[hopespringseternal]

Why not privatize that $600 million-per-flight waste of taxdollars?

Unfortunately, we have built this socialist framework for anything dealing with space. Some capitalism exists around the sides, but it is socialist in its heart.

The shuttle itself is a vehicle whose only real market can only be the government.

Right now, the only identifiable large-scale market for space is tourism, and it is far too speculative for anyone to throw a couple of billion dollars at the needed launcher. No launcher NASA is going to develop before the sun goes cold will be capable of servicing that market.

The original Star Wars concept would have required a launcher close to what is needed, but that died when Clinton took office.

The single most important goal of any space related enterprise right now should be a launcher with as close to airline-like operations costs and schedule as is technically possible. Right now the people with money and initiative who are dreaming of orbital hotels and the like are stymied by the fact that there is no economical way to get there.

[End The Hypocrisy]

>>>The single most important goal of any space related enterprise right now should be a launcher with as close to airline-like operations costs and schedule as is technically possible. Right now the people with money and initiative who are dreaming of orbital hotels and the like are stymied by the fact that there is no economical way to get there.<<<


NASA got into the central planning approach to bringing about such a replacement, and with the predictable results of cost overruns and an overall lack of success (as the X-33 demonstrated). What NASA is being prodded into (reluctantly) doing now is simply offering a competitive prize for private industry to do it (and beyond the mere bloated contractors of Boeing & Lockheed too):


http://www.spaceprojects.com/prizes