Aucbvax.5331 fa.space utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!space Sun Nov 29 03:21:34 1981 SPACE Digest V2 #44 >From OTA@S1-A Sun Nov 29 03:10:06 1981 SPACE Digest Volume 2 : Issue 44 Today's Topics: "The Space Shuttle" vs "The Air Shuttle" Does anyone out there really care? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 28 Nov 1981 1055-PST Sender: LEAVITT at USC-ISI Subject: "The Space Shuttle" vs "The Air Shuttle" From: Mike Leavitt To: space at MC Message-ID: <[USC-ISI]28-NOV-81 10:55:09.LEAVITT> I suspect some of the people who have denied the relevance of the parody have missed a part of its point. The issue is that when you have spent as much time, person-years, and money as NASA has on our space program, you begin to think that that is the only way it might have been done. Nobody denies the complexity of our current space vehicles and launch systems. You must go beyond asserting that complexity to respond to the parody. Could it have been done more expeditiously, cheaply, and simply (and perhaps less safely) if profit and glory was the objective, rather than national supremacy, military utility, and the job security of thousands of engineers? I don't know the asnwer, although I have my suspicions. But one needs to go beyond the status quo to answer the issues raised in the parody. Mike ------------------------------ Mail-from: ARPANET site MIT-MC rcvd at 28-Nov-81 0513-EST Date: 28 November 1981 05:12-EST From: J. Noel Chiappa Subject: Does anyone out there really care? To: space at SU-AI cc: JNC at MIT-MC Remailed-date: 28 Nov 1981 1707-EST Remailed-from: J. Noel Chiappa Remailed-to: space at MIT-MC I saw the following item in an AP digest: UNDATED - Video games, models of the space shuttle Columbia and cold-weather wear were among the hot-selling items as the traditional Yuletide shopping rush began. and it set me to thinking. My first reactions were "Wow, maybe now there are more people interested in space, maybe we can get a little more funding. Even better, the kids are getting into it now, and that's a good sign for the future." Then I realized something: the US has had a space program for almost 25 years. The people who were young enough to be 'space kids' (up to, say, 14 years old when it started) should be a major part of the population by now, but clearly they aren't all as into it as we are. My recollections of my childhood aren't as voluminous as I might wish; I know I was really into space in 1961, but what about all the other kids from back then? Were then into it then? Are they into it now? I've seen only the sketchiest figures on public support for the space program, but I seem to remember about 15% thought we were spending too much, and about the same thought we ought to spend a lot more. I'd be interested in seeing more detailed numbers, especially by age, etc. I could go on for a long time on a related train of things (which would probably over-flow onto other lists) but I'll stop. We oughta set up a sub-list for intensive flaming... Noel ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest ******************* ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.