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Former astronaut doubts that NASA or SpaceX will make it to Mars with their shiny new rockets
BGR ^ | June 19th, 2018 at 10:52 AM | Mike Wehner

Posted on 06/20/2018 12:51:12 PM PDT by BenLurkin

Chris Hadfield, who flew to the International Space Station as part of the Canadian Space Agency, told Business Insider that making it to Mars is going to take technology that has yet to be conceived. Put simply, he doesn’t believe the new rockets being worked on by NASA, SpaceX, or Blue Origin have much chance of fulfilling their stated goals.

“Personally, I don’t think any of those three rockets is taking people to Mars,” Hadfield said regarding the SpaceX Big Falcon Rocket, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, and NASA’s Space Launch System being constructed by Boeing. “I don’t think those are a practical way to send people to Mars because they’re dangerous and it takes too long.”

“My guess is we will never go to Mars with the engines that exist on any of those three rockets unless we truly have to,” Hadfield added.

None of this is any surprise to the scientists and engineers working on the rockets, of course. Traveling in space is incredibly dangerous, as it always has been, and venturing to a new world for the very first time will carry monumental risks. SpaceX boss Elon Musk has been very public about the dangers that go along with planning a Mars mission, even going so far as to say that the first travelers to Mars have a “good chance” of dying before ever returning to Earth

(Excerpt) Read more at bgr.com ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Business/Economy; Science
KEYWORDS: astronomy; blueorigin; boeing; canada; canadiansowhocares; chrishadfield; elonmusk; falcon9; falconheavy; mars; nasa; newglenn; science; spaceexploration; spacex
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To: BenLurkin

Because Canada is such an authority at inventing technologies that contributed to space travel? The Canadian was just along for the ride!


21 posted on 06/20/2018 1:46:19 PM PDT by grania (President Trump, stop believing the Masters of War!)
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To: grania

No, no, now. Be fair. They invented that arm thingy.


22 posted on 06/20/2018 1:51:10 PM PDT by SpinnerWebb (Winter is coming)
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To: BenLurkin

The first several manned spaceflight are likely to be one way trips. Too many things to go wrong plus months of exposure to cosmic rays will kill you. Not to mention the logistics of shipping enough food and water and other supplies to last close to two years.


23 posted on 06/20/2018 2:18:15 PM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (The ONLY purpose for gun control is so that one group can force its will on a less powerful group.)
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To: GraceG

Rocket fuel is nothing but dead weight until it is burned. You have to accelerate and decelerate all that dead weight.


24 posted on 06/20/2018 2:20:18 PM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (The ONLY purpose for gun control is so that one group can force its will on a less powerful group.)
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To: BenLurkin

Come on, they are going to use the new force called climate change engine power. It never stops, its result is always rising, and it meets the criteria of drawing huge sums of money to support it.


25 posted on 06/20/2018 2:21:39 PM PDT by Mouton (We have met the enemy and it is us if we believe what we hear.)
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To: Magnum44

The two major problems with extended space travel are the effects of radiation and low gravity on the human body. This is what a current NASA employee, former air force colonel told me. That is also why astronauts do not stay on the International Space station for more than a year. They all come back shorter and near sited among other problems.


26 posted on 06/20/2018 2:24:05 PM PDT by woodbutcher1963
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To: BenLurkin

Isn’t it great that today’s astronuts are content to just fly in an orbit and aren’t that interested in pushing the envelope? Guess that’s what happens when you stop recruiting exclusively from combat fighter pilots and test pilots.


27 posted on 06/20/2018 2:25:00 PM PDT by pepsi_junkie (Russians couldnt have done a better job destroying sacred American institutions than Democrats have)
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To: WKUHilltopper

Shoulda been on Mars by the late 70s or early 80s. Instead, NASA dicked off.

...

Nixon cut the funding. From what I’ve read he didn’t like the space program. But in the end I think any president would have had to cut the funding.


28 posted on 06/20/2018 2:29:36 PM PDT by Moonman62 (Give a man a fish and he'll be a Democrat. Teach a man to fish and he'll be a responsible citizen.)
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To: Moonman62

Once we landed on the Moon, the Law of Diminishing Returns set in.


29 posted on 06/20/2018 2:30:51 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: BenLurkin

If the SpaceX BFR makes it to market, it will be a huge money making machine even without a Mars mission.


30 posted on 06/20/2018 2:31:19 PM PDT by Moonman62 (Give a man a fish and he'll be a Democrat. Teach a man to fish and he'll be a responsible citizen.)
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To: Yo-Yo

The SpaceX plan is to refuel the second stage in LEO for the trip to Mars. On Mars the fuel will be manufactured for the return trip.

A Moon base greatly increases costs and the time to attempt a Mars mission, which is why the government likes that plan.


31 posted on 06/20/2018 2:35:24 PM PDT by Moonman62 (Give a man a fish and he'll be a Democrat. Teach a man to fish and he'll be a responsible citizen.)
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To: BenLurkin

We don’t need to go to Mars. We do need to keep the moon from being taken over by a hostile nation.


32 posted on 06/20/2018 2:44:46 PM PDT by skr (May God confound the enemy)
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To: BenLurkin

I don’t understand the idiocy of the Mars question, other than this is a big money grab. You know why there’s no Moon base? It would put an end to space travel budgets, that’s why.

Insofar as humans making - let alone surviving - the trip, I have 2 words:

“Cosmic rays”


33 posted on 06/20/2018 2:48:19 PM PDT by logi_cal869 (-cynicus-)
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To: Blood of Tyrants
Too many things to go wrong plus months of exposure to cosmic rays will kill you. Not to mention the logistics of shipping enough food and water and other supplies to last close to two years.

The orbital mechanics have always been the problem with a return trip to Mars ... even with really fast rockets, you still gotta wait for the planets to re-align for the trip back, so the total mission time is about 2 1-2 years minimum - that's a huge amount of supplies to take.


34 posted on 06/20/2018 2:49:47 PM PDT by canuck_conservative
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To: freedomjusticeruleoflaw

Getting to Mars is 6 times easier from the Moon, not counting any of the other economies of scale that comes from launching from the Moon.


35 posted on 06/20/2018 2:52:51 PM PDT by RinaseaofDs
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To: WKUHilltopper

mars by 1965, saturn by 1970

Motto of Project Orion, killed due to lack of political will, 1964


36 posted on 06/20/2018 3:24:57 PM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now it is your turn ...)
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To: Moonman62
A Moon base greatly increases costs and the time to attempt a Mars mission, which is why the government likes that plan.

I didn't say a Moon base, I said Lunar orbit. Starting a trans-Martian trip from Lunar orbit is less energy intensive than starting from LEO. The trade-off of course is the higher cost in getting construction materials, fuel, and equipment to Lunar Orbit in order to assemble the trans-Martian space craft.

One compromise solution is to assemble the trans-Martian craft in LEO, only give it enough fuel to establish Lunar orbit, refuel from Moon-manufactured fuel, then the make the push to Mars.

37 posted on 06/20/2018 3:29:52 PM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /sarc tag really necessary?)
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To: PIF

Project Orion was magnificent!


38 posted on 06/20/2018 3:40:59 PM PDT by mrsmith (Dumb sluts: Lifeblood of the Media, Backbone of the Democrat/RINO Party!)
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To: BenLurkin

Where’s the Canadian entry? I know they ran into a setback when none of their people could make maple syrup a viable fuel.


39 posted on 06/20/2018 3:59:12 PM PDT by Mastador1 (I'll take a bad dog over a good politician any day!)
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To: woodbutcher1963

They all come back shorter and near sited among other problems.


Don’t know about the near-sightedness, but they come back taller, not shorter. The lower, or lack of, gravity causes the spinal column to decompress, making them taller, at least temporary.

Even Howard was taller when he came back.


40 posted on 06/20/2018 4:01:39 PM PDT by chaosagent (Remember, no matter how you slice it, forbidden fruit still tastes the sweetest!)
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