Private Industry in Space: Good or Bad?

Not at all. I'm 100% positive private funding will eventually start to play a big roll in the technological development side of space travel, but the prospect of private industry pushing into deep space to mine asteroids, set up colonies, and form trade networks is nothing but silly sc-fi nonsense.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/apr/24/tech-tycoons-asteroid-mining-venture
silly sci-fi shit you say

edit. who the fuck voted no? please explain why you did so?

The way I see it, private industry in space is okay as long as its only like space tourism and mining on asteroids and other stuff like that. But I never want to see private companies colonizing planets and exploiting their resources by themselves with no regulation. For instance, as it was on Pandora with the unobtanium in the movie Avatar. (I don't know if I spelled unobtanium right)

They're talking about close proximity to Earth, I say go for it. Any attempt to take their space-mining shenanigans deeper into the solar system would inevitably end in a lot of wasted money.

Actually..No. You see, the more space ships are active, more the price for getting stuff up there drops. Meaning in 30-40 when private company's (if they advance in this rate) are mining hydrogen of the moon etc the price for mining has dropped so much, the company's can make profit of it, no matter the distance. Also our technology will go forward meaning faster engines etc

All of that is an assumption. We really don't know how it will look if it ever does play out.

Business is assumptions other word, but this time the opportunities of this sector are hot. So if this progress will keep up, anything can happen.

I don't think you fully comprehend the technological complexity, let alone the martial and financial expenses, of a craft that could be classified as a "space ship".

Good, they can dick around with hydrogen on the Moon all they want. Fact is its highly unlikely they'll ever push past Earth's orbit into the land of slow pace and minimal financial profit.

Could someone please remind me why I'm the resident technological Utopian nut on these forums?
@Kali maybe?

DUURH COMPANIES GOING TO RULE OVER THE WORLD SO I VOTE BAD!

Well obviously it is good. Advances in technology in spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace are lacking in government space programs, so I expect private companies are better at this sort of thing.

@Demondaze I'm talking decades down the line with my private industry stuff. You say companies can run a business while it's in close proximity to Earth, and I say that, in addition to that, they'll continue to develop better engines, oxygen tanks, ships, etc., until we can go throughout our solar system. That can take decades, even centuries, but I see no limit to their ability to do so.

Indeed, Government programs have been painstakingly slow in recent years to actually make another step in space exploration. However, they do not have the funding to do so. The capital involved in making the next actual step in space exploration would be painful to look at, even more so with many governments on the recieving end of a massive chain of debt.

Were the certain governments involved in Space Exploration actually attempting to pump funds into their programs and take a few risks involved in making historic and prestigious advances in space exploration then we would see an extremely fast pace of space related technologies being fielded. Take note, however, that it is virutally impossible for the type of capital required for such feats to be rendered by any government currently. The United States is in the economic shitter, Russia is still recovering from its pre- and post-Soviet Economic Crash (its trying to make it happen but fires still rage elsewhere that require more attention than space exploration for them), China has no intention or ability to really take the lead in exploration. And Europeans are in the same hole the United States is.

But Private Industry, to me, should not be allowed to into space exploration. We do not need a profit motive involved in space, atleast not yet. However, they are really the only ones with the capital to actually finance such projects... what with them being able to quickly recoup their losses from the recent lull in economic circles.

Decades down the line the whole Private vs Public debate will be rendered completely pointless by those same technologies.

Neil deGrasse Tyson would rip your dick off if he were here.

What do you mean?

I suddenly figured out the answer. It is so simple.

I see massive potential for crown corporations.

CORPORATIONS ARE EVIL MAN and they want to bring global warming to space and kill the penguins of Jupiter.

It's an ever increasing trend in our modern economy, everyday private industries become more or less extensions of the government agencies that focus mainly on the basics of said industries relative to them. This is due mostly to the direction in which technology is heading.

I don't think this is due to any kind of advancement in technology and more due to the fact that the government has always tried to grab more power for itself.

This has absolutely nothing with that ever-present diabolical deity The State stealing any sort of power, no one is out to get you. The burden of basic functionality is essential being push into the hands of government due to the nature of technology in regards to the path of mankind's historical development.