ExtraLabs RSS Wizard 14 Dec 2005 02:09:04 -0600 Finding ways to make Space Settlement actually happen in our lifetimes. The Space Settlement Institute is a non-profit association founded to help promote the human colonization of outer space. http://www.space-settlement-institute.org http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss The President's Moon-to-Mars initiative is struggling under Shuttle-related budget woes. But what is the backup plan if NASA becomes mired financially or politically? Private industry could fill the de facto role of Moon-to-Mars backup system - but they need the financial incentive to make it happen. 14 Dec 2005 02:09:04 -0600 http://www.space-settlement-institute.org/Articles/redundancy.htm The new Florida Space Commission must determine what Florida can do to offset the potential loss of billions of dollars in annual revenue and thousands of lost jobs that may result from the 2010 retirement of the Space Shuttle. Sponsoring the first private industry Race to the Moon through a no-cost lunar land claims recognition law might be the key to Florida maintaining preeminence in space. 14 Dec 2005 02:09:04 -0600 http://www.space-settlement-institute.org/Articles/florida.htm According to COMSTAC, the satellite launch industry is heading for a decade in the doldrums. Is there a way forward for commercial launch providers like SpaceX, Sea Launch, Kistler, and others? Better yet, might there be a way to reignite the huge demand enjoyed by launch companies during the 1990's? 14 Dec 2005 02:09:04 -0600 http://www.space-settlement-institute.org/Articles/satellites.htm Lunar Transportation Systems (LTS), Inc. plans to build a real Earth-Moon space line. To do so, founders Kistler and Citron will need some heavy-duty financing - but what payoff will entice venture capitalists and others to invest in such an expensive and risky venture? 14 Dec 2005 02:09:04 -0600 http://www.space-settlement-institute.org/Articles/earthmoonhighway.htm