I agree. I have never seen a country squander its pre-eminence in any field with this sort of abandon. History will hold responsible those who sold out out all of the programs that made the U.S. space program great.
It is not only pre-eminence in space programs and technology that has been squandered. Economic pre-eminence has been squandered in dirty wars and republican fiancial policies. The country is realistically of the virge of financial collapse. How many more people would be impoverished if the country started taxing up for a new moon shoot?
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"not all those who wander are lost….." j.r.r. tolkien
It is not only pre-eminence in space programs and technology that has been squandered. Economic pre-eminence has been squandered in dirty wars and republican fiancial policies.
Republican? They were bad, but the last three years under the Democrats have eclipsed them.
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Speaking of financial stupidity, what exactly would be the benefit of returning to the moon via the SST or otherwise? Would not those billions be better spent trying to fix the economic and environmental problems right here?
Speaking of financial stupidity, what exactly would be the benefit of returning to the moon via the SST or otherwise? Would not those billions be better spent trying to fix the economic and environmental problems right here?
The money involved stays here, and spurs research and development--it isn't sent to the moon.
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Speaking of financial stupidity, what exactly would be the benefit of returning to the moon via the SST or otherwise? Would not those billions be better spent trying to fix the economic and environmental problems right here?
Is that a serious question?
The billions spent during the Gemini and Apollo (and later programs) advanced our understanding of space, our technology, and fueled the domestic economy. Not only did they help with modern aircraft design, but sensors, fuels, and other crucial (and life-saving) technologies that paved the way for future generations.
The billions spent during the Gemini and Apollo (and later programs) advanced our understanding of space, our technology, and fueled the domestic economy. Not only did they help with modern aircraft design, but sensors, fuels, and other crucial (and life-saving) technologies that paved the way for future generations.
Yep. Although I'm not a big fan of government expenditures, serious space exploration is still only possible when government funded. I believe that private enterprise can now effectively handle a lot of low-orbit and satellite functions.
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"My life is my own."
Mac Pro 5,1 3.2 GHZ Quad Core; MacBook Pro 1,1; iPhone 4
The money involved stays here, and spurs research and development--it isn't sent to the moon.
Very true. That money does provide for some research and development in a few specific fields. It does little to help the economic situation across the nation.
To be clear, I'm not against space exploration. I think one way moon mission for senators, marketing people, and oil execs is a great idea. However, in the face of a faltering global economy and looming environmental disaster, the idea of spending billions for a weekend walkabout on a dusty bit of rock seems somehow misguided.
I can see both sides. But the technology and the means to fix our problems are here. The need is here, the money is as well. However the impetus for those n charge to get what needs to be done isn't there. There is far too much greed and petty infighting for things to effectively get done. Like all great "empires" they all fall. The American rise to prominence was far to quick to be sustainable. Thus its fall will be all the more painful for the world to watch and be effected by as well.
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