Concerns about gap in space flight

[j. d. worthington]

NASA worries about gap in space flight - Yahoo! News

Title: "NASA worries about gap in space flight"; from AP, by Mike Schneider, datelined Fri., Mar. 30, 2007.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Sometime in 2010, the world's leading space-exploring nation will say goodbye to manned space flight for more than four years. And that has U.S. policymakers worried.

The flight gap will occur because NASA is winding down its space shuttle program near the end of 2010 to move into the next phase of space exploration — the moon and Mars. The next-generation spacecraft, the Orion capsule, won't be ready for manned flight until March 2015.

During those gap years, the United States must rely on the good will of other nations if it wants to send astronauts and cargo to the international space station.

"Who knows what the geopolitics is going to be like in 2015?" asks U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson the Florida Democrat who chairs the Space, Aeronautics and Related Sciences subcommittee. "Is Russia still going to be allied with us? Would they possibly be allied with China at that point?"

Considering the joint Sino-Russian Mars mission, etc., it's a good question....

[pyan]

Well, is this good news or not?

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Space tax takes off after US vote

At the very least, it keeps manned space travel in the public eye.

BTW, I didn't know Richard Branson was the Governer of New Mexico!

[littlemissattitude]

Originally Posted by pyan

BTW, I didn't know Richard Branson was the Governer of New Mexico!

That was rather unfortunate wording, there, wasn't it? Actually, Bill Richardson is the governor of New Mexico. He's running for US president as well.

[j. d. worthington]

But critics of the tax plan say the money could be better spent on existing county problems.

Here's where the public relations people need to get busy -- publicize the benefits to the general community of space programs, and the potential benefits of space tourism... how it can boost the county's economy enormously, provide new jobs, create entirely new niches, new types of jobs, increase local tourism, possibly provide for better medical facilities (if such would be attached to the space port, some sort of program may be able to be worked out where it could also benefit the local communities as well, with some brainstorming)... not to mention the various technologies that will develop because of this, that are almost certain to filter out into the mainstream, improving the quality of life of all around (and, again quite possibly providing jobs in new industries). And the simple fact that an investment -- any investment -- in space is an investment in all our futures.... Again, one of those things I've been mentioning in the other thread as so important: learning how to bang the drum and boost local morale -- not hypocritically, by promising things that simply are pie-in-the-sky, but by actually sitting down and looking at how this can and likely will benefit the community... and then publicizing accordingly!

[pyan]

Are you sure you're j d worthington, and not D D Harriman?

From the link:

But critics of the tax plan say the money could be better spent on existing county problems.

These people - why don't they try to stop people having babies, on the grounds that they use valuable resources, but don't contribute to the economy?

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by pyan

Are you sure you're j d worthington, and not D D Harriman?

From the link:

These people - why don't they try to stop people having babies, on the grounds that they use valuable resources, but don't contribute to the economy?

Now -- surely, Pyan, you know the answer to that one well enough...

Seriously... though that's subject for another thread, this is one of the realities that need to be taken into consideration about public policies: that people will, regardless of circumstances, continue to breed. It's one of (if not the) strongest drive in the species as a whole; and the less mentally/intellectually developed a person is, the less they'll regard circumstances when it comes to such. In fact, put people at extreme risk, and the indications are the instinct for sexual intercourse climbs rapidly... it's that "selfish little DNA molecule" trying to replicate itself under any and all circumstances... the drive to escape extinction both personal and on a species level. But it is a primitive drive, a basic drive, going back to the earliest forms of life, and therefore often overrides the more recently acquired ability to reason more closely, unless the person trains themselves otherwise -- and even then it's chancy, unless backed by an unusually low libido.

But... to once again put this on topic: Take this into consideration. Add to the thoughts on how to build public support by increasing the ways this program can benefit -- better schools and training for their kids, for instance; more technical jobs with better pay; perhaps considering setting up scholarships with part the profits from the business; see about getting support for setting up a museum on space tourism and space in general, to add to the attraction of the locale; a good planetarium to go with the space port... The possibilities in which this could be turned to the community's advantage are only limited by the imaginations of the people involved... and if we have an entrepreneur who has the vision to get a genuine space service rolling, and hire the sorts of people who can contribute to such a venture... then surely they should be able to brainstorm on this aspect to build public support -- and the community is a resource to be both used and replenished, to make a mutually beneficial relationship, dammit! It's the getting out there and getting that message across that's lacking....

[HardScienceFan]

Originally Posted by j. d. worthington

Now -- surely, Pyan, you know the answer to that one well enough...

It's the getting out there and getting that message across that's lacking....

Amen!
Manned mars mission thread,perhaps?thread on the need for space exploration?
Was the Space race fueled by e.g. the Cold War?
I think that the "War on Terror' depletes financial resources,public awareness/interest in exploration is low,b*l***s to that.I think we need space exploration,perhaps even manufacturing in space.I want to see Chesley Bonestell's visions realized