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#26 2003-12-05 17:43:17

Enyo
Member
From: Pacific Northwest
Registered: 2003-10-21
Posts: 36

Re: George Bush Jr planning on kennedy speach - mostly moon,  but as prep for mars

you know, wouldn't it be more in bush's interest to wait until february after all the mars missions have landed to make some grand announcement like this?

The alternative date people have suggested for the announcement is the State of the Union.  Which would be after the landing and operation of the the first of the two rovers.

But it also is near the three anniversaries of the USA's space tragedies, Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia all within a couple of weeks from the State of the Union Address on January 20, 2004.

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#27 2003-12-06 05:47:34

Shaun Barrett
Member
From: Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Registered: 2001-12-28
Posts: 2,843

Re: George Bush Jr planning on kennedy speach - mostly moon,  but as prep for mars

Is it true what I heard this evening, that President Bush has just announced both a Moon-base and humans-to-Mars within the next 15 years?!!!
                                           yikes   ??? 

    Or are they having me on?


The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it Jumping Up and Down.   - Rita Rudner

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#28 2003-12-06 07:33:25

Shaun Barrett
Member
From: Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Registered: 2001-12-28
Posts: 2,843

Re: George Bush Jr planning on kennedy speach - mostly moon,  but as prep for mars

I guess I'll have to apologise and withdraw my last post here because I haven't been able to get any confirmation personally that it's true.
    I'm very sorry if I've raised any hopes unjustifiably but, believe me, nobody could be any more disappointed than I am.

    Two people reported seeing the same news clip, involving Dick Cheney I think, but it must have been a case of inaccurate journalism.
                                              yikes   sad


The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it Jumping Up and Down.   - Rita Rudner

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#29 2003-12-06 10:13:10

Christina
Member
From: UK
Registered: 2002-05-07
Posts: 59

Re: George Bush Jr planning on kennedy speach - mostly moon,  but as prep for mars

I feel that the Powers That Be should be talking of Mars via the Moon. Testing man's ability to live on low gravity planets while still within reach of home in case of emergency.

And I am confident that the technologies developed to solve the problems of living off Earth will have benefits here too. Like non-fossil fuel transport, recycling techniques, etc.


[i]the early bird may get the worm, but it's the second mouse that gets the cheese[/i]

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#30 2003-12-08 14:22:34

Alt2War
Member
Registered: 2003-10-19
Posts: 164

Re: George Bush Jr planning on kennedy speach - mostly moon,  but as prep for mars

I would absolutely love, LOVE to see America, or any human opf any nationality for that matter, go out of low earth orbit again.

I don't see how we can afford it.

The US is in major debt.

We just tacked on what another 200 billion onto the budget?

Where will the money come from to go on this moon adventure?

This administration does not cut budgets.

If we go to the moon, our adventures will be paid for in interest by our grandchildren.

Mothball the ISS.  Cut our bloated military budget.  Otherwise dont make future generations pay for our adventures.

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#31 2003-12-08 14:29:42

clark
Member
Registered: 2001-09-20
Posts: 6,374

Re: George Bush Jr planning on kennedy speach - mostly moon,  but as prep for mars

Tax the future martian colonists...

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#32 2003-12-08 14:56:19

Vir Stellae
Banned
From: Cow Hampshire, USA
Registered: 2003-12-08
Posts: 83

Re: George Bush Jr planning on kennedy speach - mostly moon,  but as prep for mars

Anything would be better than ad nasuem pointless shuttle launches, the Space agency needs a direction.

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#33 2003-12-08 15:02:10

jadeheart
Member
From: barrow ak
Registered: 2003-11-03
Posts: 134

Re: George Bush Jr planning on kennedy speach - mostly moon,  but as prep for mars

If we go to the moon, our adventures will be paid for in interest by our grandchildren.

Mothball the ISS.  Cut our bloated military budget.  Otherwise dont make future generations pay for our adventures.

there is something to be said for fiscal morality.  the only argument i could offer would be that if we embarked on revamping space efforts, we'd better do things to make damned sure our grandchildren will thank us for taking the gamble with THEIR money.

it did bother me to think about what that $87B we sent to iraq could've done in space.  if you believe zubrin's estimates, that would be enough for about 3 mars direct missions.  it's too bad halliburton & bechtel don't have any space operations; then maybe we'd at least see an indirect return on all that money we're shoveling their way.


You can stand on a mountaintop with your mouth open for a very long time before a roast duck flies into it.  -Chinese Proverb

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#34 2003-12-09 02:29:03

RobS
Banned
From: South Bend, IN
Registered: 2002-01-15
Posts: 1,701
Website

Re: George Bush Jr planning on kennedy speach - mostly moon,  but as prep for mars

Actually, $87 billion would have been enough for three Mars Direct PROJECTS, not missions; the missions are $2 billion each. It is sad, but right now the danger Iraq could becoem a terrorist haven requires spending money there. Of course, after spending the money on Iraq, it could STILL be a terrorist haven. . . .

        -- RobS

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#35 2003-12-09 10:12:07

Vir Stellae
Banned
From: Cow Hampshire, USA
Registered: 2003-12-08
Posts: 83

Re: George Bush Jr planning on kennedy speach - mostly moon,  but as prep for mars

"Mothball the ISS.  Cut our bloated military budget."

ISS is garbage, yes.
The military budget is small compared to the porkish social garbage plagueing the government.

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#36 2003-12-09 10:42:18

Gennaro
Member
From: Eta Cassiopeiae (no, Sweden re
Registered: 2003-03-25
Posts: 591

Re: George Bush Jr planning on kennedy speach - mostly moon,  but as prep for mars

It is sad, but right now the danger Iraq could becoem a terrorist haven requires spending money there. Of course, after spending the money on Iraq, it could STILL be a terrorist haven. . . .

It's even more sad considering that Iraq wouldn't have risked becoming a terrorist haven if that enigmatically motivated war hadn't been rushed into in the first place.
Personally, I believe and did so long before 9/11, that raising of the sanctions would have bereft Saddam's tyranny of its ra?son d'etre and supporting a dissident wing within the Baath party would have toppled it.
It was never the originally social progressive Baath party that was an enemy of the United States or the problem. Only Stalin Hussein and his thuggish family.

But that's only my opinion. I could be wrong of course.

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#37 2003-12-09 11:26:14

wgc
Banned
From: Michigan
Registered: 2003-12-09
Posts: 110
Website

Re: George Bush Jr planning on kennedy speach - mostly moon,  but as prep for mars

"Mothball the ISS.  Cut our bloated military budget."

Isn't that how we got into this mess in the first place, Skylab was garbage don't save it, the apollo program is unsustainable so abandon it.  (although , I think in apollo's case, Political infighting had alot to play, it was Kennedy's program)

The original concept for ISS was good, it was all the revisions that made it unuseable, there may be things we can do to make it somewhat useable in a new interplanetary strategy. At least in terms of long duration micro-gravity research, and earth observation. Maybe some moneies could be transferred out of the earth observation program.

Lets not start abadoning anything until we're sure we get something in return.

As for the military budget, you have to be careful what you cut, but I am sure there are some pork barrel cold war era programs that could be cut.


portal.holo-spot.net

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#38 2003-12-09 14:14:52

Rxke
Member
From: Belgium
Registered: 2003-11-03
Posts: 3,669

Re: George Bush Jr planning on kennedy speach - mostly moon,  but as prep for mars

I, as an European, always feel rather uncomfortable with this 'ISS-scrapping' talk... A lot of hardware has been built cooperatively, science racks, the soon-to-be used ATV, and of course our little Colombus-lab. Same with the Japanese. A lot of hardware is waiting to be launched at Florida, today, ISS still has a future, i think. Don't abandon it mid-construction.

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#39 2003-12-09 14:49:40

Vir Stellae
Banned
From: Cow Hampshire, USA
Registered: 2003-12-08
Posts: 83

Re: George Bush Jr planning on kennedy speach - mostly moon,  but as prep for mars

Sorry, but The ISS is just one in a string of international collaborations that have gone bad, I am forever sour to them. Everyone wants the other person to foot the bill and at the same time wants to preside over it.

Competition is what got us on the moon, and  space Technology. Collaboration got us a 500% overbudget and operationally scaled down Space Station, and the Useless Nations.

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#40 2003-12-09 14:54:34

clark
Member
Registered: 2001-09-20
Posts: 6,374

Re: George Bush Jr planning on kennedy speach - mostly moon,  but as prep for mars

Competetion ostenibly gave us the drive to go to the moon, but it was cooperation with other nations that got us there.

America didn't get to the moon by itself.

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