cjh@CCA-UNIX@sri-unix (06/29/82)
As I understand it, Proxmire was once burned by being on the other end of the sort of [investigation]s he now pulls off and getting severely condemned for being on the side of wastefulness. It's a real pity he doesn't concentrate so much on the big money-wasters---but then, that would take work and wouldn't produce such spectacular results. I don't know how much longer he'll last, though, since he seems to be getting people from all parts of the political spectrum annoyed with his clowning. It should also be noted that, as far as "demonstrated interest" goes, it will be interesting to see what happens in about 5 years, when the shuttle's rates are expected to triple ($30 million -> $90 million for sole use of a flight, roughly). It would also be interesting to see what would happen at $30 million (?) per flight if the military weren't taking up something over half of them.
Jim@sri-unix (07/02/82)
The military is NOT paying $30 million - they are paying in the high teens. I am sure they would need about the same volume if the price was $30 milllion, so this is essentially a gift of NASA funds to the military. I have no doubts at all that the shuttle will do well. Hell, having five years of paying customers in advance is simply OVERKILL. They SHOULD raise prices to decrease demand, since clearly they have the market they need to support the increases. Jim -------