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Private launch costs

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Jim Bowery

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Sep 13, 1989, 1:46:54 PM9/13/89
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John Roberts writes:
> Another problem: the USSR has just one "company" to supply all its launch
> needs. If the US has 10 private launch companies, will it have to have 10
> times the USSR's launch volume for all the companies to have good economy
> of scale?

The Soviet government's effectiveness in space activities can, in general,
be attributed to the fact that while our private sector is more effective
than the Soviet public sector, our public sector is LESS effective than
the Soviet public sector. Why this is so becomes obvious when you
consider that the Soviet public sector has no private sector to tax --
any costs are born by itself, directly, whereas in the US (and other
relatively free market economies) the governments have the luxury of
becoming fat and lazy at the expense of the private sector.

It is a simple matter of accountability, the US private sector is
most accountable for its costs, the Soviet system is next most
accountable for its costs and the US government is least accountable
for its costs.
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Greg Lindahl

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Sep 13, 1989, 10:45:54 PM9/13/89
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In article <890913175...@trout.nosc.mil> j...@pnet01.cts.COM (Jim Bowery) writes:
#John Roberts writes:
#
#The Soviet government's effectiveness in space activities can, in general,
#be attributed to the fact that while our private sector is more effective
#than the Soviet public sector, our public sector is LESS effective than
#the Soviet public sector.

In general, few things about economics are true. The US public sector provides
shuttle-sized launches for the SAME COST as the shuttle.

Some US corporations might be efficient (AMROC, OSC). Others aren't
(Titan IV, anyone?).

Let's talk about space, not trade over-generalizations about the
public and private sectors.

------
Greg Lindahl
gl...@virginia.edu I'm not the NRA.

Tom Neff

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Sep 14, 1989, 10:37:10 AM9/14/89
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In article <19...@hudson.acc.virginia.edu> gl...@astsun.astro.Virginia.EDU (Greg Lindahl) writes:
>In general, few things about economics are true.

Is that true!

--
Annex Canada now! We need the room, \) Tom Neff
and who's going to stop us. (\ tn...@bfmny0.UU.NET

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