F
frodo1008
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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Wow, big congrats to SpaceX. Hopefully this marks the start of many successful flights for them. Having this manner of low cost orbital flight available will be a boon for everyone, I believe. Onward and upward! <br /> Posted by tanstaafl76</DIV></p><p>Not only do I hope that they can truly reduce the price of launches but between them and t-space both being mainly located in Southern California they might just bring back a large part of the aerospace industry that the last two decades or so have seen lost from here. </p><p>I really hate it when people seem to think that you can replace an industry with good wages and benefits with something like retail. As we have seen with the recent demise of many retail higher priced specialty shops if you don't have a relatively well off middle class eventually there is none to buy and support even the retail industry itself! </p><p>Oh, I know that in trying to have far less expensive operations these alt.space outfits are not going to exactly pay as well as the older outfits did, but you can't get the kind of help that such high tech operations demand without relatively good pay and benefits. Not only do you need good engineering, but you also need such relatively high paid manufacturing types as: machinists, precision inspectors, aerospace type assemblers, welders, and a host of other support people. These are generally people with a lot of education and specialized training, and you don't get that kind of help for $10 and hour or less. And that is all to the good of the economy in general. </p><p>So, not only because I fully support mankind truly going out into space, but also because I fully support a good economy for the US itself I fully hope that these new alt.space outfits can really do what the say they can!! </p><p>And personally I see no reeason why they can't. </p>