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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
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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 |
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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
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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 |
#6
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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 |
#7
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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 |
#8
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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) Jack you brits sound as if you've caught the american disease of demanding instant gratification. No doubt you've been spoiled by recent successes. In 1997, when Cassini launched, 2004 seemed like a mighty long time away. But here it is and we're still alive! Space exploration builds on the successes of previous generations. There's always going to be something more down the road. You can't see it all right now. Be grateful for what you've got. rj |
#9
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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) Jack you brits sound as if you've caught the american disease of demanding instant gratification. No doubt you've been spoiled by recent successes. In 1997, when Cassini launched, 2004 seemed like a mighty long time away. But here it is and we're still alive! Space exploration builds on the successes of previous generations. There's always going to be something more down the road. You can't see it all right now. Be grateful for what you've got. rj |
#10
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NASA Sending a MESSENGER to Mercury
"randyj" wrote in message
... "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 you brits sound as if you've caught the american disease of demanding instant gratification. No doubt you've been spoiled by recent successes. In 1997, when Cassini launched, 2004 seemed like a mighty long time away. But here it is and we're still alive! Space exploration builds on the successes of previous generations. There's always going to be something more down the road. You can't see it all right now. Be grateful for what you've got. I don't agree. Patience is a virtue, when patience is required. Give me a reason to wait, and I'll wait contentedly. Tell me to wait just because I have to wait, or because waiting is good, and I'll frustratedly ask "why?" When Cassini launched, 2004 *was* a long way away, it was a far longer wait than it should have been, and I have to add that many people alive in 97 didn't actually make it to 2004 ) I also disagree with your statement that "space exploration builds on the successes of previous generations". There aren't many generations for it to build on; and in its heyday it, like all the great technologies (steam, for instance) rushed ahead with gay abandon forging new territories. They didn't lauch Ranger 1, sit there for 5 years, then lauch Ranger 2. We literally raced to the Moon. It was only *then* that the waiting began. We haven't achieved that much really since the 60s. A few successful probes (and of those, 3 are tiddly little rovers that we're all supposed to be simply thrilled with, Galileo nearly washed out because of antenna failure, and Cassini still has to prove itself- for all we know Huygens may fail, and that's our last hope of landing on Titan before I retire probably. And I'm only 38). Other than that, we've done some good groundwork studying human reactions to extended duration space flight, built a big space plane that keeps blowing up, and a space station nobody can think of a use for. We could have been tramping about on Mars by the 80s. Asking for reasonably fast probes in the 00's is small potatoes by comparison Ian |
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