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NASA Reveals Hundred Year Starship Program

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the lost-in-space dept.

cmansley writes "NASA Ames Director Simon Worden revealed that NASA Ames has 'just started a project with DARPA called the Hundred Year Starship,' with $1 million funding from DARPA and $100K from NASA. Worden said 'Larry [Page] asked me a couple weeks ago how much it would cost to send people one way to Mars and I told him $10 billion, and his response was, "Can you get it down to 1 or 2 billion?"'"

2 of 351 comments (clear)

  1. You have 100 years? by rcastro0 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Turning US$ 2 Billion into US$ 100 Billion in 100 years is no big deal. One just needs a 4% return above inflation. That is trivial for a good asset manager with a long term outlook.

    In fact, make it into the "120 year starship program" and we will have US$ 220 Billion to play (don't you love compound interest rates?).

    --
    Quem a paca cara compra, paca cara pagará.
  2. DARPA never "abandoned" ARPANET. by anUnhandledException · · Score: 5, Informative

    DARPA deals with cutting edge technology. Like the first packet switching network, telepathic spies, and cars that can drive themselves.

    By 1975 ARPANET was no longer cutting edge pure R&D but rather a growing production system. As such control & funding of ARPANET was transfered to the Defense Communication Agency. No matter how massively sucessful ARPANET was (or could have been) DARPA was never going to fund it forever. That isn't how DARPA works. It is a incubator for technology. Those technologies are either abandoned (like telepathic spies) or move on to production systems (like APRANET).

    Similarly today DARPA is doing research into autonomous vehicles. However someday when those vehicles are in production DARPA will move on to other projects.

    I grant you research into telepathic spies wasn't the most productive but is a misnomer to say DARPA abandoned ARPANET.

    ARPANET remained functional until 1990 (although by 1983 the military nodes had broken away to form the isolated MilNET).

    It was the first, and being first, was best,
    but now we lay it down to ever rest.
    Now pause with me a moment, shed some tears.
    For auld lang syne, for love, for years and years
    of faithful service, duty done, I weep.
    Lay down thy packet, now, O friend, and sleep.

      -- Requiem of the ARPANET