Posted on 07/25/2002 10:13:58 AM PDT by ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton
Fellow Freepers: I was recently asked to address a technology group at a State University.
This was my speech.
My speech is about this country, why we need a clear cut goal and what that goal should be.
As a country we seem to be like the wife of an abusive husband waiting for her next beating.
On top of it we have lost our technological edge. It was recently widely reported that the United States lost the title of the fastest computer to Japan.
Financially times are uncertain as well, everyone seems to be scared of losing their jobs. People realize that job security doesn’t exist today as it did, when 30 years of working for a company brought one a gold watch and a healthy retirement check.
Just as at home our rest seems less restful, our enemies seem less clearly defined than they did in the days of the cold war.
What is it that we are lacking?
Well as you should have guessed from my opening, what we lack is a clear cut goal, which harnesses our creative intelligence as a nation.
What should our national goal be?
Well, I don’t think that survival is a worthy goal, as it seems to be what our current goal is and it is not helping us.
And staying the worlds top super power, that involves struggling to stay king of the hill and thus constant turmoil.
In looking for this national goal I am going to suggest a goal that in our past that propelled us forwards.
In the modified words of John Fitzgerald Kennedy: “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out of landing a man on Mars and returning him to Earth safely.
Before you dismiss this goal, let me explain how this goal would address of the problems I mentioned earlier.
First of all, it is apparent that a strong American space program is the same thing as a strong America.
The military spin offs of space exploration are almost limitless.
Don’t forget that military technology proliferates.
If we rest on our laurels, our enemies will develop nuclear technology and missile delivery systems.
And the lesson of 9-11 is that our enemies are not resting on their laurels.
The driving force of the American economy is technological innovation. Many economists accurately said that the economy of the nineties was flat but the tech sector was so strong that it pulled the rest of the economy with it.
How did America become the world’s leading technical innovator?
I would argue that much of the impetus came as long term spin off from the Apollo space programs and Reagan’s Star Wars initiative.
In addition to technology, many breakthroughs in the fields of engineering, medicine, plastics, aviation, and electronics came from these programs.
The problem currently is that corporations owe it to their shareholders to return profits in the current quarter. This stifles long-term research and investment.
And since winning an election has become so expensive, politicians are more concerned about filling their campaign coffers than the long-term well being of this country.
The investment in high tech research and manufacturing necessary to put a man on Mars would be a tremendous boast to the economy and have spin off effects for decades.
It would also help the increasing unemployment. Not only would it have these advantages, but this new found space agility would benefit the entire world in other ways. How many of you remember the asteroids hitting Jupiter a couple of years ago.
And often times in the news it is noted that an asteroid narrowly missed us. As it currently is, we have absolutely no defense against this.
To develop the capacity to defend against this eventuality would also help us with missile defense. And both of these programs would benefit from a manned mission to Mars.
And although many would decry this as a budget boondoggle, I would say that it would force the government to redefine it’s priorities and make it more efficient. It would have to be more efficient and channel the nations resources more carefully.
In conclusion, fellow Freepers, I ask you to remember the exhilaration of watching Neil Armstrong taking one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.
And join me in supporting the growing movement onward and upward into space.
Would a camera count as our representive in the reclaimation of home world?
I think this was a comet that broke up before it hit Jupiter.
Economic expansion of Deep space is in mankinds future and the United States should lead the way. That means going to Mars and beyond.
Second, when we land on that planet, we must be prepared to occupy it. I would propose that we land with the intent of leaving behind the first settlement of humans, and the intention to return on a regular basis. This will afford the United States the opportunity to set up the government and administrative tools which will see the United States in the driver's seat in perpetuity. Calling it the 51st state isn't all that far fetched an idea. It would give the government of Mars the ability to make it's own decisions, but would allow it to rely on the Government of the United States for certain services. Mars would in essence become the 51st state.
Further I would recommend that the United States return to the Moon and utilize the same model to occupy and govern that planet. It would become the 52nd state. Once these two bodies have been occupied, it would be time to move on to other planets as feasable.
Before anything else I recommend a Manhattan scale effort to develop an SSTO Space Plane within the shortest amount of time possible. I would actually rank this above the importance of landing on Mars or returning to the Moon. We can develop a program to land on Mars. It would in certain ways resemble the Apolo program. We would see huge boosters, modules' landing craft and an escape vehicle from which our astronauts would leave Mars and reenter space, if it weren't for one caviot. Until we can take off from an airport and fly into space aboard a reuseable vehicle as easily as we can fly from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., we will never occupy space. And so I must support the development of the SSTO Space plane in advance of any effort to return to the moon or visit other planets.
That space plane should be built within specifications that would a modified version landing and departing other planet surfaces, specificly Mars and the Moon. It should be developed so that modification of the main design would provide a secondary vehicle that would be capable of traversing to Mars in comfort. Once we have a fleet of these planes/spaceships, they can be stationed in space for trips that start at a space station and end on the surface of the Moon or Mars. The first duty of the colonies on the Moon and Mars would be to develop a landing strip for use by the space plane.
Therefore I propose that as part of the plan to land on Mars by the end of the decade, we first develop the SSTO Space Plane. We then use that space plane to help construct and occupy a real space station and partially construct the interplanetary vehicle with which to make that first trip to Mars, from that platform in space.
Look, this is just an outline. Some of it may be unattainable at the moment. Perhaps this plan isn't as air tight as I'd like it. But it is a framework to build on and it's time the United States reclaim some of the bottomless pit welfare state money and put it to good use for a larger part of mankind that it helps out now.
It's not zero gravity, or strange planets, or the opportunity for a national fireworks display.
The correct answer is: an opportunity to vote with your feet. Freedom is the wealth in space.
Don't expect a government project to increase freedom, except by accident.
Think of it as "shadow boxing" with the Soviets. They launch a big rocket, then we launch a very big rocket; they crash-land an automated probe on the moon, we put one into lunar orbit. Once the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty eliminated above ground testing, this was really the only game in town.
Finally the Soviets realized that they couldn't cope. They even defined the term "Revolution in Military Affairs" to describe their plight.
I don't see anything equivalent to the Cold War to drive a renewed effort in Space Exploration.
The IMAX® film format is so large that the film canisters in the IMAX® camera can only hold 3 minutes of film at a time. This means you can shoot a scene for three minutes and then you have to stop and reload the camera. Reloading the camera takes 3 people, approximately 30 minutes.
And join me in supporting the growing movement onward and upward into space
Yawn.
NO! I much rather live in a Free Republic on Mars. How does that sound?
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