|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
#2
|
|||
|
|||
NASA Sending a MESSENGER to Mercury
"Ron" wrote MESSENGER's voyage includes three flybys of Mercury in 2008 and 2009 and a yearlong orbit of the planet starting in March 2011. I wonder if I am alone in finding this time scale a little depressing. There are so many discoveries being made at the minute (ammonia = life??? Mars???) that I might well curl up my toes before the really interesting results are available. In 2011, I will be 72. I hope to still be around then to find out what Messenger discovers, but these long lead times are a little worrying. I suppose there's a parallel with the old days when building a Cathedral was started in one century but not completed until two hundred years later. You need faith. If I don't live long enough to find out about our encounter with intelligence on Beta Pictoris C/2 (or wherever) than at least on my death bed, I will have the knowledge that my own generation was trying (yes, at times, very trying) Jack |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
NASA Sending a MESSENGER to Mercury
:-)
Humm, I had the same thought in reading this article too! I'll 69 in 2011 .... Al "Jack Harrison" wrote in message ... "Ron" wrote MESSENGER's voyage includes three flybys of Mercury in 2008 and 2009 and a yearlong orbit of the planet starting in March 2011. I wonder if I am alone in finding this time scale a little depressing. There are so many discoveries being made at the minute (ammonia = life??? Mars???) that I might well curl up my toes before the really interesting results are available. In 2011, I will be 72. I hope to still be around then to find out what Messenger discovers, but these long lead times are a little worrying. I suppose there's a parallel with the old days when building a Cathedral was started in one century but not completed until two hundred years later. You need faith. If I don't live long enough to find out about our encounter with intelligence on Beta Pictoris C/2 (or wherever) than at least on my death bed, I will have the knowledge that my own generation was trying (yes, at times, very trying) Jack |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
NASA Sending a MESSENGER to Mercury
:-)
Humm, I had the same thought in reading this article too! I'll 69 in 2011 .... Al "Jack Harrison" wrote in message ... "Ron" wrote MESSENGER's voyage includes three flybys of Mercury in 2008 and 2009 and a yearlong orbit of the planet starting in March 2011. I wonder if I am alone in finding this time scale a little depressing. There are so many discoveries being made at the minute (ammonia = life??? Mars???) that I might well curl up my toes before the really interesting results are available. In 2011, I will be 72. I hope to still be around then to find out what Messenger discovers, but these long lead times are a little worrying. I suppose there's a parallel with the old days when building a Cathedral was started in one century but not completed until two hundred years later. You need faith. If I don't live long enough to find out about our encounter with intelligence on Beta Pictoris C/2 (or wherever) than at least on my death bed, I will have the knowledge that my own generation was trying (yes, at times, very trying) Jack |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
NASA Sending a MESSENGER to Mercury
"Jack Harrison" wrote in message
... "Ron" wrote MESSENGER's voyage includes three flybys of Mercury in 2008 and 2009 and a yearlong orbit of the planet starting in March 2011. I wonder if I am alone in finding this time scale a little depressing. There are so many discoveries being made at the minute (ammonia = life??? Mars???) that I might well curl up my toes before the really interesting results are available. In 2011, I will be 72. I hope to still be around then to find out what Messenger discovers, but these long lead times are a little worrying. I suppose there's a parallel with the old days when building a Cathedral was started in one century but not completed until two hundred years later. You need faith. If I don't live long enough to find out about our encounter with intelligence on Beta Pictoris C/2 (or wherever) than at least on my death bed, I will have the knowledge that my own generation was trying (yes, at times, very trying) I find them disappointing too. I guess the straight answer is they're a result of the lack of investment in high power launcher technology. The most powerful rocket ever built, Saturn V, was abandoned in favour of the disappointing shuttle project. As a result we haven't got any launchers with enough oomph to send a probe direct to its target and instead have to put up with these long, roundabout trajectories. Look at Cassini. That was supposed to be launched by shuttle, but after the first "disaster" (every accident is a "disaster") increased paranoia about safety meant it ultimately had to be launched from a Delta and take a far more roundabout route than the original mission plan. The worst thing about it is you may have to wait 5 or 6 or 7 or 10 years just to find out the spacecraft is broken when it finally gets to its destination. It's ludicrous that a mission across the relatively short hop to Mercury will take 7 years. Even worse IMHO is stuff like the New Horizons mission to Pluto; whether it's a planet or not it's the largest of a fascinating class of solar system objects about which we know very little; yet all we can manage is a slow, small, mission that will, after years of waiting, give a day or two of data as it rushes by. Why the hell are we, nearly 50 years into the Space Age, even considering fly-bys? Is that *really* the best we can do? Time to reinvest in some real heavy lift launchers (imagine what we'd have achieved with development of Saturn, let alone nuclear rockets). Then we could *really* get some exploration done. Instead of faffing around in LEO with the shuttle and that utterly pointless Space Station thing. /rant Ian |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
NASA Sending a MESSENGER to Mercury
"Jaxtraw" wrote in message ... "Jack Harrison" wrote in message ... If I don't live long enough to find out about our encounter with intelligence on Beta Pictoris C/2 (or wherever) than at least on my death bed, I will have the knowledge that my own generation was trying (yes, at times, very trying) I find them disappointing too. I guess the straight answer is they're a result of the lack of investment in high power launcher technology. The most powerful rocket ever built, Saturn V, was abandoned in favour of the disappointing shuttle project. As a result we haven't got any launchers with enough oomph to send a probe direct to its target and instead have to put up with these long, roundabout trajectories. Even a Saturn V wouldn't have the energy to get Messenger directly to Mercury. |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
NASA Sending a MESSENGER to Mercury
"Chosp" wrote in message
news:hgXJc.13064$Oi5.7746@okepread07... "Jaxtraw" wrote in message ... "Jack Harrison" wrote in message ... If I don't live long enough to find out about our encounter with intelligence on Beta Pictoris C/2 (or wherever) than at least on my death bed, I will have the knowledge that my own generation was trying (yes, at times, very trying) I find them disappointing too. I guess the straight answer is they're a result of the lack of investment in high power launcher technology. The most powerful rocket ever built, Saturn V, was abandoned in favour of the disappointing shuttle project. As a result we haven't got any launchers with enough oomph to send a probe direct to its target and instead have to put up with these long, roundabout trajectories. Even a Saturn V wouldn't have the energy to get Messenger directly to Mercury. Maybe not, but then that was 1960s technology. Presumably there would have been some advancement over the ensuing 35 years Ian |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
NASA Sending a MESSENGER to Mercury
"Jaxtraw" wrote in message ... "Chosp" wrote in message news:hgXJc.13064$Oi5.7746@okepread07... "Jaxtraw" wrote in message ... "Jack Harrison" wrote in message ... If I don't live long enough to find out about our encounter with intelligence on Beta Pictoris C/2 (or wherever) than at least on my death bed, I will have the knowledge that my own generation was trying (yes, at times, very trying) I find them disappointing too. I guess the straight answer is they're a result of the lack of investment in high power launcher technology. The most powerful rocket ever built, Saturn V, was abandoned in favour of the disappointing shuttle project. As a result we haven't got any launchers with enough oomph to send a probe direct to its target and instead have to put up with these long, roundabout trajectories. Even a Saturn V wouldn't have the energy to get Messenger directly to Mercury. Maybe not, but then that was 1960s technology. Presumably there would have been some advancement over the ensuing 35 years Even a launcher twice as powerful as a Saturn V would not get Messenger directly to its desired orbit around Mercury. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
NASA Sending a MESSENGER to Mercury
"Jaxtraw" wrote in message ... "Chosp" wrote in message news:hgXJc.13064$Oi5.7746@okepread07... "Jaxtraw" wrote in message ... "Jack Harrison" wrote in message ... If I don't live long enough to find out about our encounter with intelligence on Beta Pictoris C/2 (or wherever) than at least on my death bed, I will have the knowledge that my own generation was trying (yes, at times, very trying) I find them disappointing too. I guess the straight answer is they're a result of the lack of investment in high power launcher technology. The most powerful rocket ever built, Saturn V, was abandoned in favour of the disappointing shuttle project. As a result we haven't got any launchers with enough oomph to send a probe direct to its target and instead have to put up with these long, roundabout trajectories. Even a Saturn V wouldn't have the energy to get Messenger directly to Mercury. Maybe not, but then that was 1960s technology. Presumably there would have been some advancement over the ensuing 35 years Even a launcher twice as powerful as a Saturn V would not get Messenger directly to its desired orbit around Mercury. |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
NASA Sending a MESSENGER to Mercury
"Chosp" wrote in message
news:hgXJc.13064$Oi5.7746@okepread07... "Jaxtraw" wrote in message ... "Jack Harrison" wrote in message ... If I don't live long enough to find out about our encounter with intelligence on Beta Pictoris C/2 (or wherever) than at least on my death bed, I will have the knowledge that my own generation was trying (yes, at times, very trying) I find them disappointing too. I guess the straight answer is they're a result of the lack of investment in high power launcher technology. The most powerful rocket ever built, Saturn V, was abandoned in favour of the disappointing shuttle project. As a result we haven't got any launchers with enough oomph to send a probe direct to its target and instead have to put up with these long, roundabout trajectories. Even a Saturn V wouldn't have the energy to get Messenger directly to Mercury. Maybe not, but then that was 1960s technology. Presumably there would have been some advancement over the ensuing 35 years Ian |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Space Calendar - May 28, 2004 | Ron | Astronomy Misc | 0 | May 28th 04 04:03 PM |
Space Calendar - April 30, 2004 | Ron | Astronomy Misc | 0 | April 30th 04 03:55 PM |
Moon and Mars expeditions vs. RLV development | vthokie | Policy | 62 | March 30th 04 04:51 AM |
NASA's year of sorrow, recovery, progress and success | Jacques van Oene | Space Shuttle | 0 | December 31st 03 07:28 PM |
Unofficial Space Shuttle Launch Guide | Steven S. Pietrobon | Space Shuttle | 0 | September 12th 03 01:37 AM |