Atlanta Forward readers were intrigued with the idea of Georgia pursuing the commercial space industry. Here is a sampling of comments.
SAWB: With Boeing, Gulfstream and the U.S. military already in the general area, this seems like a great opportunity to grow the aerospace and defense industries. Georgia has a pretty friendly business environment compared to some other states. And Georgia Tech remains one of the top engineering schools in the world. So, why not?
Larry: I went to Georgia Tech and grew up in Jacksonville. This wouldn't be bad for northeast Florida, either. Gov. Nathan Deal should do a deal with Gov. Rick Scott to get behind this against Texas. We still remember how Lyndon Johnson "stole" the Houston space center from Florida to put it in his home state.
Mr. Liberty: Private commercial ventures are just that – private. The private investors should sink or swim on their own business plans, and the government should keep its nose and, most importantly, its (well, the taxpayers') money out of it. … People praise everything that came out of the space program without appreciating that, while a few positive inventions were derived from that tremendously large expense, the potential alternative benefits can never be measured. We all know that government projects involve great waste (and) little oversight, and completely lack any profit or cost-benefit motivation or analysis. So while hundreds of talented engineers and technicians were working on sending men into space, what (else) could they have been working on? If private businesses had to weigh the costs vs. benefits of these programs, would there really have been any money spent? And again, had that money remained in the hands of the private sector and its investors, what inventions, advances, etc. might we have been blessed with instead? If private space flight finds a great home in Georgia, more power to them. But much like the many rockets that blow up on the launch pad, this one may, too, and there is absolutely NO justification for Georgia tax dollars to blow up with it.
Nelson: I never thought of Georgia as a potential space center. I see it as a marvelous opportunity. Commercial space exploration. Let us fund it with casino gambling, not grants from the federal government. Actually, with terrorism, global unrest and fiscal chaos, outer space may be the new destination for those looking for a new environment where all is harmony and peace. I still like casino gambling and a new deep water harbor at Savannah.
