Dennis Tito - First Ever Space Tourist
An American Hero
by Patrick Collins
Dennis Tito's space flight is a resounding victory for freedom, democracy, Russia and capitalism in space - over the forces of government control, bureaucracy, Goldin's Nasa and monopoly.
Tito's historic achievement is already reverberating around the world - to be remembered forever as the first person to pay his own way to space. And it is already rattling the excessively comfortable cages of the government monopoly space agencies who have done everything they could to delay this day for as long as possible. They can be sure that the coolish breeze that they feel is going to get ever colder - until it is a bitter blast that sweeps away the Cold War paradigm of spending vast quantities of taxpayers' money on space activities with little economic value, and nothing at all on what consumers want, as it has already in Russia.
Tito's flight is also a comprehensive defeat for Nasa administrator Goldin who has spent $140 billion of US taxpayers' money over the past 10 years on - well, on what? On delaying the development of popular space travel, among other achievements. His priority now is "Never again" - to make sure that rules are 'agreed' by the club of monopoly government space agencies who are spending $100 billion of taxpayers' money on their international space station - so that Tito is not followed by others.
But Goldin is stuck in the past - and he's heading for another crushing defeat: Russia is not going to let an unelected bureaucrat in another country dictate to their business people who is to ride on their commercially-operated rockets!! Furthermore they already have a nice 3-way auction building up... The 'Survivor' TV programme team, the German TV production company 'Brainpool', and James Cameron. And there's always the chance of an even heavier hitter - a billionaire - trying to buy their way to the front of the queue...
The government monopoly of space flight that Goldin has done everything he can to preserve is now seen to be an economic disaster for the USA: Dennis Tito's flight is as humiliating for the USA as Gagarin
's flight almost exactly 40 years ago. Think about it: Russia is teaching the USA about capitalism in space. Mr Bush should demand Goldin's resignation, effective immediately, because if he isn't replaced fast by someone who 'gets it', the USA is going to face years of continuing humiliation as Russia cleans up - and builds an impregnable lead in what Nasa has itself confirmed is going to be the biggest business in space - General Public Space Travel and Tourism
.
Nasa is required by federal law to "...encourage, to the maximum extent possible, the fullest commercial use of space." That is rather clear - and it is directly flouted by Goldin's scandalous cover-up of Nasa's own report on Space Tourism the true significance of which has yet to be fully appreciated.
In trying to prevent space tourism, Goldin is also forgetting history: capitalism wins against government monopoly. As Space Future never tires of explaining, given half a chance space tourism is going to grow explosively to dwarf the tiny 'space industry' supported by taxpayer funds. In doing so, space travel services will generate untold wealth, and give a uniquely positive stimulus to the world economy - instead of just burdening it with taxes. It will thereby provide a foundation for global development in the 1st half of the 21st century - as aviation did in the 2nd half of the 20th century.
It's going to be a Golden Age - and Tito's flight is a truly giant step towards it.
So - THANK YOU, DENNIS!
You've already changed the world.
And what's even better - "WE AIN'T SEEN NOTHIN' YET!"
Tito's historic achievement is already reverberating around the world - to be remembered forever as the first person to pay his own way to space. And it is already rattling the excessively comfortable cages of the government monopoly space agencies who have done everything they could to delay this day for as long as possible. They can be sure that the coolish breeze that they feel is going to get ever colder - until it is a bitter blast that sweeps away the Cold War paradigm of spending vast quantities of taxpayers' money on space activities with little economic value, and nothing at all on what consumers want, as it has already in Russia.
Tito's flight is also a comprehensive defeat for Nasa administrator Goldin who has spent $140 billion of US taxpayers' money over the past 10 years on - well, on what? On delaying the development of popular space travel, among other achievements. His priority now is "Never again" - to make sure that rules are 'agreed' by the club of monopoly government space agencies who are spending $100 billion of taxpayers' money on their international space station - so that Tito is not followed by others.
But Goldin is stuck in the past - and he's heading for another crushing defeat: Russia is not going to let an unelected bureaucrat in another country dictate to their business people who is to ride on their commercially-operated rockets!! Furthermore they already have a nice 3-way auction building up... The 'Survivor' TV programme team, the German TV production company 'Brainpool', and James Cameron. And there's always the chance of an even heavier hitter - a billionaire - trying to buy their way to the front of the queue...
The government monopoly of space flight that Goldin has done everything he can to preserve is now seen to be an economic disaster for the USA: Dennis Tito's flight is as humiliating for the USA as Gagarin
's flight almost exactly 40 years ago. Think about it: Russia is teaching the USA about capitalism in space. Mr Bush should demand Goldin's resignation, effective immediately, because if he isn't replaced fast by someone who 'gets it', the USA is going to face years of continuing humiliation as Russia cleans up - and builds an impregnable lead in what Nasa has itself confirmed is going to be the biggest business in space - General Public Space Travel and Tourism. Nasa is required by federal law to "...encourage, to the maximum extent possible, the fullest commercial use of space." That is rather clear - and it is directly flouted by Goldin's scandalous cover-up of Nasa's own report on Space Tourism the true significance of which has yet to be fully appreciated.
In trying to prevent space tourism, Goldin is also forgetting history: capitalism wins against government monopoly. As Space Future never tires of explaining, given half a chance space tourism is going to grow explosively to dwarf the tiny 'space industry' supported by taxpayer funds. In doing so, space travel services will generate untold wealth, and give a uniquely positive stimulus to the world economy - instead of just burdening it with taxes. It will thereby provide a foundation for global development in the 1st half of the 21st century - as aviation did in the 2nd half of the 20th century.
It's going to be a Golden Age - and Tito's flight is a truly giant step towards it.
So - THANK YOU, DENNIS!
You've already changed the world.
And what's even better - "WE AIN'T SEEN NOTHIN' YET!"
