Halfway to Anywhere

I agree, the New World was pioneered by business venture. Time to open the world to the vulnerability of international business in space.

Mark Vitrone

Privatization is only part of the answer. I am not convinced that a total severence of government from space missions will result in further progression of science. The sheer amount of money required to get into the game would narrow missions to only near earth orbit stuff. Exploratory probes would dry up completely since there is no near term payback. Would the Apollo mission have ever happened even now if left to private industry? Would a private company ever have a goal of putting radio or optical telescopes on the Moon? The edge of knowledge is expensive and I just don't see private companies willing to pursue any of things for knowledge sake. I agree NASA needs a major overhaul and that many things could indeed be privatized, but I also believe there are things government can do that private industry won't do unless immediate profit can be shown. Knowledge should not be pursued for profit alone.

Here, here.

Indeed the space program has been the best government project ever undertaken. Even with its set backs and problems it is the only government enterprise that has produced a postive cash flow.

Yes it cost billions of tax dollars but those dollars have produce enumerable new materials, technologies and jobs. It is the only government program which overall has had a "Green" return.

All the social program (needed non the less) are simple money drains.

It isn't a question of either / or, (either free markets or the Soviet model.) It's a question of what should be the proper relationship between private individuals and governments. The model that works best goes something like this:

1- Private individuals make the revolutionary inventions or discoveries, (eg. the Wright brothers, Goddard, etc), sometimes they are even working for goverments but what they discover is not what was expected, (eg. Columbus).

2- If the discovery is in the national interest, the government can lead the charge, offer prizes and other incentives like the taxpayers money to get the ball rolling and the process started.

3- Entrapenueres then go into competition with each other to make the best, the fastest and the cheapest. Trial and error is allowed. Mistakes are made. But ultimately, the best product is achieved. For anyone who knows the history of Aviation, this is a classic example of this model in action.

Imagine what it would have been like if instead of the way things did happen, a goverment entity, let's call it the American Aviation and Sky Authority (AASA), was calling all of the shots and allowed no grubby comercial interests to threaten their position as the worlds foremost authority on aviation. They ask private industry for bids on a new heavy airliner capable of shuttling both eqipiment and military personell, with the occassional paying passenger allowed. Howard Hughes' "Spruce Goose" wins the competion. It has some problems, but nothing the AASA experts can't fix. Well, 40 years go by; the Goose's bugs are still there. Meanwhile proposals from upstart companise like Boeing and Delta come up with experimental models like the DC 10 and the 747, but lacking enough capital to complete their projects, they ask the government for help. But they are turned down, all of AASA's recources are tied up in the Spruce Goose project, (which recently crashed with prestigious passengers and crew from several nations in a new international cooperative effort to get the Goose off the ground.) Not only are Delta and Boeing turned down for cash, but they are told to discontinue all research because they are seen as a threat to AASA, and who can argue with the government.

Well you can take it from here. The truth is, it doesn't matter how smart scientists are, they need a friendly environment to work in, which only a rational form of government can provide. Imagine if Newton was told to cease and desist and shut down for practicing witchcraft--Galeleo almost was.

"Imagine if Newton was told to cease and desist and shut down for practicing witchcraft--Galeleo almost was."

You whole piece was excellent. Bravo.

I must add that Galileo was forced to stop and was made prisoner in his own home from until he was maybe 40 years old to the day he died. He also put through court and he was asked to renounce his assertion that the earth moves. He did because he would be killed but it is well known than when walking out of court he turned to the judges and said "you know it really moves".

Many misinterpret why Galileo and people like him were punished. The judges were not stupid and everyone almost new the earth moves. What was punished was the intrusion into knowledge that was considered sacred and priviledge of the few. The rest should stay dump.

Newton was not punished because he served the establishment by inventing a gravitational theory quaranteed to keep people in darkness for the rest 500 years. He served the establishemnt well and actually was financed by the establishment and rewarded by a civil service job after that.

By the same token NASA considers space flight a priviledge of the state and sacred knowledge. They do not have to put anyone through house arrest because it is very expensive to build it spacecraft and nobody can do it without money. But they will if they have to.

Mr. nderosa, unfortunately, the whole thing started bad and it may take several hundred years to change because it is now an establishment.

Nderosa,

I agree with you that NASA should not interfere with the efforts of private commercial firms to launch their own efforts. NASA was once a tight, efficient unit with goals that accomplished things. It is now driven by ridiculous PR concepts designed to fire a dull public's imagination instead of being based on a long term practical course of action. That being said, do we just whine about how bad government is or do something about it? If the organization ran well before then we should be examining why it ran well and reinstitute those principles. Private commercial companies can go to hell too, just look at Boeing. I still maintain that NASA as blundering as it is is still launching science missions that are returning knowledge that you would have to wait another 40-50 years to get from some private company. Do you want to always be that far behind or do you want to acknowledge that only government has the pocket for frivolous research that has no immediate payoff? Sure, private companies occasionally do pure research but not on the scale of the space program.