Slashdot Mirror
NASA to Go Commercial?
jeffy124 writes: "CNN has an article about NASA possibly selling space. The idea comes from Russia, where they have have sent into space Pizza Hut pizza, talking picture frames, and magazines. The proposal includes ties with the entertainment industry, tourism, NASA merchandise, and hiring a nongovernment organization to manage the US areas of the International Space Station." If anyone has a link to this NASA draft document the article talks about, please post it below.
What possible benefit can we, the public whose tax dollars support NASA, see from space exploration? Obviously, someone has decided that the money would be better spent elsewhere, and the only people I see complaining are the occasional Slashdot user.
Obviously, if we all wanted it, we'd be pissing away billions of dollars on space exploration, which so far has netted us a handful of rocks, Tang, and Astronaut Ice Cream.
Sad? Hardly. Unless you can't live without Tang.
- A.P.
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
hmm, If we keep taking ideas from russia soon we ill be able to buy a shuttle on ebay or for a bit less a trip into space, with training. Good old Russia.
(Score:0, Interesting)
That's the most brilliant idea that I've read in weeks... sending the entertainment people in orbit!
:)
Send the people behind RIAA and MPAA into space, you'll get out full undivided support!
Oh and don't send too much oxygen... you know, it costs 1000$/KG so, you can try to save on that issue... especially if you are commercial, you must turn into profits... just a suggestion
--- Metamoderating abusive downgraders since my 300th post.
It's done more than that, it's also given us countless hours of quality PBS and Discovery channel programming, and Velcro! Can you even truly imagine life without Velcro?
But if we're going to take a cue from history, let's point NASA toward the real profit from technology lies: Porn.
No, really, think about it. Early photographs? Porn. Videos? Porn. DVDs? Why, Porn again! And don't even get me started on where all the "innovations" in Internet commerce and advertising have come from -- we may all hate the X10 ads, but they're using both innovation AND implied voyeurism to make a profit.
Now, just imagine what NASA could do by selling Space Porn. I'm sure that millions of guys across America would be "curious" enough to pay a few bucks to see sex in space. And any modeling company would love it -- no mode need for Wonderbras for lift, since there's no gravity to make them fall. And they'd bring about a whole new wave of public interest in space travel and technology (surely this would be more effective in creating public interest than the proposed return-to-the-moon plans)!
Let's face it -- a little Porn goes a long way toward the technological advancement of the human race. Abandon your silly preconceived morals and let the avarice take control.
(Moderators: With any luck, this will be funny. But it might be a troll. I'm honestly not sure =)
-- Imagine how much more advanced our technology would be if we had eight fingers per hand.
Of course, most people would be against this, but Nike could find a way to label those people as communistic or something.
Keeping
Imagine this, you look into the sky and see a giant billboard saying "Looking for female, preferably okay with multiple computers in house. I like to cook, walk, and sing." That personal ad could be seen by the entire population of the planet!
As part of this deal, "Tranquility Base" will be redubbed "Pepsi Tranquility Base (tm)". The Apollo 11 mission itself will know be known as "Taco Bell Run Beyond the Border 11 (tm)". Neil Armstrong's name will be officially changed to "Commander KFC".
Further announcements will be made concerning the new official nomenclature for all of the other Pepsico/Apollo missions, as well as the plans for a new theme park in Cape Mountain Dew.
...that I would happen to be surfing the humor sites today and find this picture of a space shuttle!
an old joke :)
:)
In pre-computer age, just at the start of space exploration Americans found out that normal pens do not work in space and guys up there have nothing to write with. Huge R&D (few MegaBuck) took place and finally a gravity-independent pen have been developed. Production of one piece cost 500 USD. They worked very nice. The idea came in to sell few such pens to Russia... But the answer from the other side of the ocean was: "What for? We use pencils."
Leonid Mamtchenkov
Maybe that's how our civilization came into being. It would sure explain why advertising is so pervasive these days :)
Lemon curry?
'course the bloody thing would be upside down as view from one hemisphere.