wrote:

It's even easier to deny clear benefits that have resulted from
government expenditures in space.

So list them. *Manned* space we're talking about, mind you.


Yes, and I have. The universe is packed with resources. You don;t get
to profit from them if you don't attempt to go get 'em. And you don't
get to go get them if you don't know *how* to go get them. ESAS, if
allowed to survive, will further develop the technologies required...
life support systems, space suits, in situ propellant systems, related
propulsion systems, etc.

The universe is packed with resources that are, in almost all cases,
grossly noncompetitive with terrestrial alternatives. They might as
well not exist, from an economic point of view. ESAS, and the
technologies that will purportedly be developed for ESAS, won't
change this.

Paul