Obama eliminates NASA's funds for manned lunar missions

[Professor S]

I think its a sad state when we've been trained to believe that nothing of import can get done unless the government pays for it.

[Vampyr]

Originally Posted by Professor S

I think its a sad state when we've been trained to believe that nothing of import can get done unless the government pays for it.

What other organization or business has the money laying around to throw at NASA?

I can't think of anything a commercial business stands to gain that's worth all the risks.

[Professor S]

Originally Posted by Vampyr

I can't think of anything a commercial business stands to gain that's worth all the risks.

Well, recent evidence would disagree. Just a few years ago the first private aircraft went in to space only for the promise of a $10 million award.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/0...borbital.test/

That's chicken feed comparatively. Plus I think spaceflight has a HUGE upside for fast travel over long distances. New York to Sidney Australia in 4 hours? There are lots of people who would pay a lot of money to avoid the normal 20+ hour flight to point halfway across the globe.

As for outer spaceflight? I do believe Pandora needs to be mined to reduce our dependence on foreign oil...