[Sharrukin]

I agree to cutting back on wasting money on NASA. Manned space flight is a huge waste of time. The sooner we stop deluding ourselves about the notion of inter-planetary travel, the better.

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Interplanetary travel would be nice, but it is not the reason to go to space. Asteroid mining, off-world industries, zero-gravity industrial processes, L5 colonies and insurance against biological or nuclear extinction are just a few reasons.

[mnehring]

Interplanetary travel would be nice, but it is not the reason to go to space. Asteroid mining, off-world industries, zero-gravity industrial processes, L5 colonies and insurance against biological or nuclear extinction are just a few reasons.

Shoot, the simplest reasons, spy and communication satellites, both vital to our military infrastructure.

[RightWhale]

Can’t do most of that with the 1967 UN Outer Space
Treaty. Mr Obama references the 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty as keeping weapons out of space, but its actual effect is to keep us forever marooned on earth.