Scucca

The US, compared to her Western cousins, has been reliant on military R&D to ensure technological progress and therefore growth. However, the opportunities are disappearing, with the innovation increasing focused on finding military use for civilian technologies.

To what extent can the US maintain her technological progress levels by shifting from military expenditure to expenditure on space exploration?

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Lachean

Ever consider the private sector? It will begin with him:


Hurray for capitalism!


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Get yours today!

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Scucca

Try answering the question! I know, I know, harsh idea

mikhail

technolgy has always been pushed towards military use from civilian and vice versa.since the military is a govenment sector its often up to the private sector.

the problem we have in europe is because whenever the governments want to invest in something like space exploration there alot of people who drag up questions like"how many hospital beds could this pay for?"

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Lachean

I figured I made myself clear, but I'll be more explicit for your sake:

I do not believe the government has much of an incentive for space exploration. Other than minor achievements and the inevitable man on Mars, unless any other nation gets serious about space exploration, or this planet runs low on a nearby resource (fissionable materials) I just don't see the return on the investment.

The people just don't care anymore, so there's no political will. Heck a few months back when we found the first, and then dozens of planets capable of sustaining human life NOBODY GAVE A **** because Anna Nicole Smith died...

However, there are commercial incentives for putting people into space, creating and miniaturizing new tech, and inevitably exploration/colonization. As trips such as the coming Virgin Galactic flights become affordable and ubiquitous, more and more corporations will find that there is money to be made in space.

The inevitable next step are various classes of space hubs (entertainment, bars, etc...) then eventually real estate and private transports for the wealthiest space industrialists.

Eventually even those measures may become affordable for consumers, when we can reduce the cost of getting **** into space.

Enough of an answer for you?

Scucca

As spin-offs become more scarce, we have to consider that the military sector is a drain on the economy. It becomes a standard "crowding out" problem. It steals available R&D resources from the civilian sector without ensuring the levels of technical innovation achieved in the past

The EU, however, is quite aware of its appalling R&D record and the need to try and ape the US's record. It has toyed with using the military sector, but space exploration does look a much more attractive proposition.

Scucca

The return on the investment is the economic growth it can spawn. We've seen that in the past with the US massive military expenditures and their impact, via spin-offs technologies to the civilian sector, on economic growth.

It would perhaps be more easy to justify than military R&D, particularly for a lagging supra-national organisation such as the EU.

Certainly true. However, the private sector has typically provided insufficient investment. Remember that I'm interested in the extent that space exploration can replace the role of the military sector in making up the shortfall.

Not really! I'm more interested in the extent that spin-off technologies would develop.

Voidwar

Since the space race was a cold war military production exercise, I submit that they are one in the same. To realize the kind of benefits being dreamed about requires the kind of investment that is survival and not curiousity.

Panache

Dude.... You are missing a few zeros there. Virgin Galacitc cost $200,000 per seat.

UtahBill

The ROI of space exploration is almost always overstated. Think about it. Is there anything the space program has done for us that wouldn't have been accomplished anyway? It is a lot of wasted money, likewise the war in Iraq, and bailing out people who stupidly build their homes below sea level.
We can't keep borrowing from our children's future so a few scientists can earn a good living exploring space. Put them to work finding ways to become energy independent. That is a worthwhile cause, with returns that might occur in the next few decades. Exploring space just gives us lots of pretty pictures....

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