🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1989Feb9.014057.1089@utzoo.uucp> henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes:
>The way to get cheap transportation into orbit is to forget doing it
>through the government at all.  Do it the way it was done for aeronautics:
>offer a guaranteed market (not subsidies, but payment for results only --
>the way it was done for aviation was lucrative contracts for carrying
>air mail) and let private industry do it.

I agree.  In fact, the Citizens Advisory Council on National Space
Policy (Jerry Pournelle's group) has come up with a proposed bill
which is based on the Kelly bill which provided those air mail contracts.

The capsule summary is, the U.S. Government will guarantee a price of
$500/lb of payload placed in LEO for the first million pounds orbited
each year for the next 10 years.  When someone has launch services to
offer, he puts it out to bid.  The gov't would make up the difference
when the payload is placed in LEO if the maximum bid is less than
$500/lb.

Of course, nobody in Congress is doing diddly about this.
-- 
Mike Van Pelt                      "Nobody's life, liberty, or property
Video 7                             are safe while Congress is in session."
...ames!vsi1!v7fs1!mvp                        -- Will Rogers