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Entire South Korean Space Programme Shuts Down As Sole Astronaut Quits
An anonymous reader writes The entire South Korean space program has been forced to shut down after its only astronaut resigned for personal reasons. Yi So-yeon, 36, became the first Korean in space in 2008 after the engineer was chosen by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) to lead the country's $25m space project. Her resignation begs questions of KARI regarding whether she was the right person to lead the program and whether the huge cost of sending her into space was a waste of taxpayer's money.
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From the very short story it seems like they paid for her to go to space on a Russian rocket. What exactly are they losing here? Can't they just find someone else?
Maybe they should have, I don't know, trained a few other people as well?
...just the manned part.
"Her resignation begs questions of KARI regarding whether she was the right person to lead the program.."
Not at all - 6 years of service, why can't she resign?
Always have a back-up.
"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes" - Winston Churchill
She was afraid of heights!
-- I have monkeys in my pants.
If the whole project was dependant on the body they send in to space then they had bigger problems and they didn't have a space program at all. What they had was a person they put on a russian space ship and then FTA stuck in front of people to say what it was like.
If that is the case and the program was a program of 1 person then why would she have stayed? No development, nothing interesting, no reason to be there.
Give up. Language evolves.
With that being said, it's silly to rely on only one person for your ENTIRE SPACE PROGRAM. That's a lot of stress and, no matter how intelligent, one person cannot conceivably perform all the desired tasks/research/whatever else astronauts do.
The whole trip was a "matter of national pride " and little more than a PR stunt in response to China's space program. She spent 11 days on the ISS on what amounts to space tourism, the average stay for real astronauts is 2-7 months. After returning to earth her job has been little more than to be paraded around and to give speeches.
It's not evolution it's erosion, we are losing the original meaning and gaining nothing.
horror vacui
But if she hasn't had kids she might not be feeling the 'biological timer' effect and wanting to focus on something beyond her career.
6 years is a long time, especially if you feel what you're currently doing isn't going anywhere.
Not much point in frontrunning a space program in which you're the sole member and there's not even a sole spaceship :)
In 2010, she began a new journey at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business to pursue more down-to-earth endeavors in the private sector.
Loosely translated:
Government jobs in Korea are similar to the ones in the West... they're no place for the gifted.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
Apparently she figured out government pay was crap and decided to go back to school (UC Berkeley) and move into the private sector.
Guess that's the problem with a token space program with a single astronaut: There's not really any room for advancement, or an increased paycheck :)
Lots of nations tried different ways of getting into space. Some like the UK and Australia did deals with the USA.
East Germany looked to the Soviet Union.
Long term the only way for a nation to get into space is to do do India did. Fully understand every aspect of the basic science and have your own hardware and software production, then move onto the next easy stage of space technology.
Other space nations will give you a free ride for the press or sell you tech but will not give away their own hard work.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
So, as per your own reasoning, it in fact begs the question since the implicit obvious begged answers are "no, she wasn't the right person" and "yes, it was a taxpayer's money waste".
Q: Why did Albanian airforce not participate in WW2? A: The pilot was sick.
Sounds similar to SK's Space Program issue.
Meanwhile, many other words and phrases over the centuries have lost the original meaning while "gaining nothing" and yet we're all still here!
Language most certainly evolves with no regard to ones opinion.
It's not evolution it's erosion, we are losing the original meaning and gaining nothing.
New words with new nuances, and reusing old worlds with new nuances happens all the time too. English is richer by far than it was 2 centuries ago. We may have gained nothing on this particular transaction, but we're far and away net positive.
Let's not pretend she exactly has much competition among her peers.
First Korean in space?!? One of these stories must be wrong then...
Stifling language innovation in 3..2..1..
In this case language evolves through ignorance. We seek to counter that particular form of "evolution."
Who the hell cares about yet another neurotic type-A test pilot going in circles in a tin can?
That's not science, it's a cargo cult.
"Beg the question" is a commonly misused phrase that you probably confused with the uncommonly used phrase "begs questions".
You are apparently objecting to something that did not even exist except in your own mind.
I suppose if I were not a native English speaker, I could not have a conversation with you because you would be constantly correcting me on idioms I supposedly misused, only to find I simply mistranslated something that you otherwise, if not for your thickheadedness, would have understood just fine.
Mr. or Miss "as if you care", we don't care, and we would be better off without you.
Here's why: Every year "the dictionary", read as various dictionary publishers, routinely add new words that are in common use. Why? To document their usage and meaning.
Here's why also: "The dictionary" commonly adds meanings to words because of the different ways they are used. Encyclopedic dictionaries typically give date ranges for when they were introduced as meaning that.
http://dictionary.reference.co...
According to dictionary.com, "prompt" as you used it above could mean any of 14 different things. How am I, as a simple grammar Nazi, supposed to determine which of 14 different meanings you intended? Maybe I can narrow it down to 5 or so by diagramming your sentence.
Here's an idea: go back in time and tell everyone who uses "beg the question" incorrectly to FOAD before their idiocy becomes popular.
If you can't do that, go back in time to the first instance of you reading some idiot complaining about incorrect usage of "beg the question" and tell that person the fight is already lost because people are too stupid to use words correctly.
If you can't do that, stick a sock in it and let us get back to talking about things.
The headline is entirely misleading. South Korea's space program is NOT shutting down. Just the manned portion, as with her departure they have no more astronauts on staff.
Give up. Language evolves.
While I have made this same argument here on Slashdot numerous times - particularly when, a few years ago, people took umbrage because "hacker" was supplanting "cracker" - in this case you'd first need some supporting evidence that the phrase "begs the question" is actually changing meaning in popular speech.
As far as I can tell, that is not the case - the submitter simply misused the phrase.
#DeleteChrome
Give up. Language evolves.
Sure. But that doesn't mean it should, at least not in every case. In this case, it shouldn't. Fighting back is appropriate.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
And the only questions this situation raises are why did their space program have only one astronaut? Why is an entire nation's space endeavor forced to shut down, because one person resigned?
The anonymous reader's summary raises completely ridiculous issues, such as, "...whether she was the right person to lead the program and whether the huge cost of sending her into space was a waste of taxpayer's money." These are childish accusations which insinuate that the blame should be put on the astronaut, instead of the space program.
The glass is neither half full nor half empty. It is dirty and I don't do dishes!
Very few "figureheads" last 6 years before deciding to try doing something else with their life, like have one.
Give up. Language evolves.
Sure. But that doesn't mean it should, at least not in every case. In this case, it shouldn't. Fighting back is appropriate.
I beg to differ, and I will fight your efforts.
"Beg the question" was a poor choice for the English name for the logical fallacy initially, and the entire issue can be sidestepped by using a self-explanatory term like "presumes the argument".
The modern usage form, meaning "prompts the question", is perfectly cromulent and befits the parsing of the phrase.
Give up the dark side.
Any program that is important should not be exposed to a single point of failure.
It's not evolution it's erosion, we are losing the original meaning and gaining nothing.
If that were true we're still be speaking Sumerian.
Maybe she got pregnant while alone in space. That would make a good TV show premise:
The show could star Halle Barry and Goran Visnjic, set in the not-too-distant future and ...
... Nobody would buy it. Crappy idea.
Nevermind
Shut it, Humpty. You don't get to redefine words as you please to excuse your own dimwittedness.
... and nothing of value was lost.
I feel embiggened.
Maybe they can send up a dog...
Give up. Language evolves.
Yes it does, and asifyoucare is contributing to that evolution.
but we're far and away net positive.
If that were even remotely true, usage of modern collaqialsmisms would be proportional to intelligence (hint: any fool can see that it isn't...).
collaqialsmisms
Colloquialisms?!
Give up. Language evolves.
people evolve, too. they evolve to know the meanings of things. or, they just act like they don't care, and become evolutionary dead ends.
> blame should be put on the astronaut, instead of the space program.
The one astronaut was also the leader of the space program.
"Her resignation begs questions of KARI regarding whether she was the right person to lead the program.."
Not at all - 6 years of service, why can't she resign?
I can't find the quotes, but I recall that 2 years is the typical (forget if average) company loyalty expectation in the USA, while it goes to 5 or 10 in countries like Japan. I even see people get hired only to quit six months later --it is such a waste of time when you're in charge of disabling their accounts that took so long to provision and prepare... must feel the same (or worse) for HR folks
Anyways, in looking for links I found this one - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifetime-employment and also some good points comparing Japan (ok, I know nothing about Korea, but the US is the exception here, rather than the standard)
This one has some nice comparison tables http://maaw.info/ArticleSummaries/ArtSumMartin92.htm
Japan vs US
Loyalty.
J - Loyal to Company. Company first. Individual and family second. Belong, to or married to, a company for a lifetime.
US - Loyal to Self. Individual and family first. Company second. Work for a company to gain experience to obtain a better job elsewhere.
Attitude toward work.
J - Live to work. Self sacrifice. Highly self disciplined. What can I do for the Company? High tolerance for personal discomfort. Decline vacations and sick days. One family service day per week acceptable.
US - Work to live. Self gratification. Little self discipline. What can the company do for me? Low tolerance for personal discomfort. Take all vacation and sick days allowed. Family demands require weekends plus.
Employment.
J - Lifetime. Paternalistic. No layoffs. Promote from within.
US - Revolving door. Workers laid off during economic decline.
Look under Equipment, Union and Loyalty sections. So, again, the issue is that feudalism isn't all that dead. People are loyal. I've seen this myself when compared to people who have lived in the US all their lives. Immigrants come in and stick with one place. Six years isn't excessively long for a career where you won't find an employer at every corner, and basically forces you to migrate elsewhere if you're really just tired of your current boss' implementation of your dream job.
The old slashdot post about Ko San was correct at the time - Ko San was chosen over Yi So-Yeon to be the first South Korean astronaut and was still going at the time the first article on slashdot was posted. However, Ko San was accused of violating their security protocols and revealing secret information twice while training at the cosmonaut training center. This caused him to lose his spot on the Soyuz and Yi So-Yeon went up instead. Ko San left the astronaut program years ago, leaving Yi So-Yeon as the sole remaining trained astronaut.
Ko San Bio, he is an interesting dude.
I could care less ;)
Being against this particular transaction is not the same as being against the evolution of language. As far as I can tell, the new meaning of the phrase "begs the question" is the same as "raises the question," except with the additional nuance that the speaker/writer wants to sound like a person who is well read enough to have encountered the phrase in its original usage but, in fact, is not and has not. Being against that does not make one a grammar nazi or language Luddite.
This reminds me of a video I just seen.... word crimes...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Meanwhile, many other words and phrases over the centuries have lost the original meaning while "gaining nothing" and yet we're all still here!
Yes, by some miracle we are here... But how many disasters have those language changes caused along the way?
- As you are my main commander, I consult you: should we ignite a World War in the current situation?
- I could care less about that idea!
- Aha, so you care a fair amount. Well, roll out the troops!
No, collaqialsmisms. Do you failed reading or somesuch?
It's not evolution it's erosion, we are losing the original meaning and gaining nothing.
If that were true we're still be speaking Sumerian.
I think some of us are..
No, collaqialsmisms. Do you failed reading or somesuch?
no you have failed
Ah, so you reveal which side you're on and thus present to us why you believe your argument is correct: not because it is correct, but simply because it supports the position you've taken.
It kind of does assume a particular answer, she's quit and the ENTIRE PROGRAM HAS SHUT DOWN. So yes we know the outcome of the begged question, really.
For all intensive purposes...
Sth Koreas space program shut down because the Seoul astronaut resigned
And when people say they are hungry enough to eat a horse, they actually would not eat a horse.
Slashdot: providing anti-social weirdos a soapbox, since 1997.
Prescriptivists always lose. Use defines the language. :-(
Sad to say.
Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
Let's assume that English evolves to the point that "begs the question" doesn't automatically label you as logic-deficient. English has evolved, and now it can also mean, "raises the question." Great.
It is still a cliche, not a creative use of English, and labels the user as a person who can't express themselves very well. There's no way around it.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Will someone make a goddamn Gangnam Style joke already?
Fifty-seven comments in and not a single one. I mean, seriously, what do I pay you guys for?
You are welcome on my lawn.
That last one would seem to nail it in a lot of places.
I happen to work at a company where I'm happy and well treated, but it's clear this is not the norm.
A lot of places will happily get rid of someone if they can bring in someone cheaper to do the same job or eliminate/outsource the job entirely. Employee benefits are shrinking, hours are increasing while salaries are decreasing and overtime is evaporating, not to mention the death of the company pension as a common thing.
Loyalty works both ways. Employers are treating employees as disposable, so employees are doing the same with employers. In other words: "you'll ditch me to save 10k a year, I'll ditch you to make 10k more a year".
The one astronaut was also the leader of the space program.
so what? I mean, if the program consisted of anything else than just begging a ride for one person to ISS from Russia/USA/EU then the leader calling it quits would have not had any affect at all.
but if the program consisted just of training her and her using 25 million dollars for a ticket to the ISS then sure, if she calls it quits then the program is at end - and she already went to the ISS so the program was a smashing success.
doing a rocket of their own would need a fair bit more of cash and an actual space program.
Now, the entire South Korean space program it seems consisted of just paying Russia 20 mil to deliver a bio engineer into ISS and back - and she's been in business school for the past 4 years it seems. ...but, why would you even call that a space program? just to piss on north korea?
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
It's actually spelled SEOUL.
It begs that the question be asked.
I can't help but picture NASA calling a press conference just to say "We're looking pretty good now, aren't we?".
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
Look asshole, we have already had this argument. You're using "begging a ride" incorrectly. The way you are using it, you would be better off if you stated "raises a ride." God damn it, the bullshit never ends.....
The whole trip was a "matter of national pride " and little more than a PR stunt in response to China's space program. She spent 11 days on the ISS on what amounts to space tourism, the average stay for real astronauts is 2-7 months. After returning to earth her job has been little more than to be paraded around and to give speeches.
Women and Power... You go gurl !.
And Michele said women are more intelligent than men.
It is the pinnacle of Gangnam Style; the pinnacle of failure on a National Level for the entire population to enjoy on a personal in your face level.
Keen observers will blame Japan for colonizing Korea and Manchuria and by doing so decreased the the mental capacity and health of Koreans and Manchurians for a thousand years to come.
She's 36, married, no children.
Guess that's what "personal reasons" are. The biological clock is ticking.
A $25 Million program depends on a single person not getting in an accident, not having physical (36 is not so young in that aspect) or psycological problems, or (in this case) not getting pregnant and keeping prepared and waiting for a decade between the spaceflights. And then the question is if this person was the right person?
Having a big project depending on a single person is absolutely stupid.
Japan vs US
Loyalty.
J - Loyal to Company. Company first. Individual and family second. Belong, to or married to, a company for a lifetime.
US - Loyal to Self. Individual and family first. Company second. Work for a company to gain experience to obtain a better job elsewhere.
Employment.
J - Lifetime. Paternalistic. No layoffs. Promote from within.
US - Revolving door. Workers laid off during economic decline.
Gee, do you think the two conditions above could possibly be related! In the United States why the hell should anyone put the company first when the company is going to drop them like a hat at the first sign of trouble? Respect is a two way street, and its the corporations that are calling the shots.
Employers want Americans to work like the Japanese like the first two conditions you listed above, but are completely unwilling to give condition number three in return.
Workaholism is also rampant in America despite what you think. There are every so many suckers who think that by sacrificing their lives to the company, the company is going to be there for them in their time of need. They are dead wrong. As soon as they start getting old and begin to run up the health insurance costs as all people eventually will, the company is going to throw them out on the street and then they will lose everything.
So hell yes, after constantly working 50 hour weeks six days per week, I'm going to take all my vacation and sick days allotted per year, and I'm going to bail if I find a better job. I also know they are going drop me if suits them financially as well, so we've got a 2 way street. If you've got a problem with that then go screw yourself.
It couldn't be the people she works with? It sounds like, her problem.
No you don't, I care less!
"Begging the question"? Are people, like, still using that expression? It's, like, so 2000's. Eeeww, grody to the max!!
It's actually spelled SEOUL.
You're the seoul person who cares. But we're both assseouls.
Training astronauts is a long and expensive process.
To get an idea of why quitting at 6 years is way too early take a look at what you need to agree to to be a United States Air Force pilot: 1 year of basic pilot training to start and then you sign a 10 year commitment after.
The claim that the entire space program has shut down belongs only to the anonymous submitter. No reasonable review of Korean space efforts, or the original article, would lead one to conclude that this claim has any merit at all.
Welcome to Slashdot.
I wasn't aware that South Korea was involved in the Iraq debacle (either round). So their space programme might actually be bigger than their Iraq losses.
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
To go against the wishes of your management in Korean culture is one tough thing to do. That lady has got (metaphorical) balls. More so than the large majority of the Koreans I've worked with (in Korea).
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
Using "then" in place of "than" seems to be most frequent misuse I see here and abroad (on the web). Then refers to sequence or timing, than infers comparison but I see an expression of "this is better then that" in almost every thread.
Yes, moderator. We get it, you're fat, and you'd rather mod people down than do something about it, because you're also pathetic. Go choke on a french fry.
--fat guy
P.S. Slashdot: this comment will not improve with age. Let me post the fucking thing already, you twats.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Methinks I agree.
Thanks,
King James