[littlemissattitude]

Acceptance of a certain amount of risk is the key.

Risk of resources is pretty easy to get over. Most successful executives are willing to take a risk if they think they will profit from it in the long run. You don't get to be successful in business if you aren't willing to take some risks.

The issue of the risk of life and limb in the exploration and colonization of space is the bigger hurdle to get over. This is clear from the comments around the investigation into the space shuttle break-up. Lots of commentators are pushing the idea that if people run the risk of getting injured or killed, manned space flight should be abandoned. That is a stupid argument, I think. Does anyone ever suggest that all airline travel should be should be stopped because an airliner crashes once in a while? Of course not. But because space flight is still rare and exotic, people are suspicious of it.

I read something to the effect that once everyone knows someone who knows someone who has been into space, it will be a little more of a real concept; once everyone knows someone who has been into space, it will be seen as a routine thing. Well, I don't know anyone who has been into space. I do know someone who knows someone who has - my mother's cousin in Texas used to live down the street from John Young, who walked on the moon and then later commanded the first space shuttle flight (there's that six degrees of separation thing, again). Maybe the key is to introduce the captains of industry, who are the ones who will make the decision to dedicate their resources to the colonization of the moon and beyond, to the people who have been in space, who believe in the continuing exploration of space. Then it won't be such an exotic thing and they will think more seriously of committing to it.