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Re: Space questions...

At 7:24 PM 7/23/96, Kevin 'Tex' Houston wrote:
>Zenon Kulpa wrote:
>>
>> > From hous0042@maroon.tc.umn.edu Tue Jul 23 17:16:30 1996
>> >
>> > So, the US goes to the moon, mines ore, and charges a fortune for it.
>> > This pays back the high developement cost, and since there is no
>> > competiton, they make back the startup cost.  after a few years, some
>> > smaller country decides they want  a piece of the pie.  So they send
>> > their own mining contingent to the moon, but find that the US can always
>> > undercharge for the ore, because the startup cost has been paid back.
>> > This is what I was talking about.
>> >
>> Ahh, but that is true for ANY investment in some new product/technology.
>> So, should every new investor share his profits with all would-be ones?
>> This is just pure socialism, if anything...
>>
>> -- Zenon
>
>No, No you mis-understand me.  I meant to suggest that the smaller
>countries are
>using the socialism angle (which they know the US will never accept) to
>buy time
>so that they can get their own space program up and running
>--
>Kevin "Tex" Houston 	http://umn.edu/~hous0042/index.html

If true, the tactic could back fire.  We could just go ahead and start
mining without U.N. approval.  Say U.S., E.S.A. Members, and Russians set
up a group to coordinate operations.  They then make agreements, but only
with other members.  They could then later get used to the idea,m and not
let future newly industrialized nations join the club.  I.E. they could
allocate all known resorces to member organization.  Future groups would
find everything was already reserved.


One other possible factor of course, is the third world is economically
threatened by space development.  Their economies are based on selling raw
materials to the developed world.  Space is loaded with ultra high grade
fuel and ore.  How would the Saudis react if we started a project to
recover oil from near earth comet cores?  How would others if they heard we
were going to recover iron, gold, copper, nickel, etc.. fron near earth
bodies?  We would on the one hand end the possibility of resource shortages
for human history.  But also destroy the economies of those who profit most
from selling the limited resorces.

Kelly


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Kelly Starks                       Internet: kgstar@most.fw.hac.com
Sr. Systems Engineer
Magnavox Electronic Systems Company
(Magnavox URL: http://www.fw.hac.com/external.html)

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