[FPSPACE] the thin, frail thread of space budgets

[Keith Gottschalk]

Dwayne Day wrote:

>"human space exploration is largely an
>aberration, a "Cold War echo" that still resonates, but does not have
>to.  It is entirely conceivable that the world could stop sending humans
>into space for several decades before deciding to do so once again.  We
>could give up on ISS as not worth the cost and sit on the dirt for a few
>decades before deciding to go again.  Right now, the only thing that keeps
>us sending humans up there is the inertia from a dead superpower struggle,
>not science, not the desire to explore, not anything terribly noble in
>itself."

  To a political cientist, & Joanne G. as well, this has enough weight as truth to be creepy !
I think another element is that like Antarctic bases, there IS a scientific community interest in it.
Of course, running the South Pole, Bryd & McMurdo Sound bases costs a lot less than the ISS. So let's cheer on 2nd generation RLVs.