticism about the costs, risks, and problems associated with the shuttle, station, and the new exploration initiative. The prevailing attitude, though, might best be classified as apathy: most people pay little attention to space on a day-to-day basisand have little reason to do so.
In an effort to form a strategy to help sell space programs more effectively to the public at large, the AIAA organized a forum on Capitol Hill June 12 titled Making the Business Case for Space: Wheres the Value?. A panel of experts from the public and private sectors weighed in on the issues associated with raising awareness about space with the public. However, if the results of that session are any indication, the space community has a long way to go before it can hope to change the attitudes of the general public.
(Excerpt) Read more at thespacereview.com ...
Too much space between John Kerry's ears caused him to lose a presidential election. I'd say that space has a very high value.
Space beyond earth orbit has no value except as a venue in which to shock and awe our world competitors. If the 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty is withdrawn from, then space can be developed into extreme commercial value.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.