@S1-A.ARPA:host.MIT-MC.ARPA (05/12/85)
From: Dale.Amon@CMU-RI-FAS I seriously doubt there is a great deal that we REALLY need to learn to put up a space station. Much research WILL be done, because that is the nature of NASA. The true facts are, the space station is nothing but an enginerring project, requires essentially no new learning to be done on the ground, and could best be done by getting the damn thing up and dealing with the problems by making the necessary ECO's on orbit. This would get us a station in a few years at a fraction of the NASA cost. But it is not much use griping, because at the moment NASA is the only game in town, inefficient or not. Besides which, if they had to ship up spare parts because the thermostat failed, can you imagine the difference in headlines between a NASA and a private station? NASA (front page): Astronauts Saved From Frigid Fate: Congress to Investigate Private (buried in business section): Thermostat Shipped to Space Station I can hardly wait until in-orbit failures and repairs are as newsworthy as fixing a sportscar on an interstate. (Hopefully though, the station will be slightly more reliable than the MG I used to drive)