You observe as I do, Clocker; I think Eddie refers to this as "the spirit of can do", yes?Originally posted by clocker@25 June 2004 - 12:03
As far as I can tell, NASA is all for exploits such as this.
Crippled by budget cuts and recent disasters, NASA is effectively at a standstill.
Bush's proclamation about a Mars landing was all hot air, typically, he floated the concept and then dropped it the next day.
Talk about a short attention span.
Ventures such as Rutan's, unfettered by military and scientific considerations, have long been thought to be the most viable method of achieving regular spaceflight.
Don't be mislead by the apparent disparity between the initial outlay and the prizemoney...these guys are looking further into the future than that, and the potential commercial return is enormous.
I am concerned that, given the commercial potential and the (hopefully) soon-to-be-proven reliability and viability of such ventures remains unfettered.
I am having mad visions of our government appropriating this grand idea and turning it into something resembling AMTRAK.
Bookmarks