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Needless to say, such a world will not be achieved soon. But to make such future advances possible, we must create a situation where benefits of repeated flight can be fully understood and recognized, and we must learn how to make heavy investments.
Rocket engineers are inclined to think, "We want to make a reusable rocket just for the sake of trying this kind of technology," But it is obvious that developing this technology for its own sake will lead us nowhere, so we must not approach this work with a complacent attitude. Demand for frequently repeated flights will not be sustainable unless we convince the general public of the benefits of reusable vehicles, and create mature, sustainable demand. Otherwise, nothing happens.
People often ask us how long it will take to reach that stage. As far as the necessary technology is concerned, with appropriate investments it will not be long before that happens. But success will depend on whether we can create a situation where the general public agrees with our ideas, creating growing demand for space transportation. Probably we need to invest tens of billions dollars. It is a heavy investment, but if we can generate strong demand, the returns will be far greater. |
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