I think the/. crowd is looking at the purpose of this satellite in terms of how they themselves would make use it. (games, pron, ping contests...)
I imagine the main reasons for this venture are:
1)Replace old satellite(s) that will be going offline soon. (N-stars?)
2)Backup coverage in case of other non-satellite system failures. (mentioned in article)
3)Increased coverage and throughput over current satellite system. (mentioned in article)
Analogy, it appears that our neighbor is simply replacing his 'everyday car', and we are all talking like he's buying a 'racecar'.:-)
If your end goal is to colonize another celestial body, then I believe it would be more efficient to learn about it's properties, then terraform it through remote methods, and then only afterword to step human feet on it.
1)Look for a good neighborhood.
2)Terraform remotely.
3)Profit!!!
'Spin-offs' are simply multi-use technologies that will help keep the cost down, and further justifiy the spending of even more money toward your goals.
Manned space exploration loss, or is it a gain?
on
10 Technologies MIA
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· Score: 3, Interesting
It seems to me that fewer manned space trips is actually a boon for us technologists.
Sending humans that weren't designed for, or evolved to, going into outer space is inefficient and costly when compared to specific tools that humans have created and are continuing to improve upon.
Let's compare what we could lose against what we could gain. Gone will be photo opportunities, of one man in a space suit, planting a flag on another planet, as seen in the article. Gained will be 'spin-offs', from research and developement efforts, that will come from advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence systems, because remote control over such great (time) distances is simply not feasable.
I don't know about you, but I'd rather be a unsung computer science nerd, than a glorified trained monkey in space.:-)
Do not think that I'm belittling the efforts of those that made significant contributions to our space programs in the past. But, as we gain the capability to explore safer, better, and cheaper, then we also have the responsibility to set aside our old pride (photo of man next to flag) for new pride (photo of man next to robot).
Slashdot Mirror
I think the /. crowd is looking at the purpose of this satellite in terms of how they themselves would make use it. (games, pron, ping contests...)
:-)
I imagine the main reasons for this venture are:
1)Replace old satellite(s) that will be going offline soon. (N-stars?)
2)Backup coverage in case of other non-satellite system failures. (mentioned in article)
3)Increased coverage and throughput over current satellite system. (mentioned in article)
Analogy, it appears that our neighbor is simply replacing his 'everyday car', and we are all talking like he's buying a 'racecar'.
If your end goal is to colonize another celestial body, then I believe it would be more efficient to learn about it's properties, then terraform it through remote methods, and then only afterword to step human feet on it.
1)Look for a good neighborhood.
2)Terraform remotely.
3)Profit!!!
'Spin-offs' are simply multi-use technologies that will help keep the cost down, and further justifiy the spending of even more money toward your goals.
It seems to me that fewer manned space trips is actually a boon for us technologists.
:-)
Sending humans that weren't designed for, or evolved to, going into outer space is inefficient and costly when compared to specific tools that humans have created and are continuing to improve upon.
Let's compare what we could lose against what we could gain. Gone will be photo opportunities, of one man in a space suit, planting a flag on another planet, as seen in the article. Gained will be 'spin-offs', from research and developement efforts, that will come from advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence systems, because remote control over such great (time) distances is simply not feasable.
I don't know about you, but I'd rather be a unsung computer science nerd, than a glorified trained monkey in space.
Do not think that I'm belittling the efforts of those that made significant contributions to our space programs in the past. But, as we gain the capability to explore safer, better, and cheaper, then we also have the responsibility to set aside our old pride (photo of man next to flag) for new pride (photo of man next to robot).
The definition of a majority is 270 (or more) votes out of 538 ballots.
g e
There is a nice summary of the Electoral College in Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Electoral_Colle