🚀 go-pugleaf

In <3954@key.COM> rburns@key.COM (Randy Burns) writes:

>What are the current estimates of folks in this newsgroup of how long it 
>will be until the world starts to see privately funded space colonization?

Short answer: Soon after the we see privately financed space
industrialization.  Some opinions to the contrary, industry
is not going to spend billions of dollars on space colonies
until there's something for people to *do* there.

And no, a few communications satellites don't count.  To
reiterate, industry is not going to spend billions of dollars 
on space colonies until there's something for *people* to do 
there.

This assumes you mean a for-profit venture.  It's possible
that a charitable organization such as the National Geographic
Society might foot the bill for a colony before industry has a
need for it, but the cost of such a venture would be formidable.