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Posted By: M31_Andromeda Jun 03, 2003 - 05:24 pm

Have you ever thought it odd that 30 years after the end of the Apollo mission that we haven't left Low Earth Orbit? How oddly our scions will see this period of history, the duldrums following Soyuz, Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. All the leaps of faith and technology that were made to be lost by making a reusable aircraft that orbits so low that atmospheric drag is still a problem. Let's not discuss the International Space Station...what a travesty that became. Hopefully, we will see the nearsightedness of our current space program and develop something worthwile for our species.

Posted By: bookworm17 Jun 04, 2003 - 01:15 am

Hopefully, but until then there is always sci-fi and imagination.

Posted By: Nomad Jun 04, 2003 - 09:34 am

I hope that someday they will boost the Space Station into a high enough orbit so that it does not need constant boosting. But to do that, we need effeicent vehicles to reach it at a low enough cost.

Posted By: Axzazz De`Nyde Jun 24, 2003 - 07:16 am

Well, you know...it's absolutely vital that we spend 40 years studying the effects of weightlessness on astronauts...despite the fact that we came up with dozens of methods of inducing artificial gravity (by spin for instance) decades ago...

And, erm...we have to fill out forms. Forms that take 6-8 weeks...no, decades to process. Despite the fact that we have space age computers. Cuz that doesn't change the fact that it only takes 10 seconds to check yes or no and sign on the dotted line.

We need to find some way to automate the process of leaving a paper sitting in an 'in' basket on a desk for months on end, so that it'll only take a few seconds.

If you look at some of the other topics on the SV board, you'll find links to sites of, and stories about, corporations that are doing more in a few months time than NASA does in a decade. Working spaceplanes, floating rocket launch pad ships, etc. Most of these corps collapse due to lack of revenues. But it's only a matter of time. They've already proven that any two-bit private enterprise can orbit circles around a government bureaucracy. We will get to space again, soon. If not through NASA, then in spite of it.

What we really need is a charismatic leader for NASA... As terrible as it sounds, if Hitler were in charge, we'd have colonized Mars and be sending manned expeditions to the moons of the outer planets by now.

Posted By: Zac Jun 25, 2003 - 04:21 am

North Korea or China need to start a viable manned space program that will give NASA a kick up the butt just like Gagarin did.I checked on the web and China reckon they will send a manned rocket into space late this year-the Shenzhou(Divine Vessel).Lets just hope that George W. sees this as a scientific mission and not a threat to national security-we need another space race,not another cold war.

Posted By: Axzazz De`Nyde Jun 25, 2003 - 05:50 am

That's it. I like that better than the charismatic leader plan. 21st century championship space-race...

Posted By: Nomad Jun 26, 2003 - 07:25 am

Well, that is sorta what the X-prise is the start of. (I know..ended in a preposition)... Give ordinary peoples or corps something to fight for. Now if we want to have the same race between countries...I think it is coming. With China one the forefront of manned space exploration now, we will take heed and do the same. IMHO