Its a bit ironic to make fun of failed missile tests when we don't even have a space shuttle

[quinnox]

program any longer. Its freakin embarrassing as the supposed world leader that we are so behind now in the space technology and don't seem to care about leading the world in a space program. Its like making fun of the neighbors car when its a piece of crap and having a Pinto parked in your driveway, lets get a little perspective.

[onehandle]

1. For real. nt

[phantom power]

2. comparing ouselves to low standards is our new ethic

We've lost our lead in science and engineering, but we're better than NK!

We fight wars of occupation and torture people, but we're better than Hitler!

We have a crumbling infrastructure and our police and fire departments are underfunded, but we're way better than Somalia!

I suppose eventually we can compare ourselves to the 9th circle of hell if we run out of lower bars.

[quinnox]

5. very well put n/t

[RKP5637]

7. Yep, US just keeps a stock pile of bombs anymore and sees progress as dropping

bombs on other nations and drone hits. The US has sunk so far in my lifetime.

[Starry Messenger]

13. Boom, there it is.

Sadly.

[liberal N proud]

3. It like this, we are so good at this, that we don't need to send rockets into space anymore

We don't need to do anymore exploration or testing, technology doesn't need to advance.

We have it all figured out and have decided the best way to go, is just give the cash to the wealthy and sit back and make fun of those who continue to try to advance.

[snooper2]

4. ROFL ROFL ROFL ROFL

Last edited Fri Apr 13, 2012, 03:03 PM - Edit history (1)

You are SERIESLY comparing our technological capabilities vs. North fucking Korea?



In your analogy-

Here's what we have in our driveway-




And here is what is sitting in theirs-

[quinnox]

9. I'm "seriesly" embarrassed we no longer have a space shuttle program

just like you are "seriesly" not understanding my point.

[newfie11]

15. LOL nt

[joshcryer]

25. Why would you be embarrassed to not have something that killed two crews?

I was embarrassed we kept that program going as long as we did.

[Bake]

39. And in a bit of delicious irony,

What you have sitting in our driveway is German-made.



I agree with the sentiment. But couldn't you have made it a Corvette or something?



Bake

[snooper2]

41. Good point, I fixed it..

[backscatter712]

6. Here's hoping SpaceX's Dragon does well on its upcoming flight.

I'll admit it - I'm a fan of SpaceX - they seem to be doing a lot of things right lately, and they've already flown one Dragon capsule successfully, and did it for a fraction of the cost of the Shuttle.

If they can keep their string of successes going, we'll be flying astronauts in Dragons in a couple short years.

[KamaAina]

10. Did you see Elon Musk on TDS the other night?

Jon Stewart: "So there are four entities that have done this: the United States, China, the Soviet Union -- and Elon Musk."

[sgsmith]

43. Done what?

Put a satellite into space? Wrong then, because the USA, USSR (aka Russia), China, Israel, Australia, South Africa, ESA (England, France, Italy, Germany, et al), Japan, Ukraine, Iran have all launched satellites.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_first_orbital_launches_by_country

Put a human into space? Only USSR (aka Russia), USA and China have provided their own launch capability for humans. Elon Musk is working towards that capability, but hasn't put a breathing person into orbit, much less returned safely.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_space_travel_by_nationality

[KamaAina]

45. Not sure

but I think it had something to do with bringing a payload back to Earth.

[joshcryer]

50. Ahh, yes, I do believe you're correct.

[joshcryer]

47. That was in reference to successful reentry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_entry#Successful_atmospheric_re-entries_from_orbital_velocities

It's still incorrect because the EU, India, and Japan have done it, too. But SpaceX will likely be the first company to do it manned, so yeah.

But Elon Musk likes to append "manned capable vehicle" onto that, putting him in the same basic category as USA, China and Russia.

As he brags, someone could've been in the last Dragon launch and they would've been fine.

[joshcryer]

24. Yep, me too, realized it's April 30th. Annoyed because I took this week off.

Had a bad stomach thing and I don't know if I'll be able to take April 30th off because I used up practically half of my vacation time for the entire year.

[pintobean]

8. We know how to do fail

http://www.meteorologynews.com/2011/03/04/another-global-warming-satellite-crashes-to-earth/

[DFab420]

11. Hahaha wow.. Except for the PRIVATE citizens and businesses that are building

Commercial space flight infrastructure. Using what?? Government funding for one thing...

[Nye Bevan]

12. I, for one, am refraining from making fun of North Korea's epic fail.

I still quiver with fear in the face of that nation's awesome military capabilities.

[yawnmaster]

14. It's not ironic. We've been there, done that. It is fine to mock them. eom

[quinnox]

18. we still have a ton of learning to do regarding space

and abandoning the space shuttle program is like a toddler deciding they no longer need to learn how to walk after taking two steps.

[MisterP]

30. no, it's like a country abandoning a space shuttle program

[nadinbrzezinski]

48. We know all there s to learn?

Wow, no wonder we are in the hole we are.

[yawnmaster]

66. Time to move on beyond the shuttle program. There is still plenty to learn.

and it's still okay to poke at NK's failures.

[Richardo]

16. Just because there's no shuttle program does not mean there is no space program...

Here are approximately 100 current missions:

http://www.nasa.gov/missions/current/index.html

...and 16 launches scheduled for 2012, half of which are from US facilities.
http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html



Do I wish there were a manned program? Absolutely.

But I'm not embarrassed. It's mind-boggling that NASA can get that much off the ground with the paltry budget they get. It's a shitload of hard work.

[joshcryer]

29. Thanks for the links. Yeah, we're ripping it up.

And don't nobody be fooled, these launches are government launches, subsidized by the taxpayer.

[arcane1]

17. I love science but I don't care about leading the world in a space program

As long as someone is doing it, I'm happy

[aquart]

19. We're relieved. It's stress relaxation humor.

A successful missile launch would be a set of problems that no one wants to have with that nutty country.

[Codeine]

20. We don't have a crappy Pinto in the driveway,

we have a series of high-end performance cars from years past that we don't drive anymore. We also have some cars we left in far-off lands after driving them incredible distances, sometimes remotely from the comfort of our own home.

Meanwhile they just crashed a scooter in front of their trailer.

[pintobean]

21. We also left our

golf cart on the moon.

[snooper2]

36. LOL

[wandy]

22. It's not just about a manned space program. It's not just about going back to the moon......

Today you can not touch any high tech device that has not benefited from our space program.
The efficient insulation that allows you're refrigerator to have such thin walls.
The point less ignition in you're car.
Shiny silver thermal blankets.
The computer/monitor you're sitting in front of.
Severe weather alerts.
TANG for gods sake.
Boy! Could I exceed four paragraph here.

Even if we set a goal as silly as Newt's moon colony.

We need to fully get back in the game.

[quinnox]

26. exactly

thanks for this post

[joshcryer]

23. The Space Shuttle was a death trap. Killed two crews.

[quinnox]

27. so we just give up then?

come on, yes its dangerous, and a challenge, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.

[joshcryer]

31. Nope. We'll have manned crew in about 3-4 years tops.

And it'll be more affordable than that deathtrap of the Space Shuttle.

It sucks that we can't have it sooner but blame big MIC for fighting against commercial endeavors.

(And yes, MIC spending was tied directly to the Space Shuttle, it's SRB technology is used for blowing people up and there was a big concern that when Obama canceled the Shuttle that MIC wouldn't be getting subsidized by NASA's need for SRBs anymore.)

[backscatter712]

32. The shuttle's always been a white elephant.

The concept was for a spaceship that could be turned around and reflown like an airliner. It never did do that - it was a ridiculous hangar queen.

It was way too big - the Air Force demanded a payload bay that could deploy their big heavy Keyhole spy satellites. Never did - after the Challenger explosion, the Air Force switched back to expendable launchers and never looked back.

It was ridiculously expensive, and there were too many safety issues (and NASA didn't help by slacking off on the safety every time Congress and the President sneezed at their budget - "We'll launch on time, sirs! No matter what!"

I'm amazed the Shuttle lasted as long as it did.

The future is capsules like Dragon.

I see the Falcon 9 as being something like a Model T - in a good way. The Model T was one of the first cars to get the benefits of mass production, so it was far cheaper than previous cars, accessible to the average guy for the first time, which was why it was so popular.

The Falcon 9 has a lot of new manufacturing techniques put into it that make it far easier and cheaper to manufacture than previous rockets, so costs have the potential to go way down if Elon Musk can get enough orders to do full-scale production.

[joshcryer]

35. I saw its last dozen launches. Would take off from work or stay up until the early morning.

It was a great concept, and if it was utilized to its fullest potential could've changed everything, it was supposed to be a truck to space, it was a cool idea. They never did the requisite upgrades on it (it was still using 80s components for crying out loud!). The engines practically weren't reusable (the rebuild on the engines basically rendered them one shot engines). The tiles were supposed to be bigger but they turned out to be too fragile at a large scale so they had to scale them down. That made the labor go up exponentially for tile replacement (nicked tiles wasn't a new thing and they'd been fervently watching tile behavior throughout the program, it's a shame they couldn't do anything about Colombia). People say they couldn't have launched more than they did because of other factors, the real factor was that it was physically impossible to replace the tiles in enough time to get more launches than they got out of the thing.

Meanwhile, SpaceX is changing everything. Their heat shield (PICA-X) could survive a reentry from Lunar orbit (25k MPH). It is reusable hundreds of times from Earth orbit. They're working on plans to reuse the Falcon 9 vehicle. It's going to change the entire landscape for space exploration and access.

[wandy]

44. The shuttle served it's purpose, a sad purpose but it served.......

It was the indisputable, ultimate high altitude bomber.
Properly equipped it could deliver death anywhere on the planet.

Hopefully we no longer need that.
Hopefully we might find a less 'kludgey' way to obtain space.
Virgin may be on to something here....

Use conventional lift to reach altitudes where gravity is less of a problem.
It worked for the X-15.
And that 'carrier' is not as large as the Airbus A-800

Of course theirs always taking this critter to it's next evolutionary step...

&feature=related

Nothing (that anyone will admit to) has beat it.
And it's almost as old as I am.
Tell me we couldn't do better now.

[joshcryer]

51. Its greatest achievement was Hubble. Bar none.

ISS comes in second, but it still allowed us to do things in space that we couldn't have done without it.

But as people of course point out for the costs to repair Hubble we could've launched 6 Hubbles.

Otherwise the Space Shuttle almost flew empty for most of its life.

[wandy]

58. Considering what one of the shuttles design points was.....

It's probable a good thing that it it flew almost empty for most of it's life.

[joshcryer]

60. Can't disagree with you there. A pure product of the MIC.

Wasn't trying to deflect btw, I just wanted to say that it did, accidentally, serve a useful purpose.

[Typical NYC Lib]

28. Obama's Worst Decision

I'm serious. When China rules the skies, China will rule the earth. hweh knows this country has its problems, but something tells me that's an earth I wouldn't like.

[joshcryer]

38. Detatching NASA from the MIC was the best move he ever made. Shameful that Congress overrode him...

...and so many Congresspeople are indebted to MIC so that we get the Space Launch System:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Launch_System

A truly billion dollar boondoggle that will never fly.

[Mosby]

33. Who are we "so behind...in space technology"

Pretty much nobody.

OP Fail.

[Rex]

34. Wow did that zinger hit it's mark!!!

As can be seen in this thread.

All I got to say is I know people (okay I am related to them) that think it was a great idea to scuttle the space shuttle program - that is God's domain and man was not meant to be up there messing around in HIS garden! I wish that was a joke, but the same people also don't believe a woman should be POTUS...so you can see how depressing it is when I have family functions.

It is not only ironic, but sad in a way. Yet, we (our govt) does it all the time on various topics.

[joshcryer]

37. What zinger?

The OP got schooled in this thread about America's continued dominance in space.

[Rex]

40. Er...no he didn't.

People want to miss his point on purpose, go figure.

[joshcryer]

42. I doubt the OP intended Space Shuttle and the Military Industrial Complex connection be pointed out.

It was just some vacuous point about us "not having a manned program" when in reality the reason we don't have a manned program is because Obama detached NASA in large part from MIC.

An amazing move, and actually a progressive and good move for America.

A move that will very likely strengthen the US's dominance in space technology for decades to come.

There is no "point" that was "missed."

[quinnox]

46. lol, I'm happy with my thread

I got some people who agreed with me and I think they made great points, and as usual I had people who disagreed with me. Par for the course.

There doesn't have to be some kind of "meta" argument over my thread, lol.

[joshcryer]

49. Just looking for truth and honesty.

There's a reason all of the progressive space orgs backed Obama's plans because he put more funding into science and exploration and said let commercial entities do the flying.

What I would like to see is SpaceX going to North Korea and telling them if they need a rocket launch they are the cheapest on the market.

Then I would love to see the right wingers heads explode as SpaceX offers a legitimate commercial service to them and launches whatever thing they want.

[Rex]

52. Okay I like that idea ie SpaceX and NK.

Someone needs to make NK competitive, lord knows their leaders won't.

[Rex]

53. LOL sorry too much H&M.

nt.

[quinnox]

54. heh, I know the feeling

[joshcryer]

55. Sorry, also, I'm touchy on this issue because Obama was bashed with a talking point...

...that we were "giving up manned flight" when he decided to shut down Bush's crappy Constellation program (that would've scuttled the ISS in 2015, no I am not kidding), which gutted science funding to no end. Obama's budget actually increased science funding but Congress overrode him to build a big rocket called the Space Launch System which will cost billions and hurt NASA space science. Hopefully we get a proper congress to end it sooner rather than later because it will never be built (it will need to survive two different administrations which isn't happening, by the late 20 teens when the thing still hasn't launched there will be pressure to "do something else." Heck, by then SpaceX will have orbited the moon if not sent something to Mars!).

[Rex]

56. Scuttle the ISS?!!!

That would be a crime against humanity imo.

[joshcryer]

57. In 2015!

Can you imagine? As it stands now it should operate into the late 2020s. It's been funded until 2020.

Here's another thing to consider, it is the largest man made object in space, and likewise, the second most brightest object in the night sky after the moon (with the exception of short brief Iridium flares).

I highly recommend going out and looking up when the ISS is flying over: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/

It's a really astounding experience, it looks like a star! Flying across the sky. Dizzying my first time.

[Rex]

59. Did not know any of that, thanks!

I will use that second link to find it. This is exciting!

I did not know you could see it in the skies!

[joshcryer]

61. Oh you have to see it! Truly!

Really amazing!

I had a "5 minute" fly over the other night but it was rainy and cloudy.

[Rex]

62. We are supposed to have some crazy weather here this weekend

but I will find it...it is the one object in the sky that I am the most proud of! I've got a pair of really powerful binos and cannot wait to find it.

[joshcryer]

64. Oh you won't need binocs, and it might be moving too fast to see it with binocs!

I use a pair of 20x binocs and they are so zoomed in and it moves so fast that I lose track of it sometimes. It's almost best without binocs or at least some lower power ones or pull the zoom way out and turn the field up.

[johnnie]

63. The Shuttle program went longer than it was meant to go

The program was extended and there was to be no Shuttle program as planned as early as it was started.

[Zax2me]

65. But we HAD one.

They are still playing with bottle rockets.