Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle Path: utzoo!henry From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) Subject: Re: After Endeavour, what then? Message-ID: <1991May5.014757.15839@zoo.toronto.edu> Date: Sun, 5 May 1991 01:47:57 GMT References: <346.281f448d@mwk.uucp> <1991May4.081930.14921@agate.berkeley.edu> <1991May4.213944.7721@zoo.toronto.edu> Organization: U of Toronto Zoology In article heskett@titan.tsd.arlut.utexas.edu (Donald Heskett) writes: >> I give the X-30 itself only a 50% chance of flying by [2010]... > >Why so pessimistic? Most of the reports so far in "Aviation Week" >about the progress of NASP seem to be that research is going better >than expected... Technically the program is in fine shape. But by X-plane standards it is staggeringly expensive. Congress is increasingly reluctant to spend that much on a pure research project, and the White House is correspondingly reluctant to ask for it. The X-30 effort has already been hit with "you may be ready to build it but we're not ready to pay for it; go away and improve the technology for a few years and ask us again" once. It would not be at all surprising if this happens repeatedly. -- And the bean-counter replied, | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology "beans are more important". | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry