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30 Years Since Last Man on the Moon
Honeydipper Dan writes "December 14 marks the 30th anniversary of the last man on the Moon . I haven't noticed any hoopla about this. Perhaps this event raises the subtext of why we haven't been back a little more than the first Moon landing's 30th anniversary did over 3 years ago. The Apollo 17 mission was a great success, however, and deserves to be remembered. It marked the first (and last) time a geologist was on the surface of the Moon. Meanwhile, NASA is commemorating the Wright brothers' flight of December 17, 1903, getting ready for next year's Centennial of Flight."
The private market will more or less take over the moon, and NASA isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
finally NASA cancelled Apollo 18 and 19 on 2 September 1970 because of congressional cuts in FY 1971 NASA appropriations.
While I won't argue the historical facts, all I want to point out is this:
That was right around the time of the height of 'Nam. Our money was NEEDED elsewhere.
I'm not a prophet or a stone-age man,
I'm just a mortal with potential of a super man.
Who said it?
Your mom, but it was punctuated with a bunch of Huhhhs and not a few Oooohs
I've got it on tape (audio, not video, I'm no exhibitionist) if you want a copy.
Writers imply. Readers infer.
The ISS can't build a fucking moon rocket. Have you read ANYTHING lately? The three people up there can barely keep the place running, and what little time they have is eaten up watching ratarded science experiments because some retard scientist in Penn State wants to know how fast lima-beans grow in zero-g.
Good thing we're leting the Chinese take a shot at it so they can establish nuclear pre-emptive missive bases for the benefit of all mankind :D
You need a FREE iPod Nano
Men on the Moon? What the hell are you talking about? Anything to do with the Moon is a load of nonsense, since it has nothing to do with k3wl 1nt3rn3t stuff, junk bonds, strip malls and of course the pervasive War on Terror.
... but what good is it all for all the billions that are lavished upon the program in general?
What is the return on the investment?
Why are hundreds of millions of dollars spent to make a spacecraft that cannot be fixed if it breaks millions of miles away?
Do Americans believe in equipment that doesn't break?
Businesses measure and enforce productivity, and government agencies are being increasingly pressured into doing the same ... so why can't these same considerations apply to NASA?
... there's no reason to assume that science is a cost and not an investment.
And if it's an investment, there ought to be a measure of its performance.
... which will be Chinese or Indian, or course -- not American.
Sarcasm aside, the Lunar missions are one (now defunct) aspect of the American Empire. That time has passed, and for whatever internal reasoning in the other nations, it is now up those other nations to actually pursue space policies. The American Empire has now turned inward in order to eat its own belly, and the only outward appearances will be general emigration and military actions.
American space missions were visionary but only served a transitory function in the evolution of the Empire. They couldn't continue no matter what value they returned to it. The problem lies in the definition of "value"; once enough billions were spent to prove the USA was the land of bigger penises that that of the Soviet landmass, the entire thing became obsolete.
At this point, I have a great many questions for Mr. Joe A. American. What does NASA actually do, anyways? Sure, we can all see the Shuttle launches, the ISS, placing satellites into orbit, and interplanetary missions
I'm sure there will be the usual blather about "that's not how you think about science", but
I think that that is a good summary of what ill has befallen the American Republic in order to transform it into an Empire. If spending on science is done with an investment mindset or expectation, perhaps we would have solar power satellites, two or more tiers of launch vehicles (at least "maintenance" and "heavy lift" types), and a thriving Cislunar industry.
I look forward to the 30th anniversary of the first solar power satellite
[You have a stable society when some nut guns down a schoolyard and the law doesn't change.]
Remember--not everyone is as wimpy as the Soviets were in '62 I think history has shown us that when it comes to war in Europer, if you aren't Germany or England, a surprise surrender is pretty much your entire offensive strategy.
"It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance." - Thomas Sowell
Yet another imbecile shoveling shit for the TERRORIST LEFT!!! Yes, I'm yelling, because the left is impervious to logic. The useful idiots have become useless morons.
Go give Saddam a blow job. You know you want to.