It's also because they have to convince the FAA that it's safe. And to convince stockholders that it's a feasible concept. I'm sure there are some out there sitting on the fence, who scratch their head and say, "hmmm.... I don't know, seems sketchy, ... I'll wait until I see some proof that it works, then I'll think about getting into this company". So now it's not just a concept, it's been proven by actual feasibility tests.
I'm sure investors in the late '50s were thinking that satellite communications was kind of a hair brain scheme until they actually saw that it worked with real tests.
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