Generation X-plorers Energized by NASA's New Plans

Space.com ^ | September 20, 2005 | Tim Bailey. adAstra

[RadioAstronomer]

plus into developing and constructing the first space elevator after which it will be easier to construct more

There are some real problems due to lunar tides and a non spherical Earth that may preclude such an endeavor.

[Doc On The Bay]

We're BETTER THAN THAT!!

Doc

[RadioAstronomer]

Spiff, Excuse me for asking, but how much experience do you have in manned spaceflight or aerospace? Me I was in for 15 years - for calibration.

27 years and counting for me so far. Design and flight operations.

I have seen personally what gold plated requirements do to program cost and schedule. Yeah, its early days for Rutan. He also has a proven track record of getting a lot done for minimal money. We need much more like that and a lot less like what I saw when I worked on NASA and DOD spaceflight/satellite programs.

Rutan was able to use data from both the Air Force and NASA that cost billions of dollars and many years to produce.

[tet68]

I'm thinking on the scale of Dyson Spheres, Von Neumann probes, etc.

And here all I could think of was a new home for the Palestinian state, and not a jew for parsecs.
Course it might get a little cold way out there...

[RadioAstronomer]

the science missions do seem to perk along, but they cost way too much.

Ever "fly" a spacecraft to another planet? I have. The scientific return is exceptional for the money spent IMHO.

[RadioAstronomer]

GMTA!!! :-)

[Pyro7480]

It isn't martial law.... It's Martian law (vague Sealab 2021 reference). ;-)

[RKV]

Never said that the state of the art wasn't improved by all the big science money that was thrown at it. When I first started working on CADCAM in 1981 it took the equivalent of a mid-frame computer to run and we now do it with a pc. That said, do we need to pay all over again to get into earth orbit? I hope not. Rutan will be able to get into orbit in 2-3 years I bet. Can NASA replace the aging shuttle in that timeframe? No. Can we get to L4, L5 or to the moon with pretty much the same technology as will get Rutan into orbit? Yes. Can't STAY there for very long and that's what does in a manned Mars mission now (given what lack of gravity does to human health). And yep, space science gets done unmanned and with comparatively little funding doesn't it?

[hispanarepublicana]

heads up, Generation Reagan! Red Dawn just started on Spike TV.

[Doc On The Bay]

SIGH!

I Honestly Believe that the VAST MAJORITY of Americans WANT to "Go Back to the Moon!!"

Doc

[RadioAstronomer]

I do. Don't get me wrong here.

[RadioAstronomer]

I am in favor of going to the Moon. However, it will take billions. That is just the simple truth.

[RKV]

And the reason the taxpayers should pay for another trip to the moon is?

[KevinDavis]

I was born a few months after Apollo 13. This time we are going back and we are going to stay...

[KevinDavis]

I was born a few months after Apollo 13. This time we are going back and we are going to stay...

[anymouse]

Generation X-plorers are chomping at the bit to test themselves against the challenge of their lives.

Generation X-plorers don't have a clue about what it takes to get into space.

In past generations not knowing that something is impossible was a virtue - they had the basic math and science skills to figure it out as they go.

Generation X-plorers not only don't know what they don't know, they don't even know what they think they know. In manned spaceflight that kind of arrogance can be fatal.

[Spiff]

We're BETTER THAN THAT!!

I assume that you're referring to my statement that we're only a Type-0 civilization. Kaku says we're Type-0 on the Kardashev scale. Sagan has put a finer edge on it and said we're at 0.7 - still a Type-0. We have not achieved Type-I and we won't for some time. Sorry to burst your bubble.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Well, there are a lot of baby-boomers who have been waiting for this opportunity too.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I'm speaking of the Saganization of NASA and the "search for life" mentality.

Sagan was all the rage and when Golden took the helm. Sagan immediately swooped in, grabbed his ear and that's all she wrote.

Now NASA is back in the business of exploration - rockets, bases, mining, etc - not planning missions around finding life (if it's there we'll trip over it). Now we can build an infrastructure and learn to live off planet.

I know there are a lot of groups involved here and competing scientists (that's why scientists shouldn't run NASA) - people were told Mars was the end all and be all of space exploration - now the game plan has changed. Then there's the robot vs man groups and astronomers who don't think the Moon is good for astronomy (I can't figure that one out). If U.S. astronomers don't want to go along for the ride, there are astronomers from other countries willing to fill the void.

[WestVirginiaRebel]

We're actually a primitive Type 13 planet, according to 790.