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Thread: It's official... ROAD TRIP!

  1. #16
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    Some people also fail to realize that space exploration and research also produce technology that directly benefits people on Earth. CAT scans, anyone?

    Challenges we face in the space program push technology forward, and that technology eventually finds its way into commercial use. We should be going to the moon, and Mars, and to the deepest reaches of our oceans. Without the ability to move forward and expand his horizons, man (as a species) stagnates, withers and dies.

    Onward and upward, I say.
    Davy Jones

    "Frightened? My dear, you are looking at a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe! I was petrified."
    -- The Wizard of Oz

  2. #17
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    Yup, the benefits in terms of spin-off tech and jobs might be great and normally I'd be first in line to say 'Go to space!'.

    However. . .

    What scares me is the propensity for the current Administration to spend so freely. We're pouring buckets of money into Iraq and missile defense, a lesser amount into domestic security and Afghanistan, all while 'cutting taxes'.

    I'm afraid of what happens when the bill comes due. . .

  3. #18
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    Ok, just read something that I totally disagree with. An article in a local paper quoted Bush as saying that the US will pull out of the International Space Station Program and abandon the current fleet of Space Shuttles in favour of a new exploration vehicle! Also, that $ 11 Billion of NASA's budget (out of $15B) will be shunted to the moon shot program!

    Ok, WTF! First off the ISS was an integral part of the Mars Program as was the Shuttle (for building the ISS.) And with a left over budget of $ 4B the Mars Program won't go far fast. This outlook makes me think that Bush is out to cripple NASA.

  4. #19
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    The entire Shuttle fleet is due to retire in 2010 if NASA doesn't certify the fleet and USA is commited to International Space station until at least 2008.
    The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. -- Mark Twain

  5. #20
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    Originally posted by Capt. Anderson
    The entire Shuttle fleet is due to retire in 2010 if NASA doesn't certify the fleet and USA is commited to International Space station until at least 2008.
    2010 actually, according to the article. But why withdraw at all? As I said when they were planning the station it was said that it could be used as a jump off point for the Mars Project. I know I harp about the MP, we've been to the moon already...let's worry about landing on another PLANET rather then backstepping.

  6. #21
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    why the moon first...
    NASA has to relearn how to walk before it can run.
    god,grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,The good fortune to run into the ones I do,And the eyesight to tell the difference..

    NSDQ

  7. #22
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    Originally posted by Phantom
    2010 actually, according to the article. But why withdraw at all? As I said when they were planning the station it was said that it could be used as a jump off point for the Mars Project. I know I harp about the MP, we've been to the moon already...let's worry about landing on another PLANET rather then backstepping.
    Mainly because the ISS is in low orbit. Everything in low orbit is eventually coming back down. (See Mir & Skylab) Barring a god-awful push from the far-side, Luna's not coming down. In fact, it gain about 1.5 inches of altitude per year. An added bonus is that if we build the Mars ships from lunar aluminium & titainium, we don't have to chuck it up the well from Earth. You can build a lot bigger if you aren't constrained by fitting it all into the nose of a Titan 34D or a Shuttle cargo bay.
    "If it ain't the Devil's music, you ain't doin' it right" -- Chris Thomas King

    "C makes for an awfully long lever." - H. Beam Piper

  8. #23
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    ISS is planned to re-enter earth's atmosphere in 2014 so it's life span is limited.
    The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. -- Mark Twain

  9. #24
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    Originally posted by Capt. Anderson
    ISS is planned to re-enter earth's atmosphere in 2014 so it's life span is limited.
    Uhm WHAT! You're telling me that the ISS is going to have a life span of less then 10 years!!!! There are still a few yrs to go before it is complete. Wow, BIG bucks...Small bang.

  10. #25
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    ISS is planned to re-enter earth's atmosphere in 2014 so it's life span is limited.
    really?
    you might want to tell NASA that..it will be as much a shock to them as it was phantom.
    god,grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,The good fortune to run into the ones I do,And the eyesight to tell the difference..

    NSDQ

  11. #26
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    Arrow

    Originally posted by Cybrludite

    I have to say that I'm disappointed in the reaction here. Y'all sound like a bunch of Mundanes. Are you people really so concerned about earth-bound matters that you're willing to stop our exploration outwards? Particularly our manned exploration outwards. Previous times that this sort of thing has come up, there's been rather more of a gung-ho reaction to sending folks to Mars.
    It can't be helped. I'm older, wiser, more pragmatic, and more concerned about my health and retirement future than dreaming about living on a piece of land on the moon.

    Unless you can show me that going into space will not hurt our economy which is just begin to show a postive sign that we are getting out of a recession, and slowing down the ever-increasing deficit, then I'm with you.

    I mean how much of a price are we to pay for such a prestige, when we are already paying a price for giving freedom to Iraq and the Iraqi.
    Anyhoo, just some random thoughts...

    "My philosophy is 'you don't need me to tell you how to play -- I'll just provide some rules and ideas to use and get out of your way.'"
    -- Monte Cook

    "Min/Maxing and munchkinism aren't problems with the game: they're problems with the players."
    -- excerpt from Guardians of Order's Role-Playing Game Manifesto

    A GENERATION KIKAIDA fan

    DISCLAIMER: I Am Not A Lawyer

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