"Christopher M. Jones" wrote:

:Paul F. Dietz wrote:
: 'Spin-on' technologies occur *all the time*. That's why we
: have rockets in the first place -- all sorts of mundane technologies
: that were developed for other reasons, but enabled the production
: of spacecraft. Why should this suddenly stop? You are proposing
: a sea change in how technology progresses, with no supporting
: evidence whatsoever.
:
:A perfect case in point would be real time operating systems,
:such as QNX or VxWorks. There is a huge market in RTOSs today
:spanning a great many industries, including aerospace. It is
:that market which drives and pays for the development of RTOS
:technology, but aerospace vehicles very much benefit from it.

And yet the cost of missions goes nowhere but UP. That's some
'benefit'.

--
"Some people get lost in thought because it's such unfamiliar
territory."
--G. Behn