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Worth The Mission?
Pat Flannery wrote:
And I *still* think a National Astronaut Cemetery would be a great idea. (Cut to image of the tiny graves of the Aerobee mice.) ;-) The camera pans to the crudely painted wooden sign: Nashanul Astranawt Pet Sematary Cue horror movie music... Paul |
#23
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Worth The Mission?
On Sat, 01 Jul 2006 04:44:43 -0400, Pat Flannery
wrote: I hereby propose that we give forty cubic acres of space to anyone who wants to pioneer it, provided that they liftoff on April 22nd aboard a Conestoga rocket. Forty acres on the moon might be a little more appealling, if it weren't against the Outer Space Treaty... Yes, but does that forty acres extend into the Lunar regolith regarding mineral rights? Whole piles of titanium down there. There's a whole pile of titanium in my back yard, as well. Probably yours too. It is a silly myth that titanium is a really useful but really rare material, that is common on the Moon and that we can start using to e.g. build big strong featherweight 100-MPG cars once we can get it from the Moon. The reality is, titanium is common on the Moon, and it's common on the Earth, and it's too damned much of a pain in the ass to extract and work with to be worth the bother except for niche applications, even if someone hands you unlimited quantities of ore for free. The Moon's titanium isn't any easier to extract or work with than the Earth's, and it is inconveniently located on the Moon rather than on the Earth, so it isn't going to see much use at all. Too many space enthusiasts have bought uncritically into the myth. This should stop. -- *John Schilling * "Anything worth doing, * *Member:AIAA,NRA,ACLU,SAS,LP * is worth doing for money" * *Chief Scientist & General Partner * -13th Rule of Acquisition * *White Elephant Research, LLC * "There is no substitute * * for success" * *661-718-0955 or 661-275-6795 * -58th Rule of Acquisition * |
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Worth The Mission?
On Sun, 02 Jul 2006 13:30:53 -0400, in a place far, far away,
(Derek Lyons) made the phosphor on my monitor glow in such a way as to indicate that: (Rand Simberg) wrote: My thoughts on whether or not to fly Shuttle, and the cult of astronaut worship: http://article.nationalreview.com/?q...UxNjE5MjM1OTE= You only made one error - but it's the same one most space cadets make. You fail to realize the 99% of *all* exploration is tooling around in circles with what amounts to 'science fair' equipment. For some values of "exploration," perhaps. And even if one buys that definition, most of it is done much more cost effectively. |
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Worth The Mission?
"Rand Simberg" wrote in message
... On Fri, 30 Jun 2006 17:46:31 -0400, in a place far, far away, Pat Flannery made the phosphor on my monitor glow in such a way as to indicate that: Rand Simberg wrote: I'm not sure there is (though an expedition to Mars or an asteroid might suffice). I'm also not sure that we should want to. I'd rather get people to think about space as a new frontier where all kinds of pioneers can go, and risk their lives for their own goals and purposes, rather than as a preserve for heroic government employees. I hereby propose that we give forty cubic acres of space to anyone who wants to pioneer it, provided that they liftoff on April 22nd aboard a Conestoga rocket. Forty acres on the moon might be a little more appealling, if it weren't against the Outer Space Treaty... So? Perhaps it's time to renegotiate that. |
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Worth The Mission?
On Mon, 03 Jul 2006 09:55:53 -0400, in a place far, far away, "Greg D.
Moore (Strider)" made the phosphor on my monitor glow in such a way as to indicate that: Forty acres on the moon might be a little more appealling, if it weren't against the Outer Space Treaty... So? Perhaps it's time to renegotiate that. It's actually long past time, but it doesn't seem to be on anyone's policy radar right now. |
#27
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Worth The Mission?
In article ,
Rand Simberg wrote: On Mon, 03 Jul 2006 09:55:53 -0400, in a place far, far away, "Greg D. Moore (Strider)" made the phosphor on my monitor glow in such a way as to indicate that: Forty acres on the moon might be a little more appealling, if it weren't against the Outer Space Treaty... So? Perhaps it's time to renegotiate that. It's actually long past time, but it doesn't seem to be on anyone's policy radar right now. Do you think that ANY government on Earth, including US, wants individuals (not agents of governments) on the Moon or anywhere else in space? -- This address is for information only. I do not claim that these views are those of the Statistics Department or of Purdue University. Herman Rubin, Department of Statistics, Purdue University Phone: (765)494-6054 FAX: (765)494-0558 |
#28
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Worth The Mission?
h (Rand Simberg) wrote:
On Sun, 02 Jul 2006 13:30:53 -0400, in a place far, far away, (Derek Lyons) made the phosphor on my monitor glow in such a way as to indicate that: (Rand Simberg) wrote: My thoughts on whether or not to fly Shuttle, and the cult of astronaut worship: http://article.nationalreview.com/?q...UxNjE5MjM1OTE= You only made one error - but it's the same one most space cadets make. You fail to realize the 99% of *all* exploration is tooling around in circles with what amounts to 'science fair' equipment. For some values of "exploration," perhaps. There are values of exploration other than "boldly going" Rand, which is my point. It's a creation of the media that leads people to believe that the opposite is true. I won't say modern media - because the press of the late 19th and early 20th century indulged heavily in the sport, ably assisted by numerous 'explorers' who were shameless self promoters. (Even if they did accomplish exploration that was actually useful, as opposed to just stunts.) There is an unhealthy tendency among a certain class of space enthusiasts to define exploration as 'everything and anything *except* what the Shuttle (and/or ISS) is doing'. This flies in the face of reality - in which there is a great deal of scientific and exploratory work done that *isn't* boldly going. And the general public, as well as space enthusiasts, are mostly unaware beyond the occasional accidents (USS Greeneville), or problems (potential breast cancer at the South Pole). D. -- Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh. -Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings. Oct 5th, 2004 JDL |
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