what we really need to go into space

--- "Paul D. Fernhout" pdfernhout@...
> IMHO if the system you reference worked we'd already
> have space
> settlements and alternative energy systems (whether
> from space or on the
> ground). Instead we got a failed GeoStar corp, a
> failed LAWN project
> (not to say either GPS or wireless networking was a
> bad idea, just that
> business in practice can be pretty savage, and any
> profits will go first
> back into the company before any new venture like
> space settlements),
> lots of other projects spinning their wheels in the
> mud, etc. Space
> development is not going to come from a vision of
> bank balances -- it
> will come from a vision related to life. And, likely
> as not, if we don't
> clean up the various messes on Earth first, we may
> never get to the
> stars (nor would we be worth of them). The bottom
> line is people like
> you or TangoMan float through circles of finance and
> you can see how
> they just aren't going to put significant money in
> it (other than as a
> hobby -- like Jeff Bezos) or that of many other
> worthwhile ventures any
> time soon. The larger system is eating itself from
> the love of money.

I have to pop into the argument and disagree here.
There are many successful space-based business. Look
at companies like Orbital, Spacehab, Space Imaging, XM
Radio just to name a few. There are many more than
that even. The thing that all these companies have in
common who are successful are two things: 1) they have
a product/service that people will for, 2) They make a
profit and are attractive to wall street.

I have no idea why you lumped GPS in there, personally
I think its one of the greatest public projects ever
done by the DoD. It is predicted that by Futron that
within 5 years, there will be a several billion market
of goods and services that will be built around using
GPS.

Val and Tango may be in the finance world, but I am in
the aerospace manufacturing world and I can agree with
them on this point. Where money can be made, people
will invest their hard earned dollars and put in the
extra effort.

There is a very fine line here that needs to be walked
IMHO when talking on this subject. First, I am a huge
supporter of the open source initiative. However, I
also believe that this stuff just lays the foundation
upon which to build on to make a profit. This is why
companies like sun and ibm contribute alot to the open
source community.