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On the news tonite there decommissioning the last shuttle and am going to service the space station with Russian rockets. I am gutted. Why cant we stop making bombs and weapons and go into space instead. Hell we might find some Klingon's and buy some supa weapons.
Realistically I guess the cold war was the only reason in the first place and now where more worried about making Friends with the Russian's to fight the Chinese when they have sold us enough cheap crap white goods to fund enough weapons to start WW3
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THEY ARE still going to have one last Space Shuttle mission. STS-135 scheduled to launch on July 8th. The "Space Race" was about beating the Soviets, technological superiority and bragging rights. The U.S. had the most "firsts" and therefore won the "race."
Mainly with no humans on board.
. . . was always largely a publicity stunt, to convince taxpayers of the value of the scientific research conducted more effectively by unmanned satellites, probes, space telescopes, etc.
Only a small percentage of the general public has ever been capable of understanding the science of space research, or the importance thereof, but everyone can relate to an adventure story with a hero.
Trouble is, the once extraordinary became prosaic with habit, and we became jaded. Once heroes like Shepard and Glenn and Grissom and Armstrong (or Gargarin or Tereshkova, if you're Russian) were household names, but now maybe one person in several thousand can name the astronauts staffing the space station.
The manned space program was sublimated military competition/boasting.
The technology and logistics to propel a manned space program---and in particular put a large payload into orbit in the right place and right time---are the same as that necessary to put a warhead on-target on the USSR.
In particular the technological requirements for compact communication and especially embedded computation in the manned space program have immediate applications in weaponry.
The logistical efforts necessary to run a large space program are equivalent to the same necessary to run a large technological military program.
The USSR believed, correctly, for some time, that they were substantially ahead in that area. It was necessary to demonstrate that it wasn't true.
Our German Scientists were much better than THEIR German Scientists.
Too much is never enough
I tend to agree with you except on a single vital point.
OUR German Scientists were better than THEIR Geman scientists.
VonBraun made sure to be captured by US.
The Russian effort to build a Saturn5 type rocket failed miserably.
Too much is never enough
Actually I didn't say that.
"Our" German scientists were better than their German scientists.
Their Russian scientists were better than our American scientists until the mid 1960's.
The project summary of the US Army's 1959 plan to place a military base on the moon by 1965!
http://astronautix.com/articles/prorizon.htm
In May 1961, just as Kennedy had decided that NASA should put an American on the moon, the US Air Force released a secret report, summarizing the result of years of planning to place a military base on the moon by 1967.
http://www.astronautix.com/articles/lunex.htm
The X40 {X37B} is supposed to be a weapons launch machine for the military. It will carry military payloads and repair military satellites soon. It's also rumored that it will be the "Star Wars" shuttle to bring "pulsar" family Lasers into orbit for anti-missile protections fired with nuclear power plants.
"Filmed from the Kennedy Space Center press site with a cellphone, from the top roof of the CBS News building. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched the Air Force's Orbital Test Vehicle, X-37B OTV-1, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. This video was taken from the NASA KSC press site facility on top of the CBS building, about 4 miles from the launch pad. The liftoff and ascent were spectacular, just after sunset."
The next generation of NASA craft will likely be electric craft that they've been working on since the 90's. The idea is to use a pulsing laser to cause the propellants of atmospheric oxygen and hydrogen to intermix with onboard fuel and greatly enhance lift dynamics. These will be single stage craft that will not carry much {if any} payload, only passengers. We have a thousand or more Titan missiles to use that we have to pull Nuclear warheads off for launching payloads. Plus who knows how many Navy missiles that are in subs.
The next face of NASA is likely to look expensive, futuristic, and far out!
http://www.google.com/search?q=Electric+space+propulsion
Edits: 03/20/11
Yea I guess your right. I look forward to the discovery missions and what they report back. I guess most others do too. They are more important. Would be great to see people on mars though. But with Fukishima being out of control and the like. We have bigger problems at home. I am sorta glad I am down here. Though it probably wont make much difference . Canada and New York must be worried.
subsidize the Shuttle program budget, then we're all ears!
Meanwhile, the US has ten current planetary missions underway not including the two Voyagers which are still talking to us and are about to leave the solar system. Then, there are over thirty active astrophysics and heliophysics (the Sun) missions continuing to rewrite all the science books.
What again are the Russians doing to learn about and promote space?
rw
Thank you for that. That's reassuring to know E Stat Oh the Russians there just doing all the commercial stuff now I guess. I am sure there others.I hate to think NASA is doing so badly. Hate to think America is doing to badly.
-Kurt
Where doing fine over here in Aussie . Bhp is funneling billions every week to prop up the UK selling selling our coal and minerals to the Chinese.Just the amount of tax that bhp allows us to have is enough to pay our foreign debt payments to china. Everybody is totally content with their big screen TV's and their reality TV shows. Our PM made your Polly's cry this week. She reminded you that you where once rich and powerful but we still love you and you can still park your nuclear weapons over here and more if you want. Cause we cant afford to buy our own.
-Kurt
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