Six days ago, a man in Okla. City started a petition to the United States government to create a large spaceship. Currently the petition has amassed 206 signatures of his 100,000,000 goal and he expects the number to grow. He argues,
"I believe the economy can boom with the production of an interplanetary spaceship and support over 10 million jobs worldwide. Mined minerals from asteroids, space tourism, space merchandise, and other avenues of revenue can be created. Furthermore, the earnings from the program would go directly towards paying down national debt. I believe if it is a global grass roots movement, a $1 trillion dollar spaceship split between 10 countries will make it relatively cheap to everyday Americans. It is do-able [sic]. The question is why have we not started? This petition is historic because never before have humans had the man-power, technology, and fiscal need to complete a large spaceship. I call it an interplanetary spaceship because it does not have to be called the USS Enterprise and I want people to take this seriously. Let’s do it then we can call it something else, really doesn't matter."

The following is the introduction to the petition:

"Our parents did not do it, so now it’s on us"
-Christopher J. Robbins

Building an interplanetary spaceship is possible using existing technology. Launching an interplanetary spaceship within the next 20 years will benefit all areas of not only American life, but life amongst this entire planet. We built the roads and hired people to fill those jobs. We built sky-scrapers and employed people to fill those buildings. We built the Panama Canal, Twin Towers, etc.. People tend to not believe in what is possible. Other people tend to become wrapped up on their personal issues and become unable to think outside of the box. But if you can convince yourself to believe for a moment that it just might work... and then it does. An interplanetary spaceship is tangible. It would be physical and would exist. Think of an interplanetary spaceship as the New Deal. Economic expansion.

It would be nice to no longer have to worry about any recession. A interplanetary spaceship can rapidly expand the economy by bolstering employment opportunities as well as establish an entire new branch of society. The money earned from the interplanetary spaceship can be used to pay down national debt. It can also improve education standards as children become inspired to become engineers and scientists. We develop as a species and grow. This is a duty to our child because this world is filling up. New jobs in new industries.

NASA, CNSA, ESA, ISA, ISRO, JAXA, CNES, HKAY, ROSCOSMOS, all have succeeded in many advances and innovations, but have failed to fully capture and ignite the imagination. The fore mentioned space agencies have launch capabilities but thus far have only put objects in orbit, with the only human presence being for a brief stay. This ship must not be for a single country to use as a tactical tool except on the basis of defending earth. This is a real good deal.

As an American, I believe that major habitation of the solar system is the next logical step in human evolution and ought to be a national priority. It is my goal to gather public support for this movement and call our President, Senate, and House Representatives to action towards a modern pioneering of American space exploration. We must stand as the first leg of a global partnership. This petition is historical.

The motivation and feasibility of this project came from reading BTE-Dan's ideas on his website buildtheenterprise.org

The petition can be signed at change.org/petitions/build-an-interplanetary-spaceship-within-our-lifetime