Posted on 01/26/2012 7:36:33 AM PST by The_Victor
The United States will have a permanent manned colony on the moon by 2020 if Newt Gingrich is in charge, the Republican presidential hopeful announced today (Jan. 25).
Gingrich laid out this goal during a speech in the city of Cocoa, on Florida's Space Coast. He also said that near-Earth space would be bustling with commercial activity by 2020, and that America would possess a next-generation propulsion system by then, allowing the nation to get astronauts to Mars quickly and efficiently.
"By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon, and it will be American," Gingrich said.
The former Speaker of the House made no apologies for the boldness of his amibitions, which depend primarily on the emergence of a vibrant commercial spaceflight industry. He said the U.S. space program needs a kick in the pants like the one President John F. Kennedy gave it in 1961, when he promised to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
“Appetite is the best pickle.” Ben Franklin.
From the above article:
“The former Speaker of the House made no apologies for the boldness of his amibitions, WHICH DEPEND PRIMARILY ON THE EMERGENCE OF A VIBRANT COMMERCIAL SPACEFLIGHT INDUSTRY. (Caps mine, texokie) He said the U.S. space program needs a kick in the pants like the one President John F. Kennedy gave it in 1961, when he promised to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.”
Colonization of the moon or Mars would be pointless and ruinously expensive — unless you’re an aerospace contractor, of course. Human life does not prosper over long periods in zero-G. There are no resources out there that can be economically harvested. Science can be conducted far more economically and extensively if life support for human flag-wavers is not required.
These adventures are very exciting, especially for those who stand to make a buck from them, but in large measure they’re a distraction from real and pressing business at home that needs taking care of.
Better than a new war is about all I can say for it.
I have a hunch if this comes to fruition, the Russians and ChiComs will have a role, I cannot see it entirely being an American project.
So you’re equating the moon to Alaska? (Remember the devil is in the details)
You're wrong. In addition to new discoveries, fantastic technology is designed to support space missions. Technology that carries over to the masses and is used and enjoyed by the world today.
We have a permanent manned space station in space (thanks to Reagan and those who followed in his footsteps). We could have the same thing, except it would be on the moon.
I interpret his quote as meaning that he wants the taxpayers to dump billions into the aerospace industry. “kick in the pants.”
I wish more FReepers knew what limited government and enumerated powers meant.
Oh yeah, Florida, NASA, pander. Well Newt is a good politician. If it was Arkansas, it would be chicken farms on the moon. I’m getting too cynical, I need to go away. I’m sure I’ll get a second on that.
“Oh yeah, Florida, NASA, pander. Well Newt is a good politician.”
He’s been saying this for years if you were paying any attention.
Yes.
Both are/were seen as wastelands of no value. In the beginning, going to Alaska might as well have been going to the moon.
Either could have/can be left to the Russians or another power, which in the case of Alaska would have caused us all types of grief in the 20th century.
Both has/can lead to billions in resources and economic expansion for the U.S..
How about we go to the moon again after we pay off our debts? I dont fancy borrowing more money at interest from the Chinese to fund their millitary expansion.
When Ceasar pays off all his debt, then he can have some monumentally cool play money. As of now, there is no technology outside of geosynchronous orbit that makes the cost of getting there profitable.
Again, not true. The only technology that was developed specifically for space missions was large rocket engines. and "the masses" don't use these. In fact most of the electronics were adapted from comercial products. If you have specific examples please list them - oh and I don't consider Tang to be all that big a deal.
Another thing that you're assuming is that technology requires government incentives and taxpayer funding to advance. The is a false assumption. I guarantee you that things like the iPhone and iPad were done WITHOUT government funding and do not owe anything to any government lab. In fact be taking vast sums out of the free market and directing them to a specific governmental goal will greatly SLOW the pace of commercial technology development.
A lunar base would be vastly more expensive and hazardous than an earth-orbiting station.
Did you listen to Newt’s speech? Do you understand his remarks about prizes?
The buggy rolled silently down the ramp. The debris was almost nonexistent at the sixth level, but Lin still found herself stopping every few hundred yards to pick up another body. The cart wasn’t filling up as fast as it had in her first shift. At this rate it would be a full cycle before she could return to her bunk.
At least she no longer recognized any faces.
Lin thought about her little compartment on level two. It had been older, with no personal kitch or bath, but so much larger than the lower level models that forsook all space for privacy. She had had her fill of privacy working the stacks and relished the bustle of the public spaces, the amity of shared meals, and, above all, the ability to stretch out flat and wide on a proper bed. It was all behind the lock, now. THEY were all behind the lock. God only knew what was sleeping in her bed now.
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