cool article, interesting quote

OK, who does?

John

Yikes! Today is Wednesday. No point in gassing up the car, I suppose.

What are we learning from the space station?

We've been to the moon and we have a space station. There's no reason to sens men back to the moon, and the station will be abandoned because it's expensive, dangerous, and useless. Put the station "astronauts" in prison cells an they'd be healthier, safer, and just as able to do science.

Take care of business here. I we ever discover new physics that changes the feasibility of space travel, reopen the issue. But chemical rockets won't get us to the stars.

John

In article , John Larkin wrote: [....]

"Never ever ever build a space station"

Unfortunately, it is likely this lesson will be learned just when we actually should make a space station. Its existance may set back the effort to have humans in space for long periods of time.

We already have the physics to make atomic powered craft. It would still be a multigeneration trip to the nearest star though.

We could start by terraforming Earth, for practise.

John

Quite a bit about things we didn't intend to - e.g. how to manage longterm international projects against a backdrop of changing politics and governments ;).

Yes, I agree.

But: as I said, we junked a lot of our space technology after the end of the Apollo era, and it's cost us many times more to redevelop it. The Shuttle hasn't lived up to its promise of a reusable, low-cost orbiter - far from it. We've had to learn these things the hard way. Hopefully we'll use that newfound knowledge wisely in future.

Steve

Oh. _that_ Keith.

'bye.

Me, Too!

Thanks! Rich

Nah. Build a big freighter, go pluck a big chunk of ice out of Saturn's rings, and drop it on Mars. ;-)

Cheers! Rich

But not on the Face! ;-)

Cheers! Rich

and are

worth the effort

the moon.

Hasn't that been pretty thoroughly debunked? Like, there isn't enough carbon on the planet to make enough Kevlar to actually build one?

I like the idea of a big mass driver up the side of Everst or K-2. ;-)

Cheers! Rich

Are you saying that you've met people who think there's such a thing as a "good" government?

What planet do they live on?

Thanks, Rich

Still too stoopid to use a filter, eh, Grease? Knock off the booze and it'll come to you.

Make that several thousand.

Make that 300,000 years old.

Or we could start even smaller by terraforming trolls into fertilizer. ;-)

Unnecessary! They are already fertilizer... all that is required is bagging ;-)

...Jim Thompson

I thought the proper term was "Giving them the sack"? ;-)

LOL I just wanted a response from you.

PS. If I were brain-dead, it's unlikely I could use a computer. Try again. Actually, don't bother.

Errr, ok. (I meant "few" as opposed to "many".)

Depends how one measures it... and when one starts from ;). But ok, I'll concede that one too.

Steve

The US has a good government, as do the UK, Australia, Canada, and most of Europe. We have prosperous economies, stable banking systems, excellent infrastructure, good defense, good education, a good and honest justice system, and low levels of overt corruption. Move to Uganda if you think that's better.

John