It's time for mankind to break his Earthly bonds. Commercialise space and let NASA die!

Originally posted by XRaDiiX
But Commercializing Space doesn't sound like such a bad Idea. I Agree with your main plee altogether!

Just NASA isn't really to blame here!

I'm not saying NASA is to blame.
What I am saying is that there is too much red tape and pork in the program. Also they are standing in the way of private & commercial advancement for the masses. Remember for all those who state that "we" cant afford this either didn't read or possibly ignored the part where I stated that "We" wouldn't pay for it but individuals and corporations would foot the bill.

I think we should be out there privately making out mark and locating new frontiers however;

who do we rely on to set the standards and regulations? If it becomes a race to control space then there are going to be some damaging concequences resulted from skipping long term safety and environmental concerns.

A simple problem off the top of my head if we decide to mine our resources off-planet.... will the earth be effected by bringing under the atmosphere a larger volume of mass from mined materials? will that slow the spin of the earth? cause unknown pressure on our crust? will skittles fall out of the sky?

Who do we rely on to tell us that what we are doing is safe and sustainable? NASA or GE

reply to post by SLAYER69


Nice lol What if they built that ring all the way around Earth then if Earth got hit by an asteroid we could emigrate to the ring!

reply to post by XRaDiiX


Hey if the Earth is going to get Whacked by a meteor there isn't much that we could not about it anyway.

reply to post by SLAYER69


True yes that is why i agree partially with commercializing space because it gets the wasted spending out of the way. NASA has alot of deals with companies etc.

But when it comes down to it the big picture the military and defense spending is the large elephant in the room and it needs to be cut. Lets let NASA and the Commercial Industry Compete that way NASA might pull up their socks.

The U.S maybe needs to stop playing the super power and going into non-stop wars we need to educate the world.
Education is important so people can be rational and not kill for religion/race related issues. But when it comes down to it Wars for resources probably won't come to an end anytime soon

reply to post by XRaDiiX


All very good points.

I see a very good new thread topic in your future about that scenario.

reply to post by SLAYER69


I know that thread well Slay. You crushed me with that one guy. That's why I said in my first post to this one.
You of all people. Anyways I love all your threads. You should know that.

Originally posted by XRaDiiX
reply to post by SLAYER69

 

But when it comes down to it Wars for resources probably won't come to an end anytime soon

And that would be the biggest hurdle yet. If it were governments in complete control of retrieving extraterrestrial resources, then I could easily see them waging war over it.
I'd say corporations would be much more clever than that and undercut each other in the market rather than destroying each other.

Originally posted by SLAYER69
reply to post by XRaDiiX

 

All very good points.

I see a very good new thread topic in your future about that scenario.

You should author a thread about it!

reply to post by Ihsahn


Thats an extremely good point so much resources in the asteroids! Maybe eventually when we solve our issues here on Earth we can reap the benefits of our solar system!

-----Thread update-----

First Man in Space: A 50-Year-Old Feat Remembered

It was the Soviet Union's own giant leap for mankind, one that would spur a humiliated America to race for the moon. It happened 50 years ago this Tuesday, when an air force pilot named Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space....

Space shuttle's lasting legacy: 30 Years of historic feats

Over the 30 years of its history, the space shuttle has had an indelible impact on America. The United States' spaceship of choice for three decades helped build the largest space station in history, revolutionized science with the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, and inspired generations who dreamed of riding the shuttle into the sky.

Now, the same year NASA's shuttle program reaches its 30th anniversary, its reusable space planes are being retired.

A little tribute video I tossed together last year.

Enjoy

reply to post by SLAYER69


I love the music I'm into Trance music alot thx for the Video It isn't Trance its electronic but nice

I can't wait for the JWST ( James Webb Space Telescope)

OP, here's a very brief lessons of political materialism that I hope you will NEVER forgive: wishful thinking is not a tactic for changing the way things and people are.

No matter how valid your arguments are, there's a powerful corporate conglomerate that's been waging wars for profits, and keeping most tech breakthroughs from happening for decades. Even if they would get to hear your ideas, don't expect them to change their ways.

As far as there is no radical change in our society and especially how it's politics and economy are run, don't even think you'll be in a Star Trek world anytine soon.

reply to post by Echtelion


Thanks for posting your opinion.
Interesting theory.

As some one who actually helped start a commercial space firm, let me just say:

"Commercialize space, Yes! Let NASA die, NO!


Private industry may be great at exploiting, in both good and bad sense, available resources. But only governments can act for the good of their people.

Now, of course, that doesn't mean that any given government will act for the good of its citizens; just that it is supposed to act thusly.



It is important to note that Every Single Technology Currently Employed by EVERY CURRENT Commercial Space Company (including the one I helped found) Is Dependent Upon Technology FIRST Developed or Researched By NASA!


Yes, EVERYONE is still using "old" technology, like chemical rockets (or in my firm's case, lighter than airships), because they work!

And because the NIMBY's, Naysayers and Tea-baggers keep pulling the purse strings on research into more "modern" and/or "exotic" technologies tighter and tighter.


Don't like the way NASA runs things? Look who they've been forced into bed with: the Military!

Think NASA isn't forthcoming enough about you think it knows? Thank the Military mindset NASA has been forced to accept, becuase That's where the bulk of its funding is coming from.


Neither Governments nor Corporations are, in and of themselves, corrupt.

It's the People in the governments and corporations who run the dang things that are corrupt.

It's Us, WE are the source of the corruption.

And until we change, anything we touch will be corrupted along with us.


At least in the vastness of Space, that corruption might just start to dilute into a less toxic strain.


One more reason to speed our progress outward!

Yeah right let's leave space to the same corporations that have wrecked this planet and who are going to suck every last bit of matter out of the known universe that can be turned to cash.

I suggest we start by dumping the nuclear waste on mars and turn the moon into a convenience store.

reply to post by H1ght3chHippie


[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/b3234b67c11d.gif[/atsimg]

Being born in 1983, I didn't get to witness the space race or see how space exploration unfolded. Essentially for my entire life, all I've seen are shuttles that go up and circle the globe for "scientific experimentation". Nonetheless I've always been interested in space and applaude the marvelous achievements made in the early space days. However, I've just never understood how we went from a motivated space exploring culture to just zilch. It's never made sense to me that we stopped the lunar trips and essentially ended manned space exploration. People often cite politics or money, but my question to that has always been why was there no commercialization? Surely there was enough interest in those days so that a well funded company like Virgin Galactic could have started up and lowered the barrier costs through econ of scale.

Basically, it doesn't make sense to me that manned exploration died without a cause and that commercialization never ran it's course. This is why I even give conspiracy theories, such as alien moon presence/secret space program/ etc, a chance. Because that actually makes just as much sense as the mutiple reasons/excuses that are given.

reply to post by Ihsahn


Ishan

As a species we seem to have an insatiable appetite to bleed resources dry in one place and move onto the next. You are a part of this cycle as well, I mean look at the electricity powering the computer you're using to post your responses, the resources used to generate the electricity at a power plant are part of this "appetite." We are all guilty of it, so why not move on to someplace new (Moon anyone?) and start using the resources there? We're getting close to bleeding the Earth dry, so why not move off-world and take the energy burden off our home?

Your argument as I understand it is this. We are exploiters by nature. We have a history of exploiting our environment and we move on. So by this "truth" we need to move on again before we completely use up the planets resources.

My argument in response is that we are NOT exploiters by nature. My argument is that this tendency is within us and is clearly observed in our history as you point out, however we also have examples of when this tendency is overcome. The outcome of yes or no is often controlled by the environment into which we move. Depending upon the severity of that environment it can control whether or not we "give in to " this tendency.

Moving off planet is not like moving to the next valley or over the river. There are no beaver to catch or trees to chop down for protection and construction. In the case of space, the next valley is the moon. And as I suggest earlier, there is nothing there. Nothing. And nothing on Mars either. Minerals for construction? So what? The enormity of the project to get those resources is HHUUGGGEEE. To even get to the moon to exploit those questionable resources means that we need to upgrade the exploitation here first. There is no valley between here and the moon. Nada.

I appreciate your concern for our environment here and your desire to save what is left. However to follow our primitive instincts of moving on is not the answer. We now have an advantage our ancesters did not have. We can learn from their blind adherence to "instinct" and learn sustainability here before moving on again because moving on again is, once again not like moving just over the hill and around the bend. The early tribes of Tigris Euphrates didn't just pick up and move to Alaska. There were thousands of years and many places in between.

Here, I believe, is an excellent book which might present a better representation of my thinking.
" Guns, Germs, and Steel " by Jared Diamond
and if you like my first reply on this thread, might also do this to a degree. It can be found on the second page of the thread, maybe the third.