New Space Race?

kheegster · Post by **kheegster** » 2002-12-02 08:33pm

Some random thoughts...China will probably put a man in orbit by next year, and it is also reported that they have longer term plans to have a manned presence on the Moon as well. If all goes well, will this be a sufficient kick up the ass for NASA and ESA, spark off a 60s style space race? Or does Bush go: "Space? Isn't something on the keyboard?"...

KG

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2002-12-02 08:46pm

I hope so. And I hope this spawns a SUSTAINED space race that continues on till forever.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2002-12-02 09:02pm

What I wonder is how far we would be if the different countries worked together since the beginning of the Space Race as opposed to against each other.

Raptor 597 · Post by **Raptor 597** » 2002-12-02 09:34pm

kojikun wrote:I hope so. And I hope this spawns a SUSTAINED space race that continues on till forever.

We'll rn out of money first.

Sardaukar · Post by **Sardaukar** » 2002-12-02 09:42pm

neoolong wrote:What I wonder is how far we would be if the different countries worked together since the beginning of the Space Race as opposed to against each other.

Probably not as far. The rivalry is what got us this far in the first place.

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2002-12-02 09:45pm

neoolong wrote:What I wonder is how far we would be if the different countries worked together since the beginning of the Space Race as opposed to against each other.

I don't know. Competition is a big motivator.

Crown · Post by **Crown** » 2002-12-02 10:36pm

Well the first question we need to ask ourselves is; does Bush know what a keyboard is? And then; is there oil in space?

Post by **Coyote** » 2002-12-02 11:04pm

Right now our primary objective is to finish the ISS; after that Mars is the next target. And we'll probably reach it by a ship built at the ISS piecemeal. There's not much that can be done with the Moon, really. Well, the rocks make good concrete, I hear.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2002-12-02 11:51pm

I dont think there is enough interest to spawn a new space race. If its gonna mean deficit spending Im not for it either.

Exonerate · Post by **Exonerate** » 2002-12-02 11:52pm

Don't think so... I mean, cmon, like 1/3 of the population doesn't even believe we landed on the moon

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2002-12-03 12:41am

Sardaukar wrote:
neoolong wrote:What I wonder is how far we would be if the different countries worked together since the beginning of the Space Race as opposed to against each other.
Probably not as far. The rivalry is what got us this far in the first place.

I mean if they worked together for a common goal with that goal in mind. I know that competition is a great motivator, but it would have been nice to see how far we could go if the motivation was just to do it because it is there.

Oh, and Exonerate that is why we need Buzz Aldrin to kick some more ass.

Coalition · Post by **Coalition** » 2002-12-03 12:56am

Even more fun, try this:

China lands on the moon, and finds the American flag there. They take it down (videotaped), fold it back up, and arrange to have it delivered back to us.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2002-12-03 01:04am

China lands on the moon, and finds the American flag there. They take it down (videotaped), fold it back up, and arrange to have it delivered back to us.

That would be a pretty jacked up thing to do.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2002-12-03 01:17am

TrailerParkJawa wrote:
China lands on the moon, and finds the American flag there. They take it down (videotaped), fold it back up, and arrange to have it delivered back to us.
That would be a pretty jacked up thing to do.

But hilarious. And it would cause us to amp up our space stuff probably.

Alferd Packer · Post by **Alferd Packer** » 2002-12-03 01:24am

Coalition wrote:Even more fun, try this:

China lands on the moon, and finds the American flag there. They take it down (videotaped), fold it back up, and arrange to have it delivered back to us.

Talk about dropping the glove at our feet.

data_link · Post by **data_link** » 2002-12-03 01:24am

Coalition wrote:Even more fun, try this:

China lands on the moon, and finds the American flag there. They take it down (videotaped), fold it back up, and arrange to have it delivered back to us.

And that still won't convince Americans that we landed on the moon.

Exonerate · Post by **Exonerate** » 2002-12-03 01:34am

Then they'll just say that China is in league with the US for the New World Order™!

Knife · Post by **Knife** » 2002-12-03 03:29am

Coyote wrote:Right now our primary objective is to finish the ISS; after that Mars is the next target. And we'll probably reach it by a ship built at the ISS piecemeal. There's not much that can be done with the Moon, really. Well, the rocks make good concrete, I hear.

A low gravity enviroment that would ease the problems of micro gravity but still make heavy construction such as ships, mining, heavy industry and with no ill effects to the enviroment ( there isn't one). The dirt would be useful as a radiation shield on space stations, ships, and the moonbase itself.

Enlightenment · Post by **Enlightenment** » 2002-12-03 05:24pm

Crown wrote:Well the first question we need to ask ourselves is; does Bush know what a keyboard is? And then; is there oil in space?

The only space Shrubby is familiar with is the one between his ears.

Tell him the Chinese are going to the moon and he'll probably demand that the US make a preemptive strike on the moon before the PRC can get there...

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2002-12-03 06:01pm

Or we could tell him that there's oil on the moon, and those damned "slantey-eyes" are going for it first. That'll give him a kick in the ass.

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2002-12-03 06:06pm

We could simply state how there are no liberals living on the moon.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2002-12-03 06:25pm

Yes! We'll tell him the Chinese are racing for the moon, and he'll order full-scale preemptive strikes on Bejing, to prevent the further destabilization of the stellar arena!

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2002-12-03 08:13pm

"Mr President, we MUST go to the moon! If not for the oil, then to prevent the good moral christian citizens of the moon from being corrupted by the liberal commie pinko atheist chinese!"

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2002-12-05 12:30pm

I'm pretty sure as rockets get less expensive, more countries will land on the moon, and by 2050, it will look like the U.N. buiding up there. Russia might send some people up, China might colocnize it because they're running out of places on earth to put political prisonsers, and, with a faith-powered rocket, the Vatican will send people to the moon, complete with spacesuits that can fit those silly hats of theirs. Then, we'll colonize it, with overpriced hotels, the "Moon Olympics", and all sorts of stuff.

Then, we'll go for Mars, and perhaps terrafrom it in a century or two. Then, after it's lush and full of life, we'll see how long it will take to make it barren again.

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2002-12-05 08:24pm

With my regrets to Tim Allen, we need more power. The current King of American Rockets is the Lockheed Martin Atlas V, with 1 million pounds of thrust. Sounds impressive until you realize the Saturn V had 7.5 million pounds of thrust. Our current fleet of spacecraft can barely handle LEO, let alone handle a flight to the moon. Building in space might work, but hauling all the necessary supplies out of our gravity well would make the ship incredibly expensive for its capabilities. I feel our space program will continue cutting back on manned missions and keep expanding satellite programs to compensate. All this talk about Mars missions will end up just being hot air.