10-Year Plan

On Monday, October 21, 2002, at 12:48 PM, jdr7181 wrote:

> --- In spacesettlers@y..., Al Globus wrote:
>>
>> On Monday, October 21, 2002, at 10:26 AM, jdr7181 wrote:
>>
>>> Let's say for the sake of argument you have all been asked to
>>> participate in a project to define a 10-year plan for commercial
>>> space development. What are the most immediate needs?
>>
>> Much better launch vehicles
>
> Could this need be better phrased, "Cheaper access to space?"

Yes. Cheaper and more reliable.

>
>>> What can be
>>> reasonably accomplished (commercially) in space over the next 10
>>> years?
>>
>> Communication satellites, Earth resources satellites, sub-orbital
>> tourist flights, ISS rich-guy tourism.
>
> These are all available now, correct?

Not sub-orbital tourism, although there is a Russian company working on
it.

Personally, I don't see any other external markets (other than space
companies selling to other space companies) for space products at
competitive prices. It would be nice if I were wrong.

The dinosaurs were destroyed by an asteroid because they weren't
space-faring. It's almost as if Gaia then thought "Well, dinosaurs
worked pretty well, but space-faring is necessary. Maybe I'll should
try mammals this time." Humanity is now developing systems to detect and
deflect asteroids, and could build orbital space colonies to spread
beyond Earth to insure life would survive a planetary catastrophe.

Al Globus
CSC at NASA Ames Research Center
http://www.nas.nasa.gov/~globus/home.html