US Fiscal SItuation and the One Million MPH Spacecraft

Obviously, now hardly seems the time to be talking about upping
NASA's
budget to 1960s levels, 4 - 7 % of federal budget. I am looking
forward to a possible future date when we can afford to do what we
could afford to do in the 1960s and early 1970s: send humans to other
worlds!

My idea that 15% of the fed. budget should be for basic science
research (including the 5%+-, for space), looks even more undoable.
But if we AT LEAST got our budget back in line with the way,
essentially, that it was in the sixties, then we could at least be
sending humans to explore the solar system. On top of that, if we
could get ourselves straightened out enough to be able to put 15%
into
Big Science, including Big Space, then we could be doing our best to
ensure an ongoing effort to improve our civilization and our physical
quality of life.


Think about it: since Big Space and Science can actually be viewed as
military expenditures (therefore allowing even conservatives to get
excited about them), how would we Americans like it if the USSR had
put Man in Space - and maybe the Moon, and maybe beyond, by now...and
we had YET to even put a person in Earth orbit!


Private industry is great, but to date it has only put a couple of
people up above the 100 km line where space officially begins, for a
couple minutes!

http://1mmph.yolasite.com/

On Jan 25, 5:04*pm, giveitawhirl2008
wrote:
Obviously, now hardly seems the time to be talking about upping
NASA's
budget to 1960s levels, 4 - 7 % of federal budget. I am looking
forward to a possible future date when we can afford to do what we
could afford to do in the 1960s and early 1970s: send humans to other
worlds!

My idea that 15% of the fed. budget should be for basic science
research (including the 5%+-, for space), looks even more undoable.
But if we AT LEAST got our budget back in line with the way,
essentially, that it was in the sixties, then we could at least be
sending humans to explore the solar system. On top of that, if we
could get ourselves straightened out enough to be able to put 15%
into
Big Science, including Big Space, then we could be doing our best to
ensure an ongoing effort to improve our civilization and our physical
quality of life.

Think about it: since Big Space and Science can actually be viewed as
military expenditures (therefore allowing even conservatives to get
excited about them), how would we Americans like it if the USSR had
put Man in Space - and maybe the Moon, and maybe beyond, by now...and
we had YET to even put a person in Earth orbit!

Private industry is great, but to date it has only put a couple of
people up above the 100 km line where space officially begins, for a
couple minutes!

http://1mmph.yolasite.com/

Reports are tonight all fed agencies budgets will be cut back to 2008
levels.

We dont have the bucks

On Jan 25, 5:16*pm, " wrote:
On Jan 25, 5:04*pm, giveitawhirl2008
wrote:





Obviously, now hardly seems the time to be talking about upping
NASA's
budget to 1960s levels, 4 - 7 % of federal budget. I am looking
forward to a possible future date when we can afford to do what we
could afford to do in the 1960s and early 1970s: send humans to other
worlds!

My idea that 15% of the fed. budget should be for basic science
research (including the 5%+-, for space), looks even more undoable.
But if we AT LEAST got our budget back in line with the way,
essentially, that it was in the sixties, then we could at least be
sending humans to explore the solar system. On top of that, if we
could get ourselves straightened out enough to be able to put 15%
into
Big Science, including Big Space, then we could be doing our best to
ensure an ongoing effort to improve our civilization and our physical
quality of life.

Think about it: since Big Space and Science can actually be viewed as
military expenditures (therefore allowing even conservatives to get
excited about them), how would we Americans like it if the USSR had
put Man in Space - and maybe the Moon, and maybe beyond, by now...and
we had YET to even put a person in Earth orbit!

Private industry is great, but to date it has only put a couple of
people up above the 100 km line where space officially begins, for a
couple minutes!

http://1mmph.yolasite.com/

Reports are tonight all fed agencies budgets will be cut back to 2008
levels.

We dont have the bucks- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Not right now. Maybe in the future?

On 01/25/2011 04:25 PM, giveitawhirl2008 wrote:
We dont have the bucks- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Not right now. Maybe in the future?
Space travel started out as an extension of 19th century colonial
resource development. The recent "Avatar" being an example, which
however, is hopelessly out dated.

The only resource we are short on is energy. If Fusion or whatever
solves that problem, then the energy is available to turn lead in gold,
carbon into Diamond, or anything into anything else. mining is obsolete.

"2001" shows us a military industrial complex, not looking for new
mineral resources but new technology to enhance power.But instead what
we see is a spiritual enlightenment. For that, we travel into inner, not
outer, space.

"The Matrix", "Avatar", "Pandora" and others show us a perfectly
rendered virtual reality. If you want one with space travel, no problem.
You will be utterly convinced it is real, just as you are now.

--
When the Goddess invented sex, She was beside Herself.

On Jan 26, 1:26*am, Day Brown wrote:
On 01/25/2011 04:25 PM, giveitawhirl2008 wrote: We dont have the bucks- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Not right now. Maybe in the future?

Space travel started out as an extension of 19th century colonial
resource development. The recent "Avatar" being an example, which
however, is hopelessly out dated.

The only resource we are short on is energy. If Fusion or whatever
solves that problem, then the energy is available to turn lead in gold,
carbon into Diamond, or anything into anything else. mining is obsolete.

"2001" shows us a military industrial complex, not looking for new
mineral resources but new technology to enhance power.But instead what
we see is a spiritual enlightenment. For that, we travel into inner, not
outer, space.

"The Matrix", "Avatar", "Pandora" and others show us a perfectly
rendered virtual reality. If you want one with space travel, no problem.
You will be utterly convinced it is real, just as you are now.

--
When the Goddess invented sex, She was beside Herself.

2001 assumed an ongoing Cold War with Detente. The Cold War is over
but national prestige never goes out of style. I understand your view
that Colonialism can be considered a motivation for space exploration,
and even, a little, your view that we have no interest in
extraterrestial resources. But since their are no known Aliens,
Colonialism (at least, the negative aspects thereof) does not apply.
Our ever expanding horizon (or, at least, our desire to have one) will
keep us permanently looking to the stars. Going there? Well, we'll
see...

On 02/01/2011 07:47 PM, giveitawhirl2008 wrote:
On Jan 26, 1:26 am, Day wrote:
2001 assumed an ongoing Cold War with Detente. The Cold War is over
but national prestige never goes out of style. I understand your view
that Colonialism can be considered a motivation for space exploration,
and even, a little, your view that we have no interest in
extraterrestial resources. But since their are no known Aliens,
Colonialism (at least, the negative aspects thereof) does not apply.
Our ever expanding horizon (or, at least, our desire to have one) will
keep us permanently looking to the stars. Going there? Well, we'll
see...
Looking back, I see sci fi has never been about the future. I only
recall one novel depicting an Earth with a dispersed power structure and
population where each of us live in some scenic area using broadband to
order whatever we wanted which was brought to the house by a robotic UPS
truck.

Just recently found Aristotle, in the Republic:"For if every instrument
could obey or anticipate the will of others, like the statues of
Daedalus [robots] or the tripods of Hephaestus... who entered the
assembly of the gods [to illuminate it], or the shuttle to weave or the
plectrum to play the lyre- then foremen would not need laborers nor
masters slaves."

So, OK; what do we do with all of them? Let them play video games?

There seems to be unknown aliens- whose mental processes are so
different we have no idea why they create crop circles or what the
creations mean. I dont assume such aliens even know, or if they do, care
that, we exist.

I dont say we dont have an interest in extraterrestrial resources, but
that we'd send robots to extract them. But there is ongoing efforts now
to manipulate atomic components to make whatever we want when we want it
rather than having to find and mine it.

The next step is sensors in space to identify what is out there, maybe
suitable planets, and then to consider the logistics. Assuming we do not
discover some kind of multi-dimensional stargate, and do find a suitable
planet people would want to live on, then we'd need fusion power for a
starship that would also be using power to create a field to protect
occupants from cosmic radiation.

I have wondered if you could create a small black hole and accelerate it
beyond the speed of light because it absorbs all the light it encounters
rather than traveling thru it.

But then, if you can, to create two in orbit and place your starship in
the zone of uncertainty between them so that no light hits it either.
Clearly, its a device that warps space.

But now, we need fusion to deal with the energy problem.

--
When the Goddess invented sex, She was beside Herself.