Markets

<< I also read in a post that it's a bit of a paradox. Reduce the cost
of getting to LEO/GEO and the market would grow. But until there's a
market, there will be NO significant reduction in launch costs. Yet
another oversimplification, but is it accurate? If so, solutions? >>

There ARE markets right now for business in space! In new book by Lou Dobbs,
"Space: the Next Business Frontier" he pointed out that space already make
$100 billion a year combined. The biggest is satellite industry with many
new products coming soon or are already up. In the wake of WTC on Sept. 11,
we have seen a huge need for far better communication and location system.
Cell phones were useless in city with high buildings and few broadcasting
points. TV and some radio was knocked out, except for CBS. We need better
location tracker for people in case of being buried in building collaspe or
soidlers needing to be pull out of territory. Also, we need better air
traffic tracking for airplane and Boeing have proposed air control system
based on satellites. Even solar power satellites could be sold on text of
freeing ourselves from oil and being protected againest terrorist attacks
because of their locations. Even if they destroy the ground transformers,
it's a simple matter to switch to another transformer right away.

Now the question to ask is how can we use today's needs to our advantage in
pushing for future colonization? As long as we use the markets' own power,
we can ride them like surfboarders to the place we want to go.

Carl Mullin