🚀 go-pugleaf

In <1993Jan5.031431.14514@cerberus.ulaval.ca> yergeau@phy.ulaval.ca (Francois Yergeau) writes:

>>If you pay Air France to fly your laser to the research site,
>>does that mean the Airbus is a research vehicle?

>No, it's an aircraft _I_ am using to support my research activities.

No, it's an aircraft you and hundred other passengers are using
to support a wide range of activities.


>Ditto, mutatis mutandis.  Likewise, when NASA flies Spacelab, TSS or a
>TDRS on the shuttle, the latter is used to support NASA's research
>activities, pursuant to its charter.  

So, if your lab bought its own Airbus, hired its own flight crew,
sold flights to paying customer, constructed its own communications
facilities and rented those to commercial customers, all of that
would be research and development?


>It is my understanding that this thread originated when someone 
>claimed that NASA was not respecting its charter by operating the 
>shuttle, which is admittedly not an experimental craft anymore.  I 
>disagree, as long as the shuttle manifest contains only genuine R&D.

Which hasn't been the case for many years now.