Forum Overview :: The Knuckle Shuffle
 
Re: At this rate, Carmack will beat NASA to Mars by Chairman Mao 07/16/2003, 5:49pm PDT
laudablepuss wrote:

An interesting notion that article touches on is how the focus on landing on the Moon might have become detrimental down the road. I don't doubt that it was a worthwhile Cold War gambit and cool as hell, but maybe it created a culture in NASA and expectations in government that aren't useful now.


I also appreciate that the author points out that ballistic capsules are cheaper and safer across the board. I'm a real right-tool-for-the-job kinda guy and it makes me smile to see someone deflate the myth of the spaceplane.

Anyway, as I've said before, the sooner NASA's manned spaceflight program ends forever, the better. Or do the Neil Stephenson Snow Crash thing: spin off the manned spaceflight division, turn it into a private business, and kick out a big stock offering.


Which I still think is a positively dreadful idea. At the risk of drawing dipshit into this, people with a hardon for private space exploration need to remember that much of the shit we have been dealing with for the last three centuries is due to the actions of the corporate entities and interests that drove the age of imperialism. While admittedly governments aren't necessarily that much better, they answer at least to populations, and not the bottom line. All of this to say nothing of the fact that manned spaceflight is completely unprofitable for the time being. There is no purpose to sending people up than for the dream of doing so, the human element that private interest is generally not very interested in.

This is all still a completely moot point unless better lift methods are devised.

The unmanned show can be turned over to universities and private organizations too, for that matter. Don't universities pretty much build the probes anyway?


They work on specifications and instrument packages, but NASA and aerospace companies still actually build and operate the things.
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At this rate, Carmack will beat NASA to Mars by Entropy Stew 07/15/2003, 11:02pm PDT NEW
    NASA is too busy dedicating resources to law enforcement. -nt- by Chairman Mao 07/16/2003, 1:07pm PDT NEW
    Re: At this rate, Carmack will beat NASA to Mars by laudablepuss 07/16/2003, 4:59pm PDT NEW
        Re: At this rate, Carmack will beat NASA to Mars by Chairman Mao 07/16/2003, 5:49pm PDT NEW
            All I want is my buckytube space elevator NT by Entropy Stew 07/16/2003, 9:33pm PDT NEW
                Fuck your motherfucking space fucking elevator. In the fucking ear. NT by Chairman Mao 07/16/2003, 9:44pm PDT NEW
                    OPPS MY SHUTTLE BLEW UP AGAIN NT by Entropy Stew 07/16/2003, 10:00pm PDT NEW
            Re: At this rate, Carmack will beat NASA to Mars by laudablepuss 07/17/2003, 10:56am PDT NEW
                'Thermonuclear' NT by Senor Barborito 07/17/2003, 11:12am PDT NEW
                    Er, no. by laudablepuss 07/17/2003, 11:35am PDT NEW
            Good thing NASA's money's going towards realistic programs like SDI NT by Mischief Shai-hulud 07/17/2003, 1:41pm PDT NEW
                It's 'NMD' now by E. L. Koba 07/17/2003, 6:03pm PDT NEW
                    Re: It's 'NMD' now by laudablepuss 07/17/2003, 7:40pm PDT NEW
 
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