Randy McLaughlin wrote:
It was competition that drove the space race. If you look at the
simple fact that in the 60's we went to the moon and now we struggle
to just get into high orbit around earth (250,000 miles lower as I
remember).
Low earth orbit is ample. With out GERMAN leader ship the USA would
never have got any kind of
space program. The only real new real techology that the US developed
was in the last 5? years
was with the winner of the X-PRIZE.
In the USA we set up two separate space agencies, one
was in the US
Air Force the other a civilian agency (NASA). Both agencies are still
going, the military is the smarter agency still using rockets. NASA
shot it's wad on the shuttle stating that it would be cheaper than
rockets plus they could be quickly turned around and sent back up in
short order. NASA lied.
I read some where that the shuttle was re-designed for miltary payload
in to secret orbits and that messed the design
totaly. The solid state booster was also a dumb idea. In hind sight I
think a small but reliable payload would have been
a better option -- about 100 Kg into a fixed orbit with a 2nd stage
unmanned craft and a 1st stage aircraft booster to
get out the atmophere.
Today the cooperation is not helping to get more done
it is just
slowing down the degradation.
BIG ideas is the problem, not a steady space program with simple goals.
Now search for "deep cold" on the web for hidden history of the space
program.
ALSO the anime "Royal Space Force: the Wings of Honneamis" is a good watch.
Randy
I think the problem with general space acess is much like computer
history... only if we get a lucky break
can we have it. That is not to say the USA/USSR have not done great
things in space but they
have done so with feedback from the public, and that has limited the
goals they could reach.