What is the value of the ISS?

On Jul 7, 2008, at 8:22 AM, Chris Smyth wrote:

> Having said that, I still feel optimistic that we are slowly moving
> towards our goal of the commercialization of space. The ISS may not be
> what we all hoped for, but it's a step in that direction.
> Entrepreneurs
> are starting to see the possibilities. They, not the government, are
> the
> ones who will open up space for commercialization and a permanent
> human
> presence.
>

Hear hear! I couldn't agree more.

And one thing that is going to give commercialization a shot in the
arm is coming in just a few years, when we have a large space station
in orbit and no government launcher able to reach it. As far as
commercial space development goes, it really couldn't get any better
than that! If commercial launchers do a decent job, and Ares I runs
any deeper into trouble, we may finally get NASA out of the launch
business.

Best,
- Joe