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what would a broadcast from the moon in 2006 be like? (1 Viewer)

Joe S.

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Not to play politics here, but if we can't get people in New Orleans food or water within 5 days of a hurricane, you'd have to be a damn brave astronaut to step into a vehicle slingshotting you to Mars and back ;) Robots are good, let's stick with robots (and maybe monkeys) for now.
 

Mark Giles

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I did something similar a few years back to my girlfiend who was in her car next to mine. I knew there was a delay (maybe a second at most) so when I talked, I did my best ventriloquist rendition and spoke without my lips moving. Then about two seconds later, I would mouth the same words without speaking them. You should have seen how confused she was.
I just kept telling her......It must be the delay!
 

Jack Briggs

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No one here has mentioned the obvious: The U.S. is planning to return astronauts to the Moon by anywhere from the year 2016 to no later than 2020. The project is part of the "Vision for Space Exploration" announced at the beginning of 2004.

The manned lunar aspect is called Project Orion (with Orion being the basic spacecraft, basically a much-larger version of Apollo), and it will be launched in two parts: the manned vehicle aboard the Ares I launch vehicle (made of a five-segment solid-rocket motor, topped by the J-2X-powered second stage); the lunar lander ("Lunar Surface Access Module") and the upper stage required for translunar injection will be lofted into Earth orbit aboard the Ares V launch vehicle (again, derived from Space Shuttle parts, but huge, as in comparable to the mighty Saturn V).

All this is part of the program, with the Space Shuttle being retired in 2010.

And what will television broadcasts from the lunar surface look like? NASA hasn't begun thinking about that yet, but high-definition broadcasts from the lunar surface would be entirely possible -- and entirely likely.

Stay tuned. All this is on the way. The seventh manned lunar landing could be as soon as ten years from now.
 

ChristopherDAC

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Let me be clear : I am very much in favour of manned space effort. With that in mind, I think that this NASA plan is idiotic. Like most of their "efforts" since the end of the Apollo era, it accomplishes absolutely nothing. The current International Space Station is smaller than Skylab and has very limited prospects ; the "reusable" Space Shuttle is mostly not reusable (making its cost per launch very high), has an atrocious safety record, and is going to be retired with nothing to replace it ; and more one-shot Moon missions contribute absolutely nothing to a permanent manned presence in space — exactly like a scaled-up Apollo. As you may be able to tell, this issue makes me angry. It's now forty-five years since Gagarin went up, and virtually everything which has been accomplished in space was done in the first fifteen.
 

Jack Briggs

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The International Space Station, just half-built, already is larger than Skylab (which Mir was, as well, at the time it was deorbited).

The Space Shuttle orbiter as well as its solid rocket motors form the "reusable" portion of the vehicle, meaning it is mostly reusable. But it is hopelessly complex, which is why it must be retired.

As for the Vision for Space Exploration, Orion is not another "one-shot" lunar effort; it is intended to lay the groundwork for an eventual lunar base. And it is the experience gained from lunar exploration that is intended to lead to the further goals of the coming program: exploration of Mars and other locations in the Solar System.

All this is on the record. We are paying for what promises to be the future we have always longed for.
 

ChristopherDAC

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Government is always promising something and then not delivering anything. Too much of what has been done in space has been in the nature of publicity stunts, intended to convince the public that something was being done, and the remainder has been pretty much ignored. I'm convinced that that future is within our grasp, but I'm also pretty much convinced that until the people — the people of the world, not just the US — really demand it, get out and start pushing for it, we won't get it. Call me a pessimist, but the trend in business and politics these days is towards zero-sum games, dividing up what already exists, rather than creating something new, and the existing power structures don't welcome developments which would tend to "rock the boat". The opening up of the Solar System would definitely be one of those! :)
 

Jack Briggs

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Christopher:

Skylab was the Apollo Applications Program; it was never about lunar bases or follow-on lunar flights. It was, simply, a space station contrived from the S-4B stage of the Saturn V. It was not even called Skylab until very late in the program.

In terms of habitable volume, the ISS, again, already is larger than Skylab.

As for your final statement, all I can say is that the VSE continues to enjoy the support of Congress. With the 110th Congress, that will remain unchanged -- though oversight by the government will be more pronounced.

Look, you have to understand how the Vision came about: after a thorough reassessment of the U.S. manned space program in the wake of the loss of Columbia in 2003. Something had to change, and the end of the Space Shuttle program and the beginning of the new Vision for Space Exploration was the result.

Please, read about all of this before making pronouncements one way or the other.
 

Joe S.

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I hope you are right Jack, but I'm not holding my breath. If I could describe the USA's stance towards science in the last 6 years, "adventurous" and "brave" or even "friendly" probably wouldn't make the cut.

Maybe we could convince the politicians that there are huge oil fields in Alpha Centauri (or green skin feminoids with big boobs), that might get the ball rolling.
 

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