Some Questions

Ok, Before I get to my questions please understand I ask because I
don't know the
answers and don't know where to find them. As such although they may
apear stupid to some of you I suspect others might want to know the
answers also. With that in mind,
if you can, please include a sorce for the info in your answers. This
is for me and for
others.
Thank you

1. What is wrong with the shuttle? I understand it is expensive to run
but why is it expensive? Can the problems all be fixed with a mark II
version?

2. I heard that NASA abandoned the fuel tank based space station idea
because
the tanks contain a toxin, I believe it was benzine. Is this true?
Can this be cleaned from an orbiting tank? Can the engines be designed
to work without
it? Is it all just bullshit?

3. Everything I read about the DC-X aka the Delta Clipper says it was
a spacemans
wet dream of a vehicle. Well, until it fell over. However its falling
had nothing to do
with the engine but seemed to involve a failure in a landing leg's
hydrolics, something
which happens to airplanes occasionally. If it was such a good design
why was it abandoned? How much does it cost to build the thing anyway
and is it something a
private enterprise could afford?

4. How much does a shuttle cost to build?

5. It seems all the various space colonization advocacy groups
concentrate on the
United States as the country to be the ones to colonize space yet many
other wealthy and industrialized countries exist. Why don't they
concentrate on the others like Germany,
Japan, or China? Why not all of them? I wonder if the USA has lost its
spirit.
If you read history you notice nations go through a vigorous period of
growth followed
by a decadent decline and at some point they either collapse or are
reborn again.
I wonder if the USA is going into a decline cycle. Perhaps one of the
younger countries
or ones coming out of their decline cycle might take the challenge?

6. Everything I have read lately including The High Frontier 3rd
edition from Apogee
Book seems to indicate NASA is a fossilized dinosaur like old IBM was to
the computer
industry back in the 60s and 70s. Shouldn't space travel advocates try
to
pull NASA down? Isn't it time for a NASA mark II? I got the impression
NASA screws up a
lot and makes choices that are less than optimal given a limited budget.
If they
are such screwups and waste taxpayer money and don't do as good a job as
they could then
shouldn't it be the duty of those who know to point this out to the
voters? I mean,
Don't just point out what NASA does wrong but what NASA could be doing
right.
Pointing out to the taxpayers how NASA seems to abandon promising
technologies like
the Delta Clipper in favor of the shuttle which is old and needs to be
replaced.
Pointing out how NASA's plans don't include civilian activities in
space, neither industrial or tourist, even if such would be a good idea.
Pointing out that,
if the shuttle tanks are safe or can be made safe, that it cost no extra
to bring them in
orbit and that they can be made into cheap space stations and hotels.
Why isn't NASA being crushed for holding the dream back? For holding
the people from space?
Why isn't everyone involved in any way with space colonization trying
everything
thay can to destroy NASA and make a new agency that can do a better job?

7. How come the anime Mobile Suit Gundam is the ONLY mass media
product featuring
Mr. Oniell's colonies and ideas? It would seem that the more mass media
items
featuring orbital colonies, moon mining, and the rest you have, the more
you would infect
the population with the space colonization meme. The last TV show I can
remember
that was a mass media item of some popularity featuring a city on the
moon was
Space 1999 which was from the mid 70s! Babylon 5 has a space colony but
not around the
Earth! The Colony you hear about on B5 near Earth is a dirtside colony
on Mars!
No asteroid miners or colonies in the asteroid belt. Why don't the
space colonization
advocacy groups try to fund or start movie and TV projects with space
colonization
featured in them and ordinary joes and janes in space? Not documentary
works but
fiction and not,possibly dull to the average guy, sci-fish works but
dramatic mass market stuff but with the colony stuff in the background
sneaking into their minds.
When the meme becomes a plague you can then tell them all they could
live in those
things they saw in the movies and on TV. You can't fly on the
Enterprise but you could live in orbit on a Bernal sphere so just write
your congressman. Why aren't they doing that? If enough of the voters
wanted it the government would do it.

8. Do people like Freeman Dyson and other "movers and shakers" read
this list
or is it just regular guys like me? Does anything any of us say here on
this list
have any effect or ar we wasting out time talking? This question might
annoy people and
that is not my intent. My mom always says, "Talk is cheap" and I
sometimes
wonder if talking on lists like this has any effect at all. Are we just
a bunch of
college students in a dorm talking about things but never doing anything
and having
no effect because no one important listens? I like this list because I
can get information and share ideas but I am planning on writing
articles for webzines and maybe an honest paper and ink magazine. I
wrote an article but the info in it was wrong
so I need to gather more info but I will tell you all when it is done.
What does
everyone else do? Please don't get angry if you thought I was saying
that you are all
losers or something, I wasn't, I was just wondering what good mailing
lists like this do
for the cause besides letting us exchange ideas and make friends. Thats
all.

Well, those are my questions. Please don't be angry if I somehow
offended you.
I am sorry if I did. I hope this generates discussion and ideas.
Thank you for reading this.
Darkstar