Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: NSS Board membership
Message-ID: <1989Jan20.180404.7740@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <6145@thorin.cs.unc.edu> <1989Jan15.095906.18357@utzoo.uucp> <92@beaver.cs.washington.edu> <1989Jan18.043708.27547@utzoo.uucp> <1989Jan18.102436.12838@cs.rochester.edu> <6226@thorin.cs.unc.edu> <94@beaver.cs.washington.edu>
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 89 18:04:04 GMT

In article <94@beaver.cs.washington.edu> szabonj@right.UUCP (Nick Szabo) writes:
>Space settlements are another example of *future* technology.  

No, they are an example of future application of current technology.
They are much less speculative than nanotechnology or the other examples
cited; we could clearly build at least small space settlements today if
the money could be found.

(Please don't cite closed-cycle life support as a difficulty.  We
could not build a space settlement that was guaranteed to be entirely
self-sufficient, with no outside intervention ever required in its life
support, without considerably more work, but that was not my statement.
Entirely self-sufficient settlements are very uncommon even on Earth.)
-- 
Allegedly heard aboard Mir: "A |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
toast to comrade Van Allen!!"  | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu