Is it really surprising that space is militarized?
What else should we use space for? Science? Well and good, but who exactly pays the bill, and who gets the benefits? Who decides which science to perform? Do I build another telescope, a microgravity fabrication lab, or a Europa probe? How do I decide? Even if I'm the head of NASA, or the European or Chinese counterparts, how do I decide? The bottom line is that nobody is able to decide between these alternatives effectively, and so science in space will always get a short shrift.
Well what about the commercial aspects? These may develop, and projects like the X-Prize show promise, but while all of Slashdot except for a few trolls is clamoring for more involvement from NASA et al and not less, the barriers will continue to do a good job of keeping those evil, profit-seeking companies out of space.
So what's left for space? What's left that has a known cost, and an obvious, direct benefit to the people funding it? The military, of course. I put up a spy satellite, and less soldiers die in battle. It's as simple as that.
Slashdot Mirror
Check out The Broken Window Fallacy. Federal money doesn't do much to create jobs. It just might shift jobs into NASA from wherever they were before.
Is it really surprising that space is militarized?
What else should we use space for? Science? Well and good, but who exactly pays the bill, and who gets the benefits? Who decides which science to perform? Do I build another telescope, a microgravity fabrication lab, or a Europa probe? How do I decide? Even if I'm the head of NASA, or the European or Chinese counterparts, how do I decide? The bottom line is that nobody is able to decide between these alternatives effectively, and so science in space will always get a short shrift.
Well what about the commercial aspects? These may develop, and projects like the X-Prize show promise, but while all of Slashdot except for a few trolls is clamoring for more involvement from NASA et al and not less, the barriers will continue to do a good job of keeping those evil, profit-seeking companies out of space.
So what's left for space? What's left that has a known cost, and an obvious, direct benefit to the people funding it? The military, of course. I put up a spy satellite, and less soldiers die in battle. It's as simple as that.