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Posted by Robert Kent on January 31, 2009, 1:07 pm
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> I'm sorry, I don't see the connection of then with now really. It
> certainly was a kind of publicity war then, and arguably the arms race on
> top etc, bankrupted the ussr etc, but the reason we ought to go back is
> because we can and because for reasons language does not give us, people
> need to explore and find things out. We should be perusing happiness not
> money after all. OK we have all reared the arguments about if all the
> money in the rich countries was spread evenly everyone would be
> comfortable and safe. However, if this is not to be done, the tiny amount
> in proportionate terms, that exploration costs, has got to be worth it.
> If nobody had gone anywhere we would probably still be living in caves
> and no know about other countries at all.
> I feel though that it should be a world project, myself.
> Brian
I think it's silly to spend hundreds of billions of dollars (maybe even
trillions) just to go back and gather some more rocks.
It currently costs over $10,000 per pound to send anything to low Earth
orbit. We should instead focus on bringing that price down, maybe to less
than $10 per pound. Maybe then we could go to the Moon and Mars.
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Posted by Fred J. McCall on January 31, 2009, 6:08 pm
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:
:I think it's silly to spend hundreds of billions of dollars (maybe even
:trillions) just to go back and gather some more rocks.
:
So do I, which is why that shouldn't be our goal in going.
:
:It currently costs over $10,000 per pound to send anything to low Earth
:orbit. We should instead focus on bringing that price down, maybe to less
:than $10 per pound. Maybe then we could go to the Moon and Mars.
:
And just how do you propose to do that?
Launch costs aren't going to come down until there is lots of traffic.
There won't be lots of traffic until there is a reason for it. There
won't be a reason for it until there is a significant space presence
and industrial base.
Chicken, meet egg....
--
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable
man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore,
all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
--George Bernard Shaw
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Posted by Robert Kent on January 31, 2009, 6:41 pm
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> :
> :I think it's silly to spend hundreds of billions of dollars (maybe even
> :trillions) just to go back and gather some more rocks.
> :
> So do I, which is why that shouldn't be our goal in going.
> :
> :It currently costs over $10,000 per pound to send anything to low Earth
> :orbit. We should instead focus on bringing that price down, maybe to less
> :than $10 per pound. Maybe then we could go to the Moon and Mars.
> :
> And just how do you propose to do that?
Boeing once claimed that it could build a fleet of fully reusable space
shuttles that could be operated like commercial jet liners at similar costs.
NASA should let them build these things.
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Posted by Fred J. McCall on January 31, 2009, 6:54 pm
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show/hide quoted text
:> :
:> :I think it's silly to spend hundreds of billions of dollars (maybe even
:> :trillions) just to go back and gather some more rocks.
:> :
:>
:> So do I, which is why that shouldn't be our goal in going.
:>
:> :
:> :It currently costs over $10,000 per pound to send anything to low Earth
:> :orbit. We should instead focus on bringing that price down, maybe to less
:> :than $10 per pound. Maybe then we could go to the Moon and Mars.
:> :
:>
:> And just how do you propose to do that?
:>
:
:Boeing once claimed that it could build a fleet of fully reusable space
:shuttles that could be operated like commercial jet liners at similar costs.
:
:NASA should let them build these things.
:
NASA isn't stopping them now. It takes a sufficiently large market to
cover the development costs.
Find enough orders to put in the order book (the same number Boeing
gets for an airliner model) and they probably would build them.
Remember that whole 'chicken and egg' thing I mentioned?
--
"Some people get lost in thought because it's such unfamiliar
territory."
--G. Behn
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Posted by Robert Kent on January 31, 2009, 7:10 pm
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> :
> :> :
> :> :I think it's silly to spend hundreds of billions of dollars (maybe
> even
> :> :trillions) just to go back and gather some more rocks.
> :> :
> :> So do I, which is why that shouldn't be our goal in going.
> :> :
> :> :It currently costs over $10,000 per pound to send anything to low
> Earth
> :> :orbit. We should instead focus on bringing that price down, maybe to
> less
> :> :than $10 per pound. Maybe then we could go to the Moon and Mars.
> :> :
> :> And just how do you propose to do that?
> :
> :Boeing once claimed that it could build a fleet of fully reusable space
> :shuttles that could be operated like commercial jet liners at similar
> costs.
> :
> :NASA should let them build these things.
> :
> NASA isn't stopping them now. It takes a sufficiently large market to
> cover the development costs.
> Find enough orders to put in the order book (the same number Boeing
> gets for an airliner model) and they probably would build them.
> Remember that whole 'chicken and egg' thing I mentioned?
Okay... These space shuttles would also double as space planes capable of
getting people between any two points on the planet in under an hour - at a
cost comparable to that of todays jet liners.
Isn't that enough to get people motivated?
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> certainly was a kind of publicity war then, and arguably the arms race on
> top etc, bankrupted the ussr etc, but the reason we ought to go back is
> because we can and because for reasons language does not give us, people
> need to explore and find things out. We should be perusing happiness not
> money after all. OK we have all reared the arguments about if all the
> money in the rich countries was spread evenly everyone would be
> comfortable and safe. However, if this is not to be done, the tiny amount
> in proportionate terms, that exploration costs, has got to be worth it.
> If nobody had gone anywhere we would probably still be living in caves
> and no know about other countries at all.
> I feel though that it should be a world project, myself.
> Brian