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Quote by: sdbest  Commercial aviation as you must know was funded in part in the early years by giving rides to the rich.
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I think you're simplifying things a bit here. Commercial aviation advanced and prospered because it filled the immediate needs of society, and had the technical means to support it. As we've been finding out since the moon landings in the 60's, aside from the odd gadget or process developed, there's simply no need for manned space travel right now. Can you name any of the current mission objectives of the International Space Station that private enterprise could afford to foot the bill for? Even settlements or exploitation of the resources on our nearest neighbor planets would be impossible to fill with the chemical rockets we have at the moment. We'll need better, more efficient propulsion systems before we can really look at practical, manned missions that do more than orbit the earth, something Rutan isn't even working on. What Rutan is developing is nothing more than an expensive, dangerous carnival ride for those that can afford it.