Major NASA/Human Space Flight Changes Coming

[MikeD]

Those who know me knows this hits close to home.  At this point no one talking knows what's going to happen, but it could easily turn very bad.  http://nasawatch.com/archives/2010/01/going-in-circle.html

[ZigZag911]

Unfortunately the human space flight issue goes back at least to Werner Von Braun, who, I think, considered the effort a waste of resources.

NASA has not had a sterling track record the past two decades, mainly in regard to safety issues. Yeah, accidents happen in a high risk endeavor -- but permitting political considerations to override safety of flight concerns was, in my view, breaking faith with their own heritage.

I regret seeing this happen. In the long term, it's a mistake, one that will, eventually, no doubt be corrected by later generations.

[Gunner C]

We will lose another generation of inovation and technology that would have been developed through manned space exploration. Instead, the US is going to go nowhere with a space station that will not have the support it was originally promised.  Just the building of the darned thing, it's years behind schedule and will never the be manned space outpost is was originally envisioned to be.

Frankly, this is penny-wise, pound foolish.  The government is wasting all sorts of money on so much, propping up so many people who just need a swift kick of reality, and throwing away an opportunity to truly be a space-faring race.  With this kind of logic, Columbus would have been de-funded in order to connect Barcelona with Madrid by high speed horse drawn wagon.

What buffoons.

[wuzafuzz]

China and India will do it and kick sand in our faces, while we rest on 40 year old deteriorating laurels.

[Gunner C]

 :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

[Майор Хаткевич]

China and India will do it and kick sand in our faces, while we rest on 40 year old deteriorating laurels.

Funny this is my facebook status:  In 100 years, when we make it to the Moon, we can ask China for permission to land.

[Gunner C]

China and India will do it and kick sand in our faces, while we rest on 40 year old deteriorating laurels.

We are the Portugal of the 21st Century!

[Spike]

China and India will do it and kick sand in our faces, while we rest on 40 year old deteriorating laurels.

Beat me to it!

I fully expect China to step up and take full possesion of the Moon and the resources there.  They will eventually get to Mars before us, and become the global superpower we once were.

China is bad.  Plain BAD.  They will kill anything and everything in their way to becoming the major force on this planet.  The United States is making big mistakes (for almost three decades now) in regard to China. 

Lets build more roads, higher more TSA agents and fund worthless experiments on Polar Bears.  China is building maglev trains, more nuclear submarines and investing in its space program.  More American Scholars are suggesting each year that we (Americans) should learn to speak Chinese or at least get our Children to speak it because it will become the global language.

Pretty soon we will all be part of the CAP....Chinese Appeasement Program. 

[wuzafuzz]

China and India will do it and kick sand in our faces, while we rest on 40 year old deteriorating laurels.

Beat me to it!

I fully expect China to step up and take full possesion of the Moon and the resources there.  They will eventually get to Mars before us, and become the global superpower we once were.

China is bad.  Plain BAD.  They will kill anything and everything in their way to becoming the major force on this planet.  The United States is making big mistakes (for almost three decades now) in regard to China. 

Lets build more roads, higher more TSA agents and fund worthless experiments on Polar Bears.  China is building maglev trains, more nuclear submarines and investing in its space program.  More American Scholars are suggesting each year that we (Americans) should learn to speak Chinese or at least get our Children to speak it because it will become the global language.

Pretty soon we will all be part of the CAP....Chinese Appeasement Program.

"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last."
Winston Churchill

[Smithsonia]

We fight wars with robots and apparently that will become more common in the future too. Having human skin in the game is more important, having important human skin in the game is most important. Humans are just that way.

That doesn't mean we can't send up ever larger remote telescopes, use robots to travel to the planets and measure it all... but humans important need is a heroic tale of other humans. If you lived through Apollo 13 - it was better than the movie and the movie was very good.

I've seen it a thousand times. The Romans outsourced their own security and died a death of the spoiled and lazy. Vivid human witnesses is the only witnessing that counts. Send up all the robots and chimps you want to lead the way... but until a human goes... we've haven't been there, not really, not honestly, not certainly.

I wish no one death or injury in undertaking this human struggle - but if it is done by robots, only - it is not a human drama, it is an engineering solution. You do the math.

[Spike]

^ So we will need to ask the robots if we can land on the Moon??

[Smithsonia]

^^^^
Spike; I am not sure what you mean by your question. If it was humorous I am afraid I missed the point, sorry.

We've been to the moon many times. Many many of those times we sent robots first. First the Russians in 1959
You can see the list below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_man-made_objects_on_the_Moon

In ancient times we cast bottles with notes upon the sea. So, sending away for information increases the odds of success and that's all right with me. It has always been the human way to do these things. Collect information and when you are ready, mount a mission and see for yourself. Ultimately we humans must follow. We must go. It is simply a matter of time and money. We've already mustered the courage and collected most of the information. I hoping to see human-kind on Mars before I die. The clock is running and I am 59.

[Spike]

^^^^
Spike; I am not sure what you mean by your question. If it was humorous I am afraid I missed the point, sorry.

China and India will do it and kick sand in our faces, while we rest on 40 year old deteriorating laurels.

Funny this is my facebook status:  In 100 years, when we make it to the Moon, we can ask China for permission to land.

I thought it was a pretty good setup.  I understand it not catching on....bad try on my part, but it followed in line with wazafuzz's post.

[MikeD]

^^^^
Spike; I am not sure what you mean by your question. If it was humorous I am afraid I missed the point, sorry.

China and India will do it and kick sand in our faces, while we rest on 40 year old deteriorating laurels.

Funny this is my facebook status:  In 100 years, when we make it to the Moon, we can ask China for permission to land.

I thought it was a pretty good setup.  I understand it not catching on....bad try on my part, but it followed in line with wazafuzz's post.

I liked it  :clap: