<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>The problem with you is...you're probably right, and that doesn't sit very well with those of us who read Heinlein's "Rocket Ship Galileo", "Space Cadet", etc., and watched "Uncle Werhner" and "Uncle Villy Ley" on Disney, and read Collier's, and dreamed our own dreams of the Moon by 1960 and Mars by 1985, and wheel-satellites at 1075 miles up...and then went on to build real rockets and the Space Shuttle, etc... And now we see America's options for access to space closing down to a narrow aperture, unless a political miracle occurs in the next six months or so! And my grandchildren are either not interested in space or are too young to be shown the stars and their potential...yet!In my opinion, we...humans, and especially we American humans have always done best when there was a frontier for us to conquer. To paraphrase what James Gunn wrote in one of the stories in "Station In Space," "The presence of a frontier is all that's necessary. Everyone doesn't have to go there... they just have to imagine they could go if given the opportunity." Too bad nobody is writing good sci-fi anymore...rather than sci-fantasy...But I still think we humans need to go out, "thataway!"Ad Luna! Ad Ares! Ad Astra! <br /> Posted by trailrider</DIV></p><p>WOW!! A totally kindred spirit to my own! </p><p>The only thing that I could add would be the totally wonderful space colony ideas of the great G. K. O'Niell.</p><p>If this great country dose not get off of its duff and truly fund an advanced program of humanity in space we are absolutely going to find ourselves by far surpassed by the only country in the world that seems to be taking the truly long view towards this sort of thing, and that is China!</p><p>What is even more sad to me is that it would take so very little for such an increase. If NASA's present budget is only about 0.5% of the federal budget, then an entirely adequate increaso of some 10% (for each year) in NASA's budget amounts to only an increase of 0.05% of the federal budget! Can every American that works afford and extra candy bar per year?</p><p>Oh well, rant off... </p><p> </p><p> </p>