Second: Because of widespread interest in this work, some very- fine and enthusiastic people are making some statements about it to which I cannot personally subscribe. There has been talk of a sociological experiment in space, of a paradise for a lucky 10,000 people and so on. I think that orbital manufacturing should be carried out on the basis of minimal facilities, a highly selected, highly motivated, hard-working population—and no frills. If our engineering is sufficiently cautious and our numbers are proven to be right, it should be possible to attract private capital to enter this field for the sound reason of profitmaking. Third and last: This is a systems approach in which we combine in a new way a number of pieces of technology, each of which we understand. There is no breakthrough required in basic science or materials technology. For that reason, I recommend that exploratory research be done on it with a view that it may be much closer in time than some older concepts which are still awaiting for their basic science to be completed. Thank you, sir. [The prepared statement of Dr. Gerard O'Neill follows:]
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