[cyanoacry]

1. Rockets

2. Cost of launch locks out potential customers and limits R&D uses. Global launch cadence is slow; getting into orbit is a multi-year adventure.

3. Yes, we're working on reusable rockets.

However, this only goes so far. Personally, I think that more money needs to be put into non-rocket modes of space travel, so that there's some competition. The fundamental problem is that it takes so much energy (and, with rockets, so much mass fraction optimization) to get to space, so it's difficult to engineer things with physical margin.

If you could build a rocket like a car (just toss some more steel in the frame and call it a day, with no need for the obsessive mass savings), getting to space would be a bit easier. If you had a power source that doesn't shake and bake its surroundings, getting to space would be a lot easier.

[return0]

What problem do rockets solve?

[tricolon]

Problem: Gravity makes it hard to get into orbit.

Solution: Rockets.

[anubisresources]

They enable access to trillions of dollars of metals and minerals. Shorter term they enable better data collection