The US Space Program

[Clinton Huxley]

Can't wait for that manned mission to an asteroid and Mars.

What was your end date on the "death clock" again....

[Coito ergo sum]

I've asked for reevaluation based on the new genetic testing. It's too soon to tell definitively.

[laklak]

Watched her from the back yard this AM.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Watched her from the back yard this AM.

I hate you.

[Coito ergo sum]

This is the way the space program ends
This is the way the space program ends
This is the way the space program ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

[klr]

This is the way the space program ends
This is the way the space program ends
This is the way the space program ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

Well, in this case I'd much rather prefer if it ended with a whimper rather than a bang, if you know what I mean.

Watched her from the back yard this AM.

I hate you.

I would hate laklak ever more than you, except for the suppurating rat's rectum business ...

Just started re-reading Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson - Martian colonies in 2026. No chance of that. We're all gonna buy it on this rock.

Great book.

[drl2]

Just started re-reading Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson - Martian colonies in 2026. No chance of that. We're all gonna buy it on this rock.

Great book.

I learned more about geology (or more appropriately 'areology' in this case) from that series of books than I ever did from school science classes. Sadly. I've since more or less forgotten everything I learned from them.

[Coito ergo sum]

This is the way the space program ends
This is the way the space program ends
This is the way the space program ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

Well, in this case I'd much rather prefer if it ended with a whimper rather than a bang, if you know what I mean.

Point taken. It's the whimpering part that caused me to recollect Elliot's Hollow Men poem. Only, maybe the more fitting word for the American space program is that it's ending with a "simper."

[Coito ergo sum]

Column: Is Obama grounding JFK's space legacy?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/fo ... gacy_n.htm

[Warren Dew]

Spaceshiptwo in flight tests:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/05/ ... test=faces

The future of manned space expansion lies with the private sector, not with governments.

[Coito ergo sum]

Can't wait for that manned mission to an asteroid and Mars.

What was your end date on the "death clock" again....

I'm still holding my breath about the asteroid and Mars missions, so I suspect the end date may be moving rapidly closer...

[Coito ergo sum]

Spaceshiptwo in flight tests:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/05/ ... test=faces

The future of manned space expansion lies with the private sector, not with governments.

Low orbit, yes.

But, this is not an either-or proposition. Where profit can be made, we ought to allow private entities to engage in regulated spacefaring. However, there is no reason why non-profitable programs, like....manned Mars missions...can't be spearheaded by government. We will not get a private mission to Mars, or even back to the Moon, until someone can envision getting their money back from the deal, and the chance at a decent return on investment.

[Santa_Claus]

I recall from the documentary Capricorn One that the last manned mission to Mars wasn't such a success.

[Coito ergo sum]

OJ Simpson killed the Mars program.

[Coito ergo sum]

A round-trip journey to an asteroid in a cramped spacecraft would take about six months.

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/25/nasa- ... -asteroid/

In 2025, it will have been 50 years since we last sent a human beyond low earth orbit, and the plan is to send humans into space for over 6 months.

I think that's overreaching, and we ought to get back to the Moon first. But, if this is the plan, then I'll support it 100%. I hope this was serious, and not simply a way to kick the can down the road beyond 2016...