India launches, other things

[radag...@gmail.com]

Well, it looks like India launched their Moon probe, Chaandryan
(sp?) laden with instruments from several nations. They are going
full-steam ahead with their space program, building a new launch
complex for Manned operations, and so forth. These are exiting times
for the space business, it seems. In the not-too-distant future, I
could visualize several Moonbases from diffferent countries (unless
there is a major consolidation of efforts, which may actually make
more sense). One from China, one from India, one from the US, and
one from the Putin-ized new Russia. Perhaps one from the ESA, or
European states. One never knows these days, what with the economic
problems and all.

Speaking of that, Space Exploration can be one way to counter a
worldwide recession. With a worldwide surge in space activities, much
economic traffic can be generated. And once a way can be found to
construct a cheap, effective mass highway to space, such as a Space
Elevator or mass driver assembly, this will only increase human space
activity. Commoditization of technologies like space suit design, or
space station assembly, will help. Standardized, off-the-shelf
manufacturing capabilities to build things like suits, breathing
apparatus, shielding, communications, propulsion, etc etc can
contribute to a price decline in Space materials, in the same was that
Personal Computer commoditization helped spread computing to the
masses years ago.

If we can push through the current economic diffficulties, and
press ahead with standardization and proliferation of Human life-
support technologies in Space, we are on the cusp of a boom that will
make every last one pale into insignificance. Here is hoping it will
come sooner rather than later.