Your Opinion on Space Shuttle/Programs

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The Space Shuttle program began the year the first hand held calculator was introduced (HP-35; $395), women were allowed to attend Dartmouth college and MASH aired.

When the first vehicle rolled out, disco and polyester suits were in and America was celebrating the bicentennial.

Shows how government programs go on and on no matter how pointless.

The Shuttle trapped NASA. What point is there to send 7 people up this week? None. Everything they will do could be done for a fraction of the cost by an unmanned vehicle.

I gave up on NASA after the golf shot on the moon. From that NASA went to popping popcorn on the shuttle (gee…it pops in zero gravity too), having HS kids design experiments and the first black astronaut, the first woman, the first school teacher, the first Israeli…

NASA works when it has targets. Put a man on the moon. Smash a spacecraft into a comet. Land a rover on Mars. Take photos of Titan. It fails when it has no defined mission.
 
I left this morning with a friend to watch the launch, and while on the road, we got a phone call that it was scrubbed. We were very disappointed because we really wanted to see it. Personally, I like the space program and admire the hard work, dedication, and smarts of the NASA team. They represent the best of the human spirit, and the best of America I feel, with its “can do” spirit. I admire the program and wish it much success.
 
NASA doesn’t go nearly far enough. The entire space program need to be given to the DOD with the objective of putting manned bases on the Moon & Mars, and at least a couple of exploratory missions to the Kuiper belt to see if a zero-G mining and manufacturing set–up would be feasible.

The way I see it, the only way that we’re going to get anywhere is if we give a defined task to the military and let them roll with it. Another alternative would be to let some of the private corporations loose to develop space based resources.

We NEED to develop the resources available in our solar system. Imagine the benefits of smelting entire asteroids for the mineral content. There would be little need for earth based mining if entire asteroids could be smelted at one of the Lagrange points…
 
Is there any justification for manned space flight at this time?

We are not advanced enough to set up self or semi-self sufficient bases on the moon or anywhere else. The International Space Station does nothing I know of which could not be done better by unmanned craft.

Compare space to the oceans. If we wanted, we could probably send humans to levels only unmanned submersibled operate now (or at least deeper than we go now). But there is no point to it so we don’t.

If anyone has a justification for sending 7 people up this week and continuing manned spaceflight, I would like to know what it is.
 
I love the space program and thank God that America has the forsight and endeavour to invest in it! It shows off the great intrepid side of human nature as we reach for the stars- to know what we do not know! I hope the astronauts are all kept safe and that the space program continues to shed light on the great mysteries of our solar system!

Talking of which, did anyone see this? Universe ‘too queer’ to grasp! The Lord surely does move in mysterious ways!
 
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David_Paul:
Is there any justification for manned space flight at this time?

We are not advanced enough to set up self or semi-self sufficient bases on the moon or anywhere else. The International Space Station does nothing I know of which could not be done better by unmanned craft.

Compare space to the oceans. If we wanted, we could probably send humans to levels only unmanned submersibled operate now (or at least deeper than we go now). But there is no point to it so we don’t.

If anyone has a justification for sending 7 people up this week and continuing manned spaceflight, I would like to know what it is.
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The quest for knowledge.
 
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David_Paul:
Is there any justification for manned space flight at this time?

We are not advanced enough to set up self or semi-self sufficient bases on the moon or anywhere else. The International Space Station does nothing I know of which could not be done better by unmanned craft.

Compare space to the oceans. If we wanted, we could probably send humans to levels only unmanned submersibled operate now (or at least deeper than we go now). But there is no point to it so we don’t.

If anyone has a justification for sending 7 people up this week and continuing manned spaceflight, I would like to know what it is.
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The technologies & products derived from our endeavors into space have more than paid for our investment. Think of all of the jobs people know have because of our space program

seds.org/technology/introduction.shtml
 
I think that the most glaring example of NASA not being a very good value is the X-prize. How much money put 3 to the edge of space twice within what 2 weeks?

NASA has the right idea with faster smaller cheaper or whatever but their implementation stinks.

The shuttle should be replaced with something/s much simpler and truely open space.
There are reasons to go (manufacturing in space for example). But NASA’s could have done a much better job…
 
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Lance:
The quest for knowledge.
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Doesn’t answer why manned flight. Unmanned is much more productive.

The knowledge gained on the upcoming Shuttle flight, if any, is minimal.

For the cost of one Shuttle flight we could sent a unmmaed rover to the moon which would do experiments everyday for a year or more. NASA could put nearly real time video from a moon rover on the net 24/7.

The public paid a lot more attention to the Mars landers and Deep Impact than they will to another Shuttle Flight.

The shuttle was a failure. People forget that. It was supposed to be a cheap fast way to get people into space.
 
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shockerfan:
The technologies & products derived from our endeavors into space have more than paid for our investment. Think of all of the jobs people know have because of our space program

seds.org/technology/introduction.shtml
Click to expand...
Still doesn’t answer why manned flight. The link mentions medical advances. All that I see would have been spun off from unmanned flight. Probably even more. Putting a human in an environment a machine can explore just as well is a huge waste of effort.

Btw…take windows out of passanger aircraft too. Another huge waste of money. Airliners would be safer and far easier to design without them.
 
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David_Paul:
Still doesn’t answer why manned flight. The link mentions medical advances. All that I see would have been spun off from unmanned flight. Probably even more. Putting a human in an environment a machine can explore just as well is a huge waste of effort.

Btw…take windows out of passanger aircraft too. Another huge waste of money. Airliners would be safer and far easier to design without them.
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I won’t rule out all manned space flight but when it comes to many of today’s flights I think having astronauts on board serves only public relations.
 
They’ve been trying to brainwash us boomers about this ever since the beginning, in the early 60s, but there was something not right about it, and I think it was the public relations show, the way the NASA spokespeople are always trying so hard to SELL us taxpayers on it. The Shuttle is a pork-barrel boondoggle. The unmanned exploration is interesting and fairly efficient. We do need to keep our military technology up to date too. But the manned stuff is just for thrills and publicity IMO.

And yeah, the quasi-religious intent is disturbing. It’s obvious they’re looking for God and can’t find Him. My fave movie is Mars Attacks, where the New Age dopes put all their faith in a visiting alien, who turns out to be an utterly ruthless and bloodthirsty monster. What a scream…and right on. They push and push, but know not where they go.
 
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caroljm36:
And yeah, the quasi-religious intent is disturbing. It’s obvious they’re looking for God and can’t find Him. My fave movie is Mars Attacks, where the New Age dopes put all their faith in a visiting alien, who turns out to be an utterly ruthless and bloodthirsty monster. What a scream…and right on. They push and push, but know not where they go.
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Great movie. You can’t beat Tom Jones playing himself.
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David Paul I can’t answer your question because I have the same one myself. I think if we were progressing and doing something new and different with this mission I’d have more faith in it. Frankly I am probably the only one who answered “They are making up for their previous screw ups” because I think that is the real reason for this mission. Not necessarily the whole space program but as you said, we’ve been there and done that with respect to manned vehicles circling the globe. This one seems unnecessary other than as face saving. Why not use unmanned vehicles?

Lisa N
 
caroljm36 writes: *And yeah, the quasi-religious intent is disturbing. It’s obvious they’re looking for God and can’t find Him. *

Want to get really disturbed? The Russian scientist considered the father of space flight, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, was a disciple of the Christian mystic Nikolai Fedorov.

They were whacked. The dead would be raised, man would become immortal and we would actually find God–all by advances in science and space exploration.

Lisa N Frankly I am probably the only one who answered “They are making up for their previous screw ups.”

That is the ever present danger with government programs which are massive, do not have a specific goal and have no end date. NASA has spent hundreds of millions, probably billions, correcting the defects which lost two Shuttles. So now it is all fixed. At least NASA thinks so. But where are we? Same place we were over 15 years ago before the first one blew up.

As has been clear for decades, the future of technology is smaller and cheaper. First miniturization . Then microtechnology and nanotechnology. We’re tossing Greyhound buses into space with sightseers in them when we should be putting up hundreds of clever little machines.
 
For the past half century it has been under the total control of the government. I think it is time thet Space Program is opened up to private concerns. Make NASA something like the FAA.

By doing so, you will see advances very quickly in the technology used for space travel.

PF
 
I like the space program and think it serves a good purpose.
 
Again, I can only suggest letting the military & corporate interests take over the space program. A military base on the moon may piss the UN off, but frankly I think we ought to flex our muscles and do whatever is best for us. Screw the rest of the world- If they want to make use of the solar systems resources then they need to get up there and take them before we do.

In the long run, industrializing space can only be a good thing. Think of the resources available up there- All without having to worry one bit about environmental regulations. I don’t think greenpeace can afford spacecraft yet, so they couldn’t stop us from dumping nuclear waste into Jupiter…
 
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