From: Adrian Tymes (wingcat@pacbell.net)
Date: Mon Jul 15 2002 - 19:51:35 MDT
Samantha Atkins wrote:
> Harvey Newstrom wrote:
>> The free market will never get us into space until there is a return
>> on investment. Until someone ponies up a lot of money, nobody is
>> going to invest in this. To get someone to spend a billion dollars,
>> you probably need 300,000 investors each pledging a million. That's a
>> million dollars for each person in the U.S. It just won't happen.
>
> oops. A billion is 1000 people putting up a million each or 10,000
> putting up $100,000 or 100,000 putting up $10,000 each. Not undoable by
> any means. It depends on how many billions and how many people believe
> in it and want it that much.
Ah, but how many of the investors will actually deliver what they
pledge, and pledge it to the same group? That last one's the key, and
for good reason: undoubtedly, at least a thousand people have each been
the major decision maker for at least one (each) of Boeing's
million-plus dollar deals. Same for Lockheed. Those organizations have
not produced low cost rockets yet, and look like they will continue to
not do so...so, a billion needs to go to someone else who will. And
perhaps to yet more others, in case the first someone else just takes
the money and runs (or simply fails to deliver - same diff).
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