🚀 go-pugleaf

In <1993Jan06.171601.10077@eng.umd.edu> sysmgr@king.eng.umd.edu (Doug Mohney) writes:

>It's time for the periodic reality check:

>	A) Alan will fight for Freedom and favor it over renting space
>	   on Mir, yet Freedom has yet to be launched. Mir Exists. 

>	B) Alan will fight to shut down the 4 Shuttles, a multibillion
>	   dollar program ) and replace them with a
>	   Soyuz sitting on a U.S. booster. Which hasn't been launched, but
>  	   with a few hand-waving tricks, manages to respark the whole
>	   U.S. aerospace industry. 

>What is wrong with this picture? 


Actually, there's a certain logic to that.  As long as NASA continues
to operate the Shuttle as a "national space transportation system,"
it will continue to wage guerilla warfare against anyone else who seeks
to get into the launch business.

On the other hand, there is no space-station business, so Freedom
doesn't compete with anybody yet.  And although Freedom will cost
ten times what it should, it will return some benefits.  And if 
NASA focuses its attention on Freedom, it will have less time to
spend defending its sacred cow, the Shuttle, against potential
competition. 

You may agree or disagree with these reasons, but there's nothing
inconsistent.