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Re:SpaceshipTwo crashes shortly after Mojave test flight by DanBC on Friday October 31, 2014 @04:00PM (#8540801)
It only took 8 / 9 years between Gagarin's flight and landing men on the Moon. That's remarkable.

It's depressing to think how much closer we'd be to humans on Mars if we had focussed all the Afghan and Iraq war money on space research.

Re:SpaceshipTwo crashes shortly after Mojave test flight by a3n on Friday October 31, 2014 @08:06PM (#8541719)
It only took 8 / 9 years between Gagarin's flight and landing test pilots on the Moon. Which is still remarkable.

Since this sub-thread has invoked tourists and the implied safety and convenience of a commercial operation that carries passengers and other payload. Tourists are payload, test pilots are ... test pilots.

Re:SpaceshipTwo crashes shortly after Mojave test flight by jacquesm on Friday October 31, 2014 @05:54PM (#8541294)
Or simply to reduce the national debt.