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PTR
10.2.5
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10.2.6
Space Age Devolution
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Post by
Meggie
As of today the final space shuttle mission is in progress. From here manned space flight depends on the Russian soyuz program and perhaps on Chinese and European development. To me an era has closed. I've seen the space shuttles come and go. What is left is an operational ISS, what we no longer can supply with crews on our own.
The space race started in a time of uncertainties, with a nuclear world war over the horizon. I'm sad our attention has shifted to religions shepherds. Resources moved from technology to colonial warfare. And thus a great time has come to an end, at least for us.
Post by
pezz
It was ruinously expensive and fairly pointless to send all of those shuttles up. The only thing they were good for was supplying the ruinously expensive and fairly pointless ISS. The shift in attention away from space is temporary, I'm sure. When there's a point to it and when it's actually worth doing, it'll pick up again.
Oh and just because the government isn't interested anymore doesn't mean that
the private sector has not already sent a spaceship into Earth's orbit and successfully recovered it.
Post by
gnomerdon
The space race started in a time of uncertainties, with a nuclear world war over the horizon. I'm sad our attention has shifted to religions shepherds. Resources moved from technology to colonial warfare. And thus a great time has come to an end, at least for us.
Blame costs and greed for a weak space program...... do rockets really cost 100s of millions of dollars?
NASA was the first to inspire space travel, but after a while, their nothing more but greedy scumbags I tell ya!
Post by
Dwarfiesgosquish
The space race started in a time of uncertainties, with a nuclear world war over the horizon. I'm sad our attention has shifted to religions shepherds. Resources moved from technology to colonial warfare. And thus a great time has come to an end, at least for us.
Blame costs and greed for a weak space program...... do rockets really cost 100s of millions of dollars?
NASA was the first to inspire space travel, but after a while, their nothing more but greedy scumbags I tell ya!
To think that the private sector, won't be equally if not more(most likely the latter) greedy and scummy is absolutely asinine.
Post by
Queggy
Yeah, the USA is by no means not sending up astronauts anymore. Two of the biggest companies that are doing quite well for themselves are
SpaceX
and
Virgin Galactic
.
Post by
OverZealous
Isn't NASA aiming for a functioning colony on the Moon sooner or later? And Mars (probably not before the end of the universe, though)? Because that's what I think they should focus on, not sending ruinously expensive and fairly pointless shuttles into orbit.
Anyway, hasn't the ISS kind of outlived its purpose by now?
Post by
Meggie
Plenty of aims and ideas. As of today human transport is dependent on the Russians. "Alternatives ready in a few years" is not nice when you're working at the ISS today.
As for money, 450 million investment per mission is not much where Iraq/Afghanistan costs 1350 million per day. Priorities, priorities...
Post by
Monday
As for money, 450 million investment per mission is not much where Iraq/Afghanistan costs 1350 million per day. Priorities, priorities...
Source?
Post by
gnomerdon
The onion. lol jp
Post by
xaratherus
The privatization of space travel will lead to a faster expansion of travel outside our atmosphere. While I think it's sad that NASA's shuttle series have come to an end, the truth is that the greatest driving force behind most of our technological advances have come because someone sees the money in it - so once the engineers have worked out how to create stable zero-g facilities for manufacturing, medical treatment, and so on, we're going to see a huge boom in it.
Post by
pezz
I think what xara said explains how space travel is going to happen. The government was (for a while) willing to sink money into a bust. The private sector isn't. However, once some researchers working on something else accidentally get the hang of lucrative space travel, the industry will
explode
, faster than the government could've ever done.
Edit: You know, considering the fate of two of the shuttles, I think I chose my words poorly there.
Post by
Squishalot
Edit: You know, considering the fate of two of the shuttles, I think I chose my words poorly there.
xara's 'huge boom' comment fell moreorless into the same category, don't worry.
A whole new sector of private companies will probably float on the back of zero-g facilities.
Post by
Transducer
the truth is that the greatest driving force behind most of our technological advances have come because someone sees the money in it
Most technological advances are created by those with the creativity, determination, and will to enhance our capabilities as a species.
Most people aren't in the mood to do anything new and risky for profit, and money is just a means, not the ends. Few inventors or artists make it far if they see otherwise.
Post by
Asylu
There was a philosopher (I forget who...and can't seem to locate anything on it anywhere on the web) who talked about the basic cycles of human society. I will give a (hopefully) brief run down of them.
The first is religious, the huddled and fearful masses struggling with superstitions being lead by a wise man/priest who intervenes with the God(s) on their behalf. (i.e Pre-Historical Europe, The Dark Ages)
The second is intellectual/philosophical, climbing out of ignorance people begin to spread education and great leaps are made in technology. (i.e Ancient Greece, The Renaissance)
The third is expansionism, people, now educated, seek new places to conquer so as to spread the newly acquired knowledge to 'lesser' societies. (i.e The Roman Republic circa 509 BC-200 BC , The Colonial Period of Europe)
The forth is excess, people, now with armed with knowledge and contented with plunder falls to decadence, searching for meaning through sensation which sparks a 'religious' outpouring... (i.e. The Roman Empire circa 68 AD-98 AD, The Victorian Era)
Now to get to my point. Each society goes through these 'periods', usual at a rather sedate pace, taking up to several hundred of year to march through the cycle. America though...has barreled through them quite quickly, as we are once again falling to irrational behaviors (as a society on the whole) which means no longer attempting to attain a 'colony' and falling into overt decadence while striving for some meaning on a deeper level. So, for now, we abandon the space program. One day the itch to conquer will tickle us and we will have to turn skyward...we'll have colonized everything else and/or blown it to bits.
Post by
Meggie
It is a socio-economic model, but I can't name an author. Survival, Work, Power, Wealth.
Dark ages classify as Wealth societies. A dark age refer to a "light age", usually the previous power-era.
Post by
MyTie
I'm sad our attention has shifted to religions shepherds.
We could just as easily blame you. It makes about as much sense as blaming 'religion' for the closing of the US space program. From now on, when our deficit grows, or islamic radicals burn their wives faces off with acid, or children go hungry, we will blame Meggie.
Post by
gnomerdon
It's meg, Not meggie.
Post by
MyTie
It's meg, Not meggie.
It's "It's meg, not meggie", not "It's meg, Not meggie".
Post by
xaratherus
Edit: You know, considering the fate of two of the shuttles, I think I chose my words poorly there.
xara's 'huge boom' comment fell moreorless into the same category, don't worry.
A whole new sector of private companies will probably float on the back of zero-g facilities.
I didn't even make the connection, to be honest. Unintentional poor-taste pun there.
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