Bush to announce new moon mission

drudge ^ | 12/3/3 | unknown

[LandofLincoln]

Let me guess, my fellow conservatives who seem to be on a slippery slope to the right will not consider this bigger government/bigger taxes. And I am somehow UNPATRIOTIC to even question this quest.

[Howlin]

America needs to quest for goals that are currently unreachable and needs to dream again. Currently we are downtrodden and aimless, we need hope.

Bump to that!

[ambrose]

bump!

[Indie]

I'm waiting for the development of the replicator and transporter. Warp drive would be nice too..

I'm waiting for the Holodeck so I can make love with Minuet.

[Howlin]

Actually look forward? You've got to be kidding! Be daring? You're obviously an provacateur!

Better to stay in the Stone Age. Besides, nowhere in the Constitution does it mention space travel, ya know? :-)

[John H K]

The false premise is that none of those items would exist were it not for the space program.

Also, it supports the idea that the government has to initiate anything economically useful itself, which is patently untrue.

[Moonman62]

America needs to quest for goals that are currently unreachable and needs to dream again.

Well, smaller more efficient government is but a dream, and seems quite unattainable with the current crop of Republicans.

[Prime Choice]

we have to. china is planning on making a trip to the moon. they will build military bases if we're not there.

I think you just hit on the central issue here. Though the superpowers agreed that the moon would forever be demilitarized, China made no such agreement. And as one man said so long ago, "Whoever controls the moon controls the world."

[narby]

The biggest "space spinoff" is never mentioned. It's the training and experience gained by hundreds of thousands of technical workers during the decade from Sputnik till Apollo. Those thousands of people then went on to radically increase the wealth of this country.

I work in the GPS industry, another huge industry that wouldn't be here at all without the space program.

[John H K]

OK, this should be entertaining.

I'd like someone to explain the military usefulness of "controlling the moon." In detail.

[PISANO]

Much BETTER idea than the MEDICARE give away that was just signed into LAW. BIG IDEAS like the FUTURE expansion of our civilisation into the COSMOS is something that has to be done eventually. I for one don't mind my tax dollars going for something like this that has a PAYOFF at the end, rather than the IDOCY of paying for SOME millionaire's drug therapy.

[somemoreequalthanothers]

Are you sure you want to list "weather prediction" as being something successful?

[Moonman62]

Though you may not agree with them, there are valid arguments that can be made from a national security point of view for a vigorous national space program.

The same thing was said in the 1960's. That's why we now have all those military bases in orbit and on the Moon now, and our solidiers are being killed in the Middle East with troglodyte tactics.

[BushCountry]

Insults aside, we still need to dream.

[John H K]

I work in the GPS industry, another huge industry that wouldn't be here at all without the space program.

Depends on what one calls "the space program." The Apollo and Space Shuttle programs had jack squat to do with GPS.

Now, of course, GPS is a "space program" since it requires satellites, but the whole program was part of the military unmanned program. And the launchers for all the satellites are ancient early 60s technology, basically.

[Prime Choice]

I'd like someone to explain the military usefulness of "controlling the moon." In detail.

One side of the moon always faces the Earth. In the event that command centers on Earth were destroyed in a surprise attack, the moon would function as a station of retaliatory strikes against the aggressor. Considering that the Earth makes one revolution every 24 hours, and that the lunar center would have a large advance notice, it could pick and choose its targets at leisure and launch an attack against which no other nation on Earth has a defense.

So, in a nutshell, deterrence.

[narby]

Also, it supports the idea that the government has to initiate anything economically useful itself, which is patently untrue.

There are many things that have such a long payout period, that private enterprise will never touch it. The first government sponsored program along this line was the transcontinental railroad, which made a single nation out of two sea coast cultures. This country wouldn't be the same had we not done that.

That being said, I think there are better ways to get into space without NASA. The loan guarantees of the transcontinental railroad, plus land (previously worthless, being without a railroad) did the trick in the 1870's. Both industry and government made money.

The same should be done again. Offer loan guarantees and land on the moon/mars.

[John H K]

One side of the moon always faces the Earth. In the event that command centers on Earth were destroyed in a surprise attack, the moon would function as a station of retaliatory strikes against the aggressor. Considering that the Earth makes one revolution every 24 hours, and that the lunar center would have a large advance notice, it could pick and choose its targets at leisure and launch an attack against which no other nation on Earth has a defense.

ROFLMAO.

Care to explain how any of the above wouldn't be accomplished even more easily and cheaply from Geosychronous orbit?

BTW, we're signatory to a treaty banning nukes in space.

[My2Cents]

Good point, Howlin! We wouldn't be able to freep at our desktops had it not been for technology spin-offs from the space program.

[My2Cents]

Don't forget "Tang." ;-)

[John H K]

I'm talking about the idea that we wouldn't have nifty ski boots without a government space program to spin them off of.