In sci.space.policy Joe Strout wrote:
In article ,
Sander Vesik wrote:

No more Galileos or Cassinis or Pluto probes or Space Telescopes?
What if this means "No more galileos, cassinis and space telescopes UNTIL"
those can be launched from lunar surface ?

But this is essentialy the same as never, as things stand or are even
projected.

You must have a very limited definition of "never". We could be
launching craft from the lunar surface in 20 years easily. If in a
hurry, then 10-15 years. Not what I would call "never."

Just as you cannot call ISS a "earth orbit manufacturing base" it is
extremely unlikely that anything NASA will create on moon would in some
way help launching satellites. *Even* if there was actual manufacturing
base, to actually *make* a staellite starting with raw materials you
hundreds of people to be there. And there is no way that is going
to happen in the next 20 years. It would not even happen if you could
pour as much money as you wanted into it.


It means long delay or even cancelation of real science projects over a bunch
of unneeded footprints.

No, it means delay or cancellation of science projects in favor of real
development of space. And I say, great! The first thing the Bush
administration has done (or at least, been rumored to be claiming to do)
that I've agreed with. Frankly, I really don't care all that much how

You need to go and have your head examined, i'm afraid.

much dark matter and dark energy there are in the cosmos. But the fact
that the total lunar population is zero, and I couldn't take a vacation
there even if I were a billionaire -- these things I *do* care about.
We need to get off this rock, and to provide abundant clean energy to
the poor saps who are still here. Science projects isn't going to do
either of those, but space development will.

And the Apollo program take 2 is not going to give you these things either
nor get you any closer to them.


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--
Sander

+++ Out of cheese error +++