Posted on 05/19/2005 2:25:51 PM PDT by KevinDavis
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Maverick aerospace designer Burt Rutan kicked off the 24th International Space Development Conference here today with an exuberant, yet pointed presentation chiding NASA and the nation's aerospace industry for not working hard enough to excite the next generation of space explorers and resting on the laurels of past successes and ideas.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
NASA is sooooooooooo boring anymore.
The names Challenger and Columbia lead to believe that space is still pretty serious.
To quote Tremors "all right Burt". I've got friends in LPL here at the U and they've been saying the same thing for years. NASA puts way too much effort into making space travel seem mundaine like a morning commute, it makes space unpopular and uninteresting and makes everyone freak out anytime something goes wrong. They need to hire some TV producers from the Steve Irwin school of TV, make stuff seem dangerous it's better for ratings.
"Hey Harry, you know we're sitting on four million pounds of fuel, one nuclear weapon and a thing that has two hundred thousand moving parts built by the lowest bidder. Makes you feel good doesn't it?"
They, of course, must take care of all those problems, and the related patronage, before getting down to business.
Actually, space is fun. But it's also pretty damned expensive -- especially when there are no credible near-term economic incentives to make it exciting to the money guys.
It's worth noting that the $10 million prize for Burt's sub-orbital triumph covered at most half of the cost for that relatively simple application. Building, and then sending a reusable spacecraft into orbit and landing it again raises the monetary stakes rather significantly.
Perhaps Burt can talk about "fun" when he's spending his own money, rather than Paul Allen's. Until then, he's just trying to raise money.
people turn into red flapjacks while hang-gliding, BASE-jumping, rock-climbing, and conventional skydiving...
these are serious activities.
they yet remain fun.
It will be fun -- just as soon as I get my photon torpedoes.
NASA
Need
Another
Seven
Astronauts
How much more boring and uninspiring can you get than accomplishing nothing more in the last 3o years but going round and round the globe. As Archie Bunker used to say, "Well, whup tee do!"
Get off the dime! Dream big! Do something to inspire. On to Mars!
NASA would face all kinds of flak if they took chances like Rutan does!
Burt just wants to have fu-un...
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