Umm, yes, nuclear power HAS been used in space propulsion and will continue to be used as a result of project Prometheus (http://spacescience.nasa.gov/missions/prometheus. htm). Let's see, what have been nuclear mission so far:
--Pioneer --Voyager --Viking --Cassini
All have been quite successful. Even if they did detonate on launch the explosion wouldn't be dangerous. So why don't you do a little bit of reading first before you post responses like an idiot.
Well actually with a nuclear-powered spacecraft the journey to Mars is cut to somewhere like 3-6 months. Even with chemical propulsion it takes no more than 9 months. Certainly not 18 months---that's ridiculous. I even read a report of a different type of nuclear propulsion technology that could get us to Mars in a few weeks---with about 1 week spent of purely braking.
I agree---NASA has no bold vision of conquest of space, and Bush hasn't put forth the initiative. We really need something huge to happen. Something to force the US to react. Something like the commies getting into space later this year, and then setting their sights on the moon (as we all know, by 2010 with men maybe).
It's so sad. 30 years since we've had men on the moon and we haven't gone back. It's disgusting. It makes me sick. And NASA will continue to fund a shitty shuttle replacement and then axe it after it goes a little bit over budget. I used to love NASA but now I think it needs some serious readjustments. Someone should play the apollo series to them, or From the Earth to the Moon, or Apollo 13. Show them what they were like in their glory days. Now they're just wasting money going in circles around our planet. That's not manned spaceflight. Where are the adventures? Where's the excitement? No one gives a damn anymore because NASA doesn't make it interesting.
They should put me in charge. I'd get us back to the moon by the end of the decade and prepare us for Mars by 2015. Just give me the word, Mr. President.
Apple definitely has a monopoly over its hardware implementations, but I am still looking to buy one. I am looking at the 17" Powerbook. For the cost of that PowerBook ($3299) I could buy a used car, a new bike, an IBM thinkpad (I am co-op'ing here so I get a great discount), and an iPod and still have money left over. (estimates: $1,300 for the thinkpad, $400 for the iPod, $250 for the bike, and $1,200 for a used car w/ upgrades)
But damn the OS X is pretty sweet for a unix fan like myself, and I don't really get excited over a new PC laptop. The idea of getting one of the new apples really excites me though. And everyone is so friendly at the Apple store. It's like joining a family! I don't think I'll ever switch totally since the PC does offer lots of power for much cheaper, but the Apple option is pretty swell for laptops. If only they included USB 2.0 in their new powerbook lineup....
I'm confused: isn't the G4 chip capable of delivering 128-bit processing with its "Velocity Engine"? I was shocked to hear when I visited the Apple store that they were using 128-bit processors when the PC world was just starting to hear of 64-bit chips, and I was skeptical that it was true, but the guy at the store assured me. Also Apple seems to confirm: http://www.apple.com/powerbook/processor.html
I want a moon base too, dammit! I am afraid though that the first moon base will be established by people not speaking English. But, if NASA doesn't have the courage to beat them back to the moon, then so be it. We'll have ourselves a red moon.
Man, if they only made me dictator. I'd end the crisis in Iraq by immediately switching us over to a hydrogen infrastructure at WHATEVER the cost, consequently letting that whole primitive area of the world die off. Then I'd focus our energies on conquering the moon. If only the US were an empire and I were its emperor, we'd be back on the moon in less than five years.
I think the X-33 had the most potential. They had already invested $1 billion into it, why not just spend another billion and get the damn thing flying? The VentureStar would have been a damn sexy vehicle! And a single stage to orbit? WOW! It could work. Perhaps they should redesign parts of it to lower weight even more, or maybe design some sort of carbon nanotube housing for the LH2 (as the aluminum (I believe) tanks kept rupturing). Either way, the shuttle can't survive much longer. It's a set of dinosaurs just waiting to die off.
How?? How could an MP3 file itself carry a buffer overflow? Perhaps the decoder (e.g. WinAmp) could be infected, but the file itself? I don't think so. Buffer overflows don't work like that. It's not like I can make a massive Word document and kill MS Word with an infected file..... okay, bad example. The point is that a read-only file shouldn't be able to have the ability to overflow a file since the program reading the file should notice anything odd about it.
I never understood this myself... how can a file that is read-only and is never executed pose a threat to a system? Suppose it were a binary executable that was saved as a.MP3 file. Well, your MP3 player would skip it because it didn't understand the data, and if you double-clicked the MP3 file in Explorer, it would attempt to load it into your MP3 player, which would do just as I said: nothing. So how are they going to propagate worms through MP3 files? I never believed the "viruses spreading through P2P networks via MP3's" claim because it doesn't make any sense. People propagating a huge EXE file called "Windows XP Professional Full.exe", I can understand that. But not MP3's.
I think it'd be a nice project. Someone should just put a webcam into a lander and send it to the moon. We'd only need a couple of million in launch costs....hmmm...
World of Warcraft looks very nice. If only they were using the Doom3 engine...mmmmmm. I never played EQ since I don't have time, but I would look at WOW and perhaps Star Wars Galaxies (only if the latter included a combat mode and the ability to fly to different planets; imagine a massive multiplayer online RPG + space combat in a full virtual universe!).
The ISS is a waste of money, if you ask me. Give that $100 billion to private companies and watch them conquer LEO and the moon. Give me $100 billion and I could take the solar system.
I'm all in agreement with you! I think they should have skipped out on the space station entirely and headed back to the moon.
We're goint to have a red moon in under a decade if we don't get back there first. With $40 billion, private companies could have colonized the moon and Mars and been on their ways out to other planets/solar systems.
Ah...if only they had given ME control over how to direct that money.
Jeez, you guys are so damn pessimistic. You're missing the whole point. Some teams will spend more than $10 million, the prize, to compete in this project. The objective is to find a cheap and easy way to get to space! Such a fantastic goal! And you all keep whining about safety.
Problems on Earth will continue as they indefinitely. If people had been so concerned with domestic problems, Columbus would never have raised the financial support to venture across the great Atlantic. Exploration is inherent in our nature, and as we have clearly seen, funding in scientific endeavors has revealed incredible amounts of knowledge about our universe (I think just the tip of the tip of the iceberg). Throwing more money at problems that can't be solved with more money -- i.e. "many problems on our own earth" that you speak of -- is just that: throwing away money.
I can't believe in this day and age Congress is still trying to cut NASA's budget, after all it's done for us. I think NASA is necessary to pave the way for commercialization of space, and cutting NASA even in the smallest amount will affect our species' future tenfold.
Slashdot Mirror
Umm, yes, nuclear power HAS been used in space propulsion and will continue to be used as a result of project Prometheus (http://spacescience.nasa.gov/missions/prometheus. htm). Let's see, what have been nuclear mission so far:
--Pioneer
--Voyager
--Viking
--Cassini
All have been quite successful. Even if they did detonate on launch the explosion wouldn't be dangerous. So why don't you do a little bit of reading first before you post responses like an idiot.
Shafe
Well actually with a nuclear-powered spacecraft the journey to Mars is cut to somewhere like 3-6 months. Even with chemical propulsion it takes no more than 9 months. Certainly not 18 months---that's ridiculous. I even read a report of a different type of nuclear propulsion technology that could get us to Mars in a few weeks---with about 1 week spent of purely braking.
On to Mars!!!
I agree---NASA has no bold vision of conquest of space, and Bush hasn't put forth the initiative. We really need something huge to happen. Something to force the US to react. Something like the commies getting into space later this year, and then setting their sights on the moon (as we all know, by 2010 with men maybe).
It's so sad. 30 years since we've had men on the moon and we haven't gone back. It's disgusting. It makes me sick. And NASA will continue to fund a shitty shuttle replacement and then axe it after it goes a little bit over budget. I used to love NASA but now I think it needs some serious readjustments. Someone should play the apollo series to them, or From the Earth to the Moon, or Apollo 13. Show them what they were like in their glory days. Now they're just wasting money going in circles around our planet. That's not manned spaceflight. Where are the adventures? Where's the excitement? No one gives a damn anymore because NASA doesn't make it interesting.
They should put me in charge. I'd get us back to the moon by the end of the decade and prepare us for Mars by 2015. Just give me the word, Mr. President.
Apple definitely has a monopoly over its hardware implementations, but I am still looking to buy one. I am looking at the 17" Powerbook. For the cost of that PowerBook ($3299) I could buy a used car, a new bike, an IBM thinkpad (I am co-op'ing here so I get a great discount), and an iPod and still have money left over. (estimates: $1,300 for the thinkpad, $400 for the iPod, $250 for the bike, and $1,200 for a used car w/ upgrades)
But damn the OS X is pretty sweet for a unix fan like myself, and I don't really get excited over a new PC laptop. The idea of getting one of the new apples really excites me though. And everyone is so friendly at the Apple store. It's like joining a family! I don't think I'll ever switch totally since the PC does offer lots of power for much cheaper, but the Apple option is pretty swell for laptops. If only they included USB 2.0 in their new powerbook lineup....
Mike
I'm confused: isn't the G4 chip capable of delivering 128-bit processing with its "Velocity Engine"? I was shocked to hear when I visited the Apple store that they were using 128-bit processors when the PC world was just starting to hear of 64-bit chips, and I was skeptical that it was true, but the guy at the store assured me. Also Apple seems to confirm: http://www.apple.com/powerbook/processor.html
What's the deal?
All I want to know is will it take advantage of HDTV? TV screens are such low resolution!!!
Mike
I want a moon base too, dammit! I am afraid though that the first moon base will be established by people not speaking English. But, if NASA doesn't have the courage to beat them back to the moon, then so be it. We'll have ourselves a red moon.
Man, if they only made me dictator. I'd end the crisis in Iraq by immediately switching us over to a hydrogen infrastructure at WHATEVER the cost, consequently letting that whole primitive area of the world die off. Then I'd focus our energies on conquering the moon. If only the US were an empire and I were its emperor, we'd be back on the moon in less than five years.
I think the X-33 had the most potential. They had already invested $1 billion into it, why not just spend another billion and get the damn thing flying? The VentureStar would have been a damn sexy vehicle! And a single stage to orbit? WOW! It could work. Perhaps they should redesign parts of it to lower weight even more, or maybe design some sort of carbon nanotube housing for the LH2 (as the aluminum (I believe) tanks kept rupturing). Either way, the shuttle can't survive much longer. It's a set of dinosaurs just waiting to die off.
How?? How could an MP3 file itself carry a buffer overflow? Perhaps the decoder (e.g. WinAmp) could be infected, but the file itself? I don't think so. Buffer overflows don't work like that. It's not like I can make a massive Word document and kill MS Word with an infected file..... okay, bad example. The point is that a read-only file shouldn't be able to have the ability to overflow a file since the program reading the file should notice anything odd about it.
I never understood this myself... how can a file that is read-only and is never executed pose a threat to a system? Suppose it were a binary executable that was saved as a .MP3 file. Well, your MP3 player would skip it because it didn't understand the data, and if you double-clicked the MP3 file in Explorer, it would attempt to load it into your MP3 player, which would do just as I said: nothing. So how are they going to propagate worms through MP3 files? I never believed the "viruses spreading through P2P networks via MP3's" claim because it doesn't make any sense. People propagating a huge EXE file called "Windows XP Professional Full.exe", I can understand that. But not MP3's.
Shafe
I think it'd be a nice project. Someone should just put a webcam into a lander and send it to the moon. We'd only need a couple of million in launch costs....hmmm...
Mike
World of Warcraft looks very nice. If only they were using the Doom3 engine...mmmmmm. I never played EQ since I don't have time, but I would look at WOW and perhaps Star Wars Galaxies (only if the latter included a combat mode and the ability to fly to different planets; imagine a massive multiplayer online RPG + space combat in a full virtual universe!).
The ISS is a waste of money, if you ask me. Give that $100 billion to private companies and watch them conquer LEO and the moon. Give me $100 billion and I could take the solar system.
Mike
I'm all in agreement with you! I think they should have skipped out on the space station entirely and headed back to the moon.
We're goint to have a red moon in under a decade if we don't get back there first. With $40 billion, private companies could have colonized the moon and Mars and been on their ways out to other planets/solar systems.
Ah...if only they had given ME control over how to direct that money.
Mike
Jeez, you guys are so damn pessimistic. You're missing the whole point. Some teams will spend more than $10 million, the prize, to compete in this project. The objective is to find a cheap and easy way to get to space! Such a fantastic goal! And you all keep whining about safety.
Grow some balls.
When we return to the moon in a few years, the first thing we'll do is point our cameras at the remnants of the Eagle on the lunar surface.
And then we'll proceed to make billions from harvesting energy on the lunar surface and sending it back to Earth.
Mike
Problems on Earth will continue as they indefinitely. If people had been so concerned with domestic problems, Columbus would never have raised the financial support to venture across the great Atlantic. Exploration is inherent in our nature, and as we have clearly seen, funding in scientific endeavors has revealed incredible amounts of knowledge about our universe (I think just the tip of the tip of the iceberg). Throwing more money at problems that can't be solved with more money -- i.e. "many problems on our own earth" that you speak of -- is just that: throwing away money.
I can't believe in this day and age Congress is still trying to cut NASA's budget, after all it's done for us. I think NASA is necessary to pave the way for commercialization of space, and cutting NASA even in the smallest amount will affect our species' future tenfold.