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US Should Use Trampolines To Get Astronauts To the ISS Suggests Russian Official
Hugh Pickens DOT Com (2995471) writes "The Washington Post reports that Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has lashed out again, this time at newly announced US ban on high-tech exports to Russia suggesting that 'after analyzing the sanctions against our space industry, I propose the US delivers its astronauts to the ISS with a trampoline.' Rogozin does actually have a point, although his threats carry much less weight than he may hope. Russia is due to get a $457.9 million payment for its services soon and few believe that Russia would actually give it up. Plus, as Jeffrey Kluger noted at Time Magazine, Russia may not want to push the United States into the hands of SpaceX and Orbital Sciences, two private American companies that hope to be able to send passengers to the station soon. SpaceX and Orbital Sciences have already made successful unmanned resupply runs to the ISS and both are also working on upgrading their cargo vehicles to carry people. SpaceX is currently in the lead and expects to launch US astronauts, employed by SpaceX itself, into orbit by 2016. NASA is building its own heavy-lift rocket for carrying astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit, but it won't be ready for anything but test flights until after 2020. 'That schedule, of course, could be accelerated considerably if Washington gave NASA the green light and the cash,' says Kluger. 'America's manned space program went from a standing start in 1961 to the surface of the moon in 1969—eight years from Al Shepard to Tranquility Base. The Soviet Union got us moving then. Perhaps Russia will do the same now.'"
Or we could use trampolines to bounce some multi-megaton nuclear warheads onto Moscow. It might eliminate the telltale launch signatures. Thanks!
The ISS is largely symbolic and the "science" is mostly cargo cultish. It's a symbol of a decades-dead ideology. Let the thing die. There's no value in sending people into the the upper atmosphere other than an international dick-waving contest. Sure it's romantic and you have a great view, but so did the Concorde and no one gets upset over that. Time marches on, kill the damn thing and move on.
Actually, it isn't. The USA spent $5 billion - quite openly - to foment a coup d'etat which overthrew the democratically elected government of Ukraine and replaced with an unelected bunch of foaming fascist killers. This was probably intended to provoke the Russians into invading to protect their people. That was never going to work, though; the Russians are famous for chess skill, and they more or less pioneered the art of "maskirovka" - the misleading feint, followed by an unexpected blow elsewhere. They were hardly going to fall into such an obvious bear trap.
What's more, economically and politically it would be very unfavourable for Russia to get involved in Ukraine - let alone invade or take over. Ukraine is a relatively poor nation these days, and Russia would just acquire a lot of headaches and liabilities - not to mention precipitating an extremely dangerous military confrontation with NATO.
The Russians' best course, as I am sure they are aware, is to stand back and watch Obama and his minions play their silly games. Meanwhile, they can sell their oil and gas to China and other Asian nations, and talk quietly to China, Pakistan, Iran and other countries actively threatened by US aggression. And one of these days, they will all stop using the dollar.
I am sure that there are many other solipsists out there.