why outer space?

--- In spacesettlers@y..., Al Globus wrote:
> David Grunwald wrote:
> > Also, you mentioned AIDS as a population check and,
> > just to reiterate what I said before, I hate to see
> > any increase in mortality be considered a solution to
> > the overpopulation problem.
>
> I don't consider it a "solution". I don't like it at all. I'm not
> *proposing* it. Unfortunately, it is a fact. About 25% of the adult
> population in southern Africa is HIV positive. They will probably
all be
> dead in 5-10 years. A large part of the rest of the population
will be
> orphans. My father adopted some of these and is raising them in
California.
> AIDS in southern Africa is huge disaster and the local govenments
are not
> doing much about it.
>

Not much they CAN do about it. There is no cure, drug cocktails are
prohibitively expensive; and if the drugs need to be tken with
precise timing or supervised medical care, then forget it, as most
people don't have ready access to medical help, or watches for that
matter.

> >
> > When it comes to your suggestions regarding the space
> > program; what do you think about privatizing NASA as a
> > means for reaching their cost cutting goals?
>
> Parts of what used to be NASA are now private and profitable:
communication
> satellites, much remote sensing, and expendable launchers. When
anything we
> do can be profitable with mostly non-government customers, it
should be
> privatized. This has happened in the past with hundred, if not
thousands, of
> products. NASA can and should do the important work which is not
> profitable. Hopefully, we strike the right balance most of the
time.
>

Wow, big things happening at NASA right now, directors getting fired,
ISS elements being axed (ie US habitation module), new launch
vehicles being axed (X33 dead as of today), deep space missions being
axed (Pluto/Kuiper belt probe, Solar probe) talk of merger with the
Astronomical Society, new focus on a manned Mars mission...

What's going on there? Is this just part of the change in the White
House, or is this part of a long-range plan?

:) ed