5 ms·
Disagree. Space exploration requires a minimum base of technology to be available before it even has a glimmer of commercial viability. The state was able to so
by wycy 5y ago
Disagree. Space exploration requires a minimum base of technology to be available before it even has a glimmer of commercial viability. The state was able to solve that by pouring an incredible amount of resources into a field that no company could have conceived of touching at the time.
No commercial effort would have expended those billions knowing it would take decades to maybe see any payoff. The interests of companies are overwhelmingly simply to increase next quarter's profits and return value to shareholders.
- throwaway0a5e 5y agoDuring the space race the state got a level of results society could not (sustainably) support by lighting money on fire (at an unsustainable rate). Fast forward half a century and it's commercially viable for certain types of activities. Similarly, Columbus's initial explorations were state sponsored "light money on fire in the hope we get useful knowledge out of it" (like a path to the indies that cuts out the middle man) endeavors. The initial conquest of SA by the Spanish for low hanging fruit type resource extraction (stealing gold) in the 1500s is roughly analogous to "BigCo" commercial viability (draw your comparisons with the very expensive telecommunications satellites of the 80s) and by the 1630s even marginalized religious extremists could afford to settle on the other side of the ocean. Space is in that same process of moving down the economic ladder of viability.