Of Dubious Value
I'm always intrigued by the arguement that manned spaceflight is not worth the cost now. That it may be worth it later, when we can do it better, but right now, we're just taking baby steps that accomplish nothing.
Pretend for a moment that's true (though it's not).
Baby steps. When a child starts walking, it's not the most efficient means of travel. But it's necessary, in order to walk better in the future.
The Wright Brother's first flight held little real value of its own. The need to travel a few yards in a slightly shorter period of time was not a capability that humanity was really desperate for at the turn of the century. But I doubt many would make the arguement that they should have just quite, since flight really wasn't worth it on Dec. 17, 1903.
The fact of the matter is this--in order for spaceflight to be more productive in the future, we have to do it now. Skill comes with experience. The day will come when we want, or need, spaceflight capability far beyond what we have now. We can either work to be ready for that day, or we can decide to be unprepared.

:: :: 09:17 :: David :: [permalink] ::