NASA's suicide missions

I think you're being unduly pessimistic about the whole affair. Even if you had antigravity engines that doesn't get rid of danger caused by high relative velocities. Are you going to require that we wait for science fiction force fields before we travel in space? We have more death on our nation's roads every day than we have had from the space program over decades. I think they've done an incredible job all things considered.

I wonder if a better reentry system is overdue for the adventure of space flight. Why is it that reentry is made at 15,000mph? This is a poorly engineered concept and should be ended before any more flights are made. Slow the reentry to 3,000mph or less, use more wing and no tiles that fall off at the worst time.

From (the always) opposite side: Jeremy

I think you're being unduly pessimistic about the whole affair.

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The facts speak for themselves. Watch TV.

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Are you going to require that we wait for science fiction force fields before we travel in space?

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This is science fiction not antigravity. I guess many working at NASA think like you do.

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"We have more death on our nation's roads every day than we have had from the space program over decades. "

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Mixing apples and bananas Jeremy?

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"I think they've done an incredible job all things considered."

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Yeah, especially when they manage dragging two shadows around on the moon...

What they have really done is to delay significantly the development of technology for true space travel. Now the old timers are gone along with the Germans who started the whole program and what's left is a bunch of "computer wiz" kids doing simulations all day long. I guess the simulation of the tiles missing from the left wing was not good enough and the thing blew up. Now you call this a good job. I guess different men have a different view of what a good job is.

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"Even if you had antigravity engines that doesn't get rid of danger caused by high relative velocities. "

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This shows statement shows a severe lack of an understanding of the problem. Antigravity allows heavier and stronger spacecrafts. Fuel is utilized to slow down upon reentry and it's not wasted for lifting off. What's done is exactly the reverse.

I hope they cancel the whole program and stop waisting human lives and peoples taxes.

Mechanic, if manned space travel is a waste of time and people then so be it... shut off the digital tv, no more internet, forget advances in microsurgery, microprocessors, in fact stop watching the weather forcast. In fact, lets start living in thatch roof huts since the pursuit of technology is too dangerous. No insult intended but your arguments are the reason that NASA did not get the new ships it asked for in 84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,00,01,02, and oh yeah just three weeks ago in Congress when more cuts in space craft development were made. The problem is that we are driving a 25 year old pickup truck into space because we dont want to buy a new one. When thats the kind of ride you have to work with, dont moan when you throw a piston.

Maybe gravity control will help us but the ships you want to explore the solar system with are going to be built at the space station and we dont have anything better than the shuttle to do that with. Space is risky, but so is living without its benefits- MV

From MV:

In fact, lets start living in thatch roof huts since the pursuit of technology is too dangerous.

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You know, more than 50% of the people on this planet do live in huts. Think about that. An intelligent species ought to first solve this problem and then try to explore space. I don't subscribe to your views and gross generalizations. America is in a 7 trillion debt rollocoaster ride, I hope you know that. Meanwhile, serious scientists are deprived of the funding needed for desease curing and basic research because organizations like NASA act like "black holes" for whatever funds are available. Look at the result: they cannot get their act together. It's time to desolve that monster and move R&D back to the Universities, this is what made America a great country.

NASA has rejected the studies and opinions of many serious space scientists for whatever reason we can all understand. You propose we keep on damping funds into a program that won't get us anywhere and we'll end up begging Russians to build more rockets to get our people back from the ISS. NASA is responsible for that. The Russians have taken the right route with their progressive rocket and super rocket programs. We want reusable light crafts covered with tiles subject to chaotic failure modes. Time to get some common sense engineering back into the space game and turn-off those simulation gadgets.

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=2 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>[Mechanic]
You know, more than 50% of the people on this planet do live in huts. Think about that. An intelligent species ought to first solve this problem and then try to explore space.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

This problem is just like the problem of abundant food in some places and famine in others - it is caused by politics, not by technology (or the lack thereof).

ALL of the people who suffer in these and other ways because of a shortage of this or that do so because some local ruler has decided to keeep his loyal subjects under his thumb. Denying ourselves a benefit because some dictator won't let his people participate is not smart, and it's also not compassionate.

Exceptions? Yes, even here in the USA. But they don't change the essential truth of the situation. If we ever get close to the point where most of those suffering are in the exception category, we will be within days of a complete solution. I wouldn't start holding my breath just yet, unfortunately.

Technology (especially communications technology) <b>is</b> making inroads, but we don't force countries to adopt it. Should we (it sounds good, in some ways)? I don't think so, but I could be wrong. Should we, perhaps, do something to get rid of the local rulers? I like this a little better, but I still don't think we should, at least not without some other significant factor added to the mix.

We are probably about to do something sort of like this in Iraq. If so, we will get to see first hand how it can go both right and wrong. The STATED intent is to remove one of these dictators who brings several "other significant factors" into the mix. He is not really that bad in the area of denying his people access to the benefits of technology, although there is still some of that involved indirectly.

You have every right to your opinions of course, and opinions are neither right nor wrong. But sometimes we change them based on new information. I doubt if anything I've said here will change yours, but you never know. You are welcome to try to persuade me. Since this is not a strictly technology or science thread, the moderators may even let us continue.

Regards,
LB