Quote:
Originally Posted by Vampyr
I can't think of anything a commercial business stands to gain that's worth all the risks.
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Well, recent evidence would disagree. Just a few years ago the first private aircraft went in to space only for the promise of a $10 million award.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/0...borbital.test/
That's chicken feed comparatively. Plus I think spaceflight has a HUGE upside for fast travel over long distances. New York to Sidney Australia in 4 hours? There are lots of people who would pay a lot of money to avoid the normal 20+ hour flight to point halfway across the globe.
As for outer spaceflight? I do believe Pandora needs to be mined to reduce our dependence on foreign oil...