I concur with Thorne's post above, and see no need to repeat whats been said there in different language.

However, this concept, concerns me greatly:
"...Private corporations, even private individuals, are the future of space exploration..."

for some reason this line from a Flobots song seems to equate:
"The poor get poorly paid,
to hold the ladder where,
the rich get ricocheted,
into the stratosphere."

So what will our future in space hold in store for us?

Planet Microsoft?
Exxon IV in the Delta quadrant?
Enronville?


I for one would hope that as we migrate off-planet, we take the best traits of humanity with us. Yet history shows that when we expand into new territories, we as humans often behave badly.

"To boldly go where no man has gone before ... and claim it all as MINE!"
yeah that's worked so well for us all, here on our home-planet.

Wow... I guess I'm in a cynical mood today.