There are airlines still flying DC-3's profitably. The age of the airframe isn't the problem. It's the use to which it has been put. NASA's current
operating model doesn't require a better/cheaper device, it requires a safe device. A new shuttle design would be risky, (and I don't mean in terms
of passenger safety since the current design isn't particularly safe), so there isn't any rush to replace it.
Gary Sibio wrote:
At 01:41 PM 6/21/2004, you wrote:
That is great news! Now maybe space exploration and exploitation will replace government publicity programs. Nah! They will just regulate it to death.
While I believe that some government regulation will be necessary to ensure public safety, I'm all for shutting down NASA and let the private sector handle it. Our space program started off as a pissing contest with the USSR and the shuttle is twenty years old. How many of us drive a car anywhere near that old. The private sector has also benefitted from the space program so let them put their money up front.
Gary J Sibio [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.earthlink.net/~garysibio/
You know you're having a bad day when Elton John rewrites the lyrics to "Candle in the Wind" for you.
