seems to me, if we want to colonize space, there's a hella long road to get the technology we're going to need.
technology seems often to be driven by the need to overcome some obstacle. obstacles like wars, or famine, or disease, or the desire to have ice constantly available in our fridges.
but yeah, there's not a lot immediate results (money) from space yet, because the technology gap is pretty huge, and the goals and aims and obstacles we can shoot for overcoming are also huge, and pretty amorphous in their rewards.
learn how to make ice on tap, you can sell that to people. ice is something they want. same goes for penicillin and anti-biotics, and whatever.
space though is a hard sell. where's the benefit to me? maybe in 100 years we'll colonize some other planets and trade with them for the cool stuff they have, but not yet.
so the marketization of space, via golf stunts, super-rich tourists, all that, that is going to drive the innovations that will bring the whole thing full circle and back to us, the hoi polloi general consumers.
as such- i think it's pretty cool they did the golf stunt. and if coca cola wants to put a huge system of mirrors into orbit that read 'coca cola' right across orion's belt, maybe that's ok. it's not ideal, but i don't see how else we'll get the technology if people don't think of new ways to profitize space, and thusly invest in the technology.
things like the ansari X prize are fine, but what is 10 million dollars as a reward? very little, when you're building the best rockets and delivery systems ever made.
also why i have a lot of respect for branson and virgin. he's an explorer, and he's driving change. that rocks.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-11-26 01:24 pm (UTC)technology seems often to be driven by the need to overcome some obstacle. obstacles like wars, or famine, or disease, or the desire to have ice constantly available in our fridges.
but yeah, there's not a lot immediate results (money) from space yet, because the technology gap is pretty huge, and the goals and aims and obstacles we can shoot for overcoming are also huge, and pretty amorphous in their rewards.
learn how to make ice on tap, you can sell that to people. ice is something they want. same goes for penicillin and anti-biotics, and whatever.
space though is a hard sell. where's the benefit to me? maybe in 100 years we'll colonize some other planets and trade with them for the cool stuff they have, but not yet.
so the marketization of space, via golf stunts, super-rich tourists, all that, that is going to drive the innovations that will bring the whole thing full circle and back to us, the hoi polloi general consumers.
as such- i think it's pretty cool they did the golf stunt. and if coca cola wants to put a huge system of mirrors into orbit that read 'coca cola' right across orion's belt, maybe that's ok. it's not ideal, but i don't see how else we'll get the technology if people don't think of new ways to profitize space, and thusly invest in the technology.
things like the ansari X prize are fine, but what is 10 million dollars as a reward? very little, when you're building the best rockets and delivery systems ever made.
also why i have a lot of respect for branson and virgin. he's an explorer, and he's driving change. that rocks.
rant over.