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shoot_your_eye_out t1_iruohkx wrote

I know it's a long way off, but how awesome would it be for a publicly funded organization like NASA to produce this sort of breakthrough for the world?

It would clearly demonstrate that profit doesn't need to be at the forefront of everything.

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boredonymous t1_irve3sq wrote

Likely, if NASA has gotten this far, it means it's within 5 years of being put onto the public market.

Think rechargeable cordless power tools and mowers: the concept came from the need for fuelless, cordless, low energy chargeable battery powered tools to repair the space station. They weren't expected to catch on as long as there were the older methods of running power tools on earth. But, when an innovation like that was not only plausible, but cheaper and more convenient, corporations paid attention, worked with NASA's research, and made it happen.

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Tigen13 t1_irvis5x wrote

Apparently investing 20 billion a year gets you something beneficial every now and then. Who needs profit?

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IceZOMBIES t1_irvzpnk wrote

Let's give em 40 billion and a fuck ton of coke and see what these science boys can do!

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