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Would a man have ever been sent to the moon with the military running the show? Doubtful!
Just as a "Star Wars" component (favorite plaything of the Republican military-industrial compex) will prevent a manned Mars mission from ever flying. What's needed is an effort annpunced where adventure and exploration are the ultimate criteria (as JFK did).
Have you ever looked at the Army and Air Force plans to put men on the moon? Project Horizon? Lunex? As long as DoD was convinced you could observe the Soviets from the moon (or that the Soviets would gain the upper hand by militarizing space first,) the DoD would have gone to the moon.
And SDIO actually had a stimulating effect on the development of space travel. Familiar with DC-X? It's original purpose was to pave the way for cheap, rapid-response RLV's that would launch the hundreds of "Brilliant Pebbles" satellites that were needed for the near-term SDI system. The child of the DC-X line of thought is RASCAL, another DoD initiative to build a rapid response, highly-reusable launcher.
Who needs Michael Griffin when you can have Peter Griffin? Catch "Family Guy" Sunday nights on FOX.
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