U.S. to go back to moon!

CNN is reporting that Dick Cheney is being sent out to discuss the
possibility of a new moon mission and even a Mars mission.

Of course, we won't admit that this sudden interest in resurrecting
the space program has anything to do with China's announcement that
they intend to put a Chinese on the moon by 2020. I'm sure that
the timing of this announcement is just a coincidence.

On Fri, 5 Dec 2003 02:56:37 -0600, in a place far, far away, "Poop
Dogg" made the phosphor on my monitor glow in such
a way as to indicate that:

CNN is reporting that Dick Cheney is being sent out to discuss the
possibility of a new moon mission and even a Mars mission.

Of course, we won't admit that this sudden interest in resurrecting
the space program has anything to do with China's announcement that
they intend to put a Chinese on the moon by 2020. I'm sure that
the timing of this announcement is just a coincidence.

Yes, it has nothing to do with the fact that we have had to totally
rethink space policy since the loss of Columbia...

--
simberg.interglobal.org * 310 372-7963 (CA) 307 739-1296 (Jackson Hole)
interglobal space lines * 307 733-1715 (Fax) http://www.interglobal.org

"Extraordinary launch vehicles require extraordinary markets..."
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Rand Simberg wrote:

On Fri, 5 Dec 2003 02:56:37 -0600, in a place far, far away, "Poop
Dogg" made the phosphor on my monitor glow in such
a way as to indicate that:


CNN is reporting that Dick Cheney is being sent out to discuss the
possibility of a new moon mission and even a Mars mission.

Of course, we won't admit that this sudden interest in resurrecting
the space program has anything to do with China's announcement that
they intend to put a Chinese on the moon by 2020. I'm sure that
the timing of this announcement is just a coincidence.


Yes, it has nothing to do with the fact that we have had to totally
rethink space policy since the loss of Columbia...

I just hope that we don't sned a couple of peolpe up there and back,
and then give up. We need a real station/colony there. Yes, we could
do this in a decade with our current technology. We just need a couple
dozen huge rockets.(Atlas/Sea Dragon/etc)

"Rand Simberg" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 5 Dec 2003 02:56:37 -0600, in a place far, far away, "Poop
Dogg" made the phosphor on my monitor glow in such
a way as to indicate that:

CNN is reporting that Dick Cheney is being sent out to discuss the
possibility of a new moon mission and even a Mars mission.

Of course, we won't admit that this sudden interest in resurrecting
the space program has anything to do with China's announcement that
they intend to put a Chinese on the moon by 2020. I'm sure that
the timing of this announcement is just a coincidence.

Yes, it has nothing to do with the fact that we have had to totally
rethink space policy since the loss of Columbia...

Actually both would seem to be a factor in space policy deliberations.


--
simberg.interglobal.org * 310 372-7963 (CA) 307 739-1296 (Jackson Hole)
interglobal space lines * 307 733-1715 (Fax) http://www.interglobal.org

"Extraordinary launch vehicles require extraordinary markets..."
Swap the first . and @ and throw out the ".trash" to email me.
Here's my email address for autospammers:

Mark R. Whittington wrote:

"Rand Simberg" wrote in message
.. .


On Fri, 5 Dec 2003 02:56:37 -0600, in a place far, far away, "Poop
Dogg" made the phosphor on my monitor glow in such
a way as to indicate that:



CNN is reporting that Dick Cheney is being sent out to discuss the
possibility of a new moon mission and even a Mars mission.

Of course, we won't admit that this sudden interest in resurrecting
the space program has anything to do with China's announcement that
they intend to put a Chinese on the moon by 2020. I'm sure that
the timing of this announcement is just a coincidence.


Yes, it has nothing to do with the fact that we have had to totally
rethink space policy since the loss of Columbia...



Actually both would seem to be a factor in space policy deliberations.

Yes. It is obvious that Columbia forced a rethinking of space policy.
And from
the mentioned CNN article:

"You've got the Chinese saying they're interested -- we don't want them to
beat us to the moon. We want to be there to develop the sweet spots,"
Republican Senator Sam Brownback says.

Note also that a Japanese legislator made similar comments (I can't find the
quote) last week about their space problems versus the Chinese successes.

Though some usually very insightful people in this newsgroup stated
repeatedly
that China going to the moon wouldn't force the west to reply, because
the west
wouldn't think that its manhood was seriously threatened. I think we can
say that
some people who actually have a say on those things do think that their
manhood is threatened by China on the moon.

Alain Fournier

Alain Fournier wrote:

snip

Though some usually very insightful people in this newsgroup stated
repeatedly
that China going to the moon wouldn't force the west to reply, because
the west
wouldn't think that its manhood was seriously threatened. I think we can
say that
some people who actually have a say on those things do think that their
manhood is threatened by China on the moon.

Alain Fournier


The timing of this announcement and the projected timeframe of a
return indicates more that China is an afterthought.

Two Words:

Core Complete.

It isn't that far away and it has massive ramifications.

On Sat, 06 Dec 2003 12:17:45 GMT, in a place far, far away, "Mark R.
Whittington" made the phosphor on my monitor
glow in such a way as to indicate that:

Of course, we won't admit that this sudden interest in resurrecting
the space program has anything to do with China's announcement that
they intend to put a Chinese on the moon by 2020. I'm sure that
the timing of this announcement is just a coincidence.

Yes, it has nothing to do with the fact that we have had to totally
rethink space policy since the loss of Columbia...

Actually both would seem to be a factor in space policy deliberations.

What, other than wishful thinking, makes it "seem" to you that China
is a factor?

--
simberg.interglobal.org * 310 372-7963 (CA) 307 739-1296 (Jackson Hole)
interglobal space lines * 307 733-1715 (Fax) http://www.interglobal.org

"Extraordinary launch vehicles require extraordinary markets..."
Swap the first . and @ and throw out the ".trash" to email me.
Here's my email address for autospammers:

In article ,
Alain Fournier wrote:
"You've got the Chinese saying they're interested -- we don't want them to
beat us to the moon. We want to be there to develop the sweet spots,"
Republican Senator Sam Brownback says.

Good grief, WHAT sweet spots? Now the Washington lunacy is not only water
on the moon, it's that the moon isn't big enough for both the U.S.
and China. I guess every sandbox has to have its "sweet spots".

Rohrabacher wasn't the only Congressman discussing zero gravity with zero
comprehension. Brownback is another. But they sure aren't zero cost.
They are like children playing with credit cards.

--
/\ Greg Kuperberg (UC Davis)
/ \
\ / Visit the Math ArXiv Front at http://front.math.ucdavis.edu/
\/ * All the math that's fit to e-print *

In article ,
Alain Fournier wrote:
"You've got the Chinese saying they're interested -- we don't want them to
beat us to the moon. We want to be there to develop the sweet spots,"
Republican Senator Sam Brownback says...
Though some usually very insightful people in this newsgroup stated
repeatedly that China going to the moon wouldn't force the west to
reply, because the west wouldn't think that its manhood was seriously
threatened. I think we can say that some people who actually have a say
on those things do think that their manhood is threatened by China on
the moon.

No, they think it might be politically useful to them to claim that in
public. Note that the Republicans are the ones who've been hyping the
Yellow Peril for some years now; they're exactly the folks you'd expect to
hear claiming that everything China does threatens the US's very survival.

That is not a widely-shared opinion, not even in Congress, not when money
is at stake. Ask them to add several billion a year of new money to
NASA's budget for it, and they'll start singing about fiscal responsibility
and the need to rethink plans first.
--
MOST launched 30 June; first light, 29 July; 5arcsec | Henry Spencer
pointing, 10 Sept; first science, early Oct; all well. |

Henry Spencer wrote:
In article ,
Alain Fournier wrote:

"You've got the Chinese saying they're interested -- we don't want them to
beat us to the moon. We want to be there to develop the sweet spots,"
Republican Senator Sam Brownback says...
Though some usually very insightful people in this newsgroup stated
repeatedly that China going to the moon wouldn't force the west to
reply, because the west wouldn't think that its manhood was seriously
threatened. I think we can say that some people who actually have a say
on those things do think that their manhood is threatened by China on
the moon.


No, they think it might be politically useful to them to claim that in
public. Note that the Republicans are the ones who've been hyping the
Yellow Peril for some years now; they're exactly the folks you'd expect to
hear claiming that everything China does threatens the US's very survival.

That is not a widely-shared opinion, not even in Congress, not when money
is at stake. Ask them to add several billion a year of new money to
NASA's budget for it, and they'll start singing about fiscal responsibility
and the need to rethink plans first.



The question is really whether NASA can keep level funding and start
phasing over it's ISS development team as they hit core complete. If
not, then NASA is going to have to do a massive downsize in 2005 or
2006. They need something of this level in the pipeline, or they are
really, really going to be unhappy in a couple years.

Ideally, NASA would actually do the huge downsize, then hire back
a new development team from the ground up. Keep it small and
streamlined. Not going to happen though.