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originally posted by: ColoradoTemplar
Been watching live the past hour very cool. I can't wait for the manned mission
originally posted by: lonerpt
originally posted by: ColoradoTemplar
Been watching live the past hour very cool. I can't wait for the manned mission
you could be lucky -- it'd be the first .
originally posted by: wavelength
The Van Allen belt is "deadly", yes, but the trick is not to spend too long in it. The amount of radiation the Apollo astronauts were exposed over the few hours they passed through the belt was less than that of a hospital CT scan. They were lucky there were no radiation bursts during their journey, which would have increased their radiation exposure.
Back then, they were willing to take these risks because of the space race. The drive to be "the first" and "the best" pushed the space program to its limits.
Now, that is all over with, so things have slowed down a great deal. No more "king of the hill" games, so science has taken a step back to try to rely less on luck and more in long-term solutions to get through not only the Van Allen belt, but other sources of cosmic radiation such as that from the sun. That is why they are being more cautious. They want long-term viability and sustainability rather than fast developments and rushed science.