tower@inmet.UUCP (06/25/83)
#N:inmet:10600001:000:660 inmet!tower Jun 24 11:00:00 1983 Though I like the idea of honoring those who have inspired us into space (e.g. Clarke and Heinlein).... It makes a lot of sense to use spare Shuttle seats to send up anit-space people, "spend the money here" people, and influential politicians. David Stockman (OMB), Jesse Jackson, and Senator Proxmire, come to mind. If we can show these people some of the grandeur, perhaps we can get more $$ from them to help insure our future. [and if one congressman made the junket, more will, so they would increase shuttle funding .....] I'm sure the game could get very complex - hopefully, NASA has very good PR and budget people. -len tower harpo!inmet!tower
silver@csu-cs.UUCP (06/26/83)
Ouch! Those people are so shortsighted that you might send them up only to have them come back with the same opinions. Imagine THAT disaster: Influential person X is talked into taking a trip into space, complaining all the while about WotTM (waste of the taxpayers' money). While there, he/she is violently ill the whole time. The day after returning he/she calls a press conference and makes a Bible-thumping speech about God vs. NASA. Then where are you? Alan Silverstein, Hewlett-Packard Fort Collins Systems Division, Colorado ucbvax!hplabs!hpfcld!ajs, 303-226-3800 x3053, N 40 31'31" W 105 00'43"
spaf@gatech.UUCP (06/27/83)
Who says we have to let them come back to complain?
--
"The soapbox of Gene Spafford"
CSNet: Spaf @ GATech
Internet: Spaf.GATech @ UDel-Relay
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...!duke!mcnc!msdc!gatech!spafREM%MIT-MC@sri-unix.UUCP (07/04/83)
From: Robert Elton Maas <REM @ MIT-MC> Hmmm, sending up money-tight people like Proxmire might be a good idea, providing it doesn't backfire. They might be so blind as to say "this is a joy ride, grandeur, why should taxpayers finance people on joy rides?" and totally miss the science that is going on at the same time.