THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN SPACE DEVELOPMENT
The most expensive and uncertain way to develop space is to have government do it. For this reason, the Institute in its plan has avoided relying on government action.
Nevertheless, when an agency such as NASA does useful work, the Institute is pleased to use those results to expedite its plan. NASA's telerobotics program funds most current work on space telerobotics. These efforts are largely directed at supporting its space station, not at satellite repair or asteroidal material recovery. Yet the lessons learned by university researchers in the course of designing telerobotics systems for the space station will be helpful in designing systems for other missions.
