Cutting the heck out of NASA and Space Exploration
POSTED BY: JaynezTown
UPDATED: Saturday, July 26, 2025 21:40
VIEWED: 5806
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Y'all need to follow up the X-prize competition and what's going on with SpaceShipOne.
If the Gov can't do it, then enterprising (pun intended) folks from the civvie sector are just damned well gonna have to do it for em.
Building your own spaceship is definately a browncoat thing to do... check it out.
http://www.scaled.com/projects/tierone/
And yes, they gave him astronaut wings, they had to!
Hahahahah
Score one for the independants!
-frem
diefuxdie
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Quote:
Originally posted by elaken:
I don't understand how the masses do not see the need for space exploration, how essential it is to humanity. Beyond the fact that is human nature to explore, and the technological advances that come with it, we need to explore in the hopes that we find a new place to live before we destroy our planet.
Suicide is the most sincere form of self-criticism - Heinlein
Maslow's heirarchy of needs, with Alderfer's modifications...
...most of the "masses" are no where situated in life to care about such things or to explore beyond what they need for survival.
You're making me realize how high and mighty all of us are sitting in front of our computers. Perhaps we need to do a little less of this Internet thing and start doing a little more with the people whom we live with in our communities.
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I understand Maslow's hierarchy, but not all people believe each step has to be done exclusively from each other. How about I amend the masses to the voting publc. If you are at a point in the hierarchy where you can vote, then surely you can think about the future also. Most people dont' care about the future if it is far enough away that it would not affect them or their grandchildren personally. And as for being high and mighty, I am like this anyways even away from the computer and in the community. It is just a trait I picked up from being smarter then most people *grin*. And I do more enough for my community, thank you.
Suicide is the most sincere form of self-criticism - Heinlein
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Quote:
Originally posted by elaken:
I don't understand how the masses do not see the need for space exploration, how essential it is to humanity. Beyond the fact that is human nature to explore, and the technological advances that come with it, we need to explore in the hopes that we find a new place to live before we destroy our planet.
They will never be as enthused about it until they can benefit directly from it, not the trickle down benefits that we have now.
As it stands, how do you convince someone who is barely making ends meet to give a dam about some space telescope. Or two guys on a space station studying the effects of zero-g on spiders building a web.
They really do need to start coming up with more ways to make money from it directly.
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>>They really do need to start coming up with more ways to make money from it directly.<<
Yeah, bring me back some asteroid chunks fulla precious metal or something...
-frem
diefuxdie
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Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
>>They really do need to start coming up with more ways to make money from it directly.<<
Yeah, bring me back some asteroid chunks fulla precious metal or something...
-frem
diefuxdie
I like the mining asteroid thing, except, to make it financially worthwhile we have to be able to get to one and back quickly and inexpensively enough to make it worthwhile. At the rate our space program is going that'll be another 300 years or so.
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Not so - we have a practical ion engine, and it doesn't really take much thrust, especially if it's constant, to move a smallish object.
A remote drone a bit larger than DS1/DS2 could do it easily, and think of the research possibilities ?
Bring it to the space station and then ship it down on next supply run, it's easy, but no one thinks of it.
-frem
diefuxdie
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Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
Not so - we have a practical ion engine, and it doesn't really take much thrust, especially if it's constant, to move a smallish object.
A remote drone a bit larger than DS1/DS2 could do it easily, and think of the research possibilities ?
Bring it to the space station and then ship it down on next supply run, it's easy, but no one thinks of it.
-frem
diefuxdie
The problem however, is long before the drone returns, the markets are going to know you're about to flood them with ore and the bottom will fall out of the market before you even get it back to the station.
The only way that could be made to work financially is when we're able to set it up and work it like a regular mine, with a constant flow of ore, a regular business. Not a one shot deal, or just a few ships every so often.
But at the moment we can't even get to orbit without expending a great deal of time, money and effort with virtually no tangible, real time, returns for the effort.
At the rate we're progressing we won't be able to do anything like that for several hundred years.
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Quote:
Originally posted by elaken:
I don't understand how the masses do not see the need for space exploration, how essential it is to humanity. Beyond the fact that is human nature to explore, and the technological advances that come with it, we need to explore in the hopes that we find a new place to live before we destroy our planet.
Suicide is the most sincere form of self-criticism - Heinlein
yes good point, the goal isn't just going to space but the many other sciences that also follow and other benefits, weather satellites, militray benefits, better aerospace designs, network communications, study of biology in space, imporved materials...cut the developing sciences and you give yourself much trouble in the future.
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l
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