Why spend tax money on space

I'm sure you realize it was more of an observation than a recommendation. :wavey:

 

Yep, and this is what we'll get...

Please click on link below, then click on actual image to enlarge:

http://www.gocomics.com/jackohman/2011/07/28

(I do like the stylized 'A' on the Cheep Space rocket. Looks like the Star Trek uniform logo.)

 

Can you name any government programs that they do better then private industry? More government is never better.

 

The point of the op-ed cartoon was that private space enterprises will likely be run like budget airlines. I think that is a pretty reasonable assumption.

John Glenn was asked what he felt like when he was sitting in the Mercury capsule awaiting lift off. “I felt exactly how you would feel if you were getting ready to launch and knew you were sitting on top of 2 million parts—all built by the lowest bidder on a government contract.”

As to government entities being run better than private ones--it depends on the industry. Does anyone want a private army to compete with the U.S. army? Are the private military contractors out performing our official government troops in Afghanistan and Iraq? Where is their loyalty? To U.S. dollars or to U.S. citizens and foreign policy objectives?

I remember the U.S. Post Office was a much better run outfit before it was (mostly) privatized.

 

Space tourism was dealt a setback this week after a spacecraft funded by Amazon chief Jeff Bezos was lost during a recent test.

Despite a successful test three months ago, researchers "lost the vehicle during a developmental test at Mach 1.2 and an altitude of 45,000 feet," Bezos wrote in a note on the Web site for Blue Origin, his space venture. Bezos blamed a "flight instability" that prompted the vehicle's range safety system to terminate its thrust.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2392411,00.asp

 

Roger,

I can commiserate. My dad worked at the Cape for 13 years during the Saturn and Apollo programs. I grew up watching rockets blast off nearly monthly. Our house was across the Indian River from the VAB and we would walk or ride bikes down to the shore to watch the launches. Occasionally Dad got passes for us to go to the Cape for a launch. Lots of good memories.

IMHO, there are no easy answers to the OP, but I do not consider the money that has been spent on space exploration wasted (although there has been waste involved in the program itself). I can also think of a lot of other government programs/departments that I would like to see cut before NASA.

 

I see it and I can't say I completely disagree. The defense aspects are much greater than most can appreciate.

 

Most of the products mentioned are a result of someone getting a good idea or by some sort of industrial or laboratory accident.

For example, Post-it notes were thought of by a guy was trying to invent a new kind of glue and it didn't work so he tried using it to hold paper book marks in place. Velcro was invented by a guy who was studying bugs, as I recall. There are lots of new insects in space that need studying?