"Jeff Findley" wrote:
"dave schneider" wrote:
[...]
Howsabout we get school kids to donate pennies, until we have enough
to buy a spare Soyuz? Or at least a Progress? [...]

I doubt kids would donate pennies for such a cause. Human spaceflight is,
after all, paid for by the government, it's not a charity. At least, that's
the prevailing attitude in the US.

Of course it is, but there are precedents: war bond drives during
WWII and tinc cna recycling at the same time included significant
youth involvement. It is true that the same sense of sacrafice for
the good of the country isn't part of buying a Soyuz, but still...

And you could also appeal to the kids with additional gimmicks --
collect 9000 pennies for the Soyuz, and get a flight-flown Star Wars
figure with reproduction George Lucas signature!

/dps