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What are the military benefits of bring something back from orbit? I can't think of any.

• Anon84 17y ago
  Depends on who originally built it and who brings it back. I'm sure some countries wouldn't mind getting their hands on US satellite technology (and vice versa)
• demallien 17y ago
  Not leaving sensitive equipment around for others to steal. Not cluttering up Near Earth Orbit with junk. Not sending back results over interceptable radio-waves (encryption can be broken, given enough time - if you broadcast it, you can pretty much assume that the bad guys will be able to read it in 10 years time) And then, I wouldn't be surprised if the military see this as a way to get a surreptitious military manned space program up and running - it's just not that much more work, once you have a lander available. That's just a few ideas that pop up at first glance - there are no doubt others...