Space, the final frontier.

So, Google doesn't even care. They do what they want. If they want to own the internet, they just do it. Who's gonna stop them?

This is why Google should build their own space-station in Earth orbit.

They funded their own Lunar X-prize (30 Million dollars, w00t!), but really, someone needs to just take the reins of this trotting buckskin and bring it up to a full gallop.

I get the idea of having these "prizes" for free-market competition, but it doesn't generate lasting industries, or, it hasn't yet. I've given up hope for the governments of the world to make any more bold strides out into space, the leaps of the 60s and 70s have faded away completely, and we have stopped walking essentially right outside our door.

A trip to Mars is nice, but really quite useless. Our trips to the moon were good proof of concept stuff, but again, useless beyond stress testing technologies that are well past their second and third generation.

What is really needed for space development is a concerted effort to get a industrial base in orbit. As soon as we can build a durable way-station around earth, the rest of the solar-system gets opened up. This is where Google can invest. They are geniuses at pushing and predicting innovation, here's their chance to start their very own second boom! If they develop the infrastructure for making space development feasible on a regular basis, they will be set up to be the first truly inter-planetary entity.

A large investment, to be sure, but it seems like no-one else is doing anything about it, and Google is just crazy enough to make it work. The International Space Station is bogged down in typical fragile government funding and international squabbling. Google's orbiting platform would be a business venture, aimed at long-lasting impact, construction, and development of extra-planetary resources.

Screw all of this touchy-feely astronaut with a camera stuff, we get that, the Earth is a pretty blue ball. What we need out there is a group of tough folks in heavy-duty spacesuits with fusion welders, building a huge cargo ship that is gonna go out to the asteroid belt and pull back a huge hunk of iron.

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