A_Wanderer
ONE love, blood, life
I was just looking over the cuts to the NASA budget (again!) and wanted to know what people think about the long term goals of space exploration, and if the money is being spent properly. Seriously its bloody annoying to see so many billions squandered on overblown millitary projects that just get cancelled and dole bludgers who contribute nothing to anything while NASA gets the runaround from dodgy politicians who have no understanding of the science being done.
I myself think that space is the only option if mankind intends to succeed in the long time, of course we will almost certainly be limited to our own solar system considering the limitations placed upon us by GR (no Star Trek warp drives people, in all probability we will be stuck to slower than light travel which means, we cannot reach for the stars , unless of course faster than light travel was somehow possible in which case it would also encompass time travel backwards which could lead to causality violations and from there on it gets a bit iffy). I do question the allocation of the money though, the faster, cheaper, better motto that essentially excuses having less funds. I want to see more money being poured into alternative propulsion systems, more allocated towards nuclear power in space (prometheus / JIMO is a very promising start) and a lot more money dedicated to theoretical physics research, we really need a larger understanding of the universe so we can understand what is feesible (the only way we can ever exploit the universe is if we comprehend it from the base up). The other interesting project I have eyed over for quite a while is the "space elevator" now that is a brilliant concept, slashing the costs of launching payloads by simply lifting them into space, nowhere near as much wasted energy and the safety margin would increase dramatically. Manned missions would be really great, I could concieve a decade long mission to explore the solar system using a nuclear fusion space ship operating this century.
Exploring our solar system, and answering the fundamental questions of the universe are surely much nobler causes than religous fanaticism or aquisition of wealth, science and technology can bring humanity forward rather than perpetuate ignorance and war that way religion and nationalism have, why the hell is this lost on the people with the power to change it (I know the answer $$$, it just makes me mad to be reminded again and again).
I myself think that space is the only option if mankind intends to succeed in the long time, of course we will almost certainly be limited to our own solar system considering the limitations placed upon us by GR (no Star Trek warp drives people, in all probability we will be stuck to slower than light travel which means, we cannot reach for the stars , unless of course faster than light travel was somehow possible in which case it would also encompass time travel backwards which could lead to causality violations and from there on it gets a bit iffy). I do question the allocation of the money though, the faster, cheaper, better motto that essentially excuses having less funds. I want to see more money being poured into alternative propulsion systems, more allocated towards nuclear power in space (prometheus / JIMO is a very promising start) and a lot more money dedicated to theoretical physics research, we really need a larger understanding of the universe so we can understand what is feesible (the only way we can ever exploit the universe is if we comprehend it from the base up). The other interesting project I have eyed over for quite a while is the "space elevator" now that is a brilliant concept, slashing the costs of launching payloads by simply lifting them into space, nowhere near as much wasted energy and the safety margin would increase dramatically. Manned missions would be really great, I could concieve a decade long mission to explore the solar system using a nuclear fusion space ship operating this century.
Exploring our solar system, and answering the fundamental questions of the universe are surely much nobler causes than religous fanaticism or aquisition of wealth, science and technology can bring humanity forward rather than perpetuate ignorance and war that way religion and nationalism have, why the hell is this lost on the people with the power to change it (I know the answer $$$, it just makes me mad to be reminded again and again).
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