Author Topic: The Official Space Exploration Thread  (Read 230900 times)

Offline DSJ™

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China Puts Man In Space!
« Reply #45 on: October 14, 2003, 10:13 PM »
WOW!   8)

China's space mission lifts off

China finally did it. They have a man in space.  8)
Being a space buff my self this is just awesome. This Taikonaut is to orbit the earth 14 times in the next 24 hrs & return to earth hopefully safely.

Hope the mission goes well for them. As we know, space is a dangerous place to explore.

I just saw some off the launch on the news & that was something to see.  8)
 


Offline Angry Ewok

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Re: China Puts Man In Space!
« Reply #46 on: October 15, 2003, 09:36 AM »
Most people I've talked to about this don't think he'll get back to earth... I don't really have an opinion just yet.

I always new you were a space buff.  :-*

Offline Membraneman

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Re: China Puts Man In Space!
« Reply #47 on: October 15, 2003, 07:19 PM »


I always new you were a space buff.  :-*

Well I always knew Dale was Spaced, out that is... ;D
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Offline jokabofe

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pictures from hubble
« Reply #48 on: November 10, 2003, 12:51 AM »
here's a really cool flash presentation with some pictures from the hubble:

http://wires.news.com.au/special/mm/030811-hubble.htm

really, really cool photos. if you get a chance, check them out

Offline Angry Ewok

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Re: pictures from hubble
« Reply #49 on: November 10, 2003, 10:49 AM »
Very cool. The music was sorta creepy...  :-\


So... Do you guys think life is out there?

Offline Scott

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Re: pictures from hubble
« Reply #50 on: November 10, 2003, 10:56 AM »
The statistics pretty much say there has to be...

And I think there is and as I've said before I hope I am alive to se the day that "Contact" is made

I love the Hubble, some great, great stuff!

Thanks for the link Dave!

Offline Dressel Rebel

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Re: pictures from hubble
« Reply #51 on: November 11, 2003, 02:47 AM »


And I think there is and as I've said before I hope I am alive to se the day that "Contact" is made


lol

As long as it's not the kind of contact the aliens made in Independence Day!

 :-X
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Offline Scott

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Manned Mission To Mars, Moon
« Reply #52 on: January 8, 2004, 09:42 PM »
Bush to Announce Missions to Mars, Moon

Quote
WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) will announce plans next week to send Americans to Mars and establish a permanent human presence on the moon, senior administration officials said Thursday night.

Bush won't propose sending Americans to Mars anytime soon; rather, he envisions preparing for the mission more than a decade from now, one official said.


In addition to a returning trip to the moon for the first time since December 1972, the president also wants to build a permanent space station there.


Three senior officials said Bush wants to aggressively reinvigorate the space program, which has been demoralized by a series of setbacks, including the space shuttle disaster last February that killed seven astronauts.


The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bush's announcement would come in the middle of next week.


Bush has been expected to propose a bold new space mission in an effort to rally Americans around a unifying theme as he campaigns for re-election.


Many insiders had speculated he might set forth goals at the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' famed flight last month in North Carolina. Instead, he said only that America would continue to lead the world in aviation.


Earlier, White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters traveling with Bush in Florida that the president would make an announcement about space next week, but he declined to give details.


House Science Committee spokeswoman Heidi Tringe said lawmakers on the panel "haven't been briefed on the specifics" but expected an announcement.


Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Texas, a member of the House Science Committee, said he welcomed the move because he has tried to get the president more interested in space exploration.


"I had the feeling the last 2 1/2 years people would rather make a trip to the grocery store than a trip to the moon because of the economy," Hall said. "As things are turning around, we need to stay in touch with space" and the science spinoffs it provides.


This week, NASA (news - web sites) landed a six-wheeled robot on Mars to study the planet. However, the Spirit rover is stuck because the air bags that cushioned its landing are obstructing its movement.


Asked Wednesday whether the success of the Mars rovers could lead to a human mission to Mars, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said, "The rovers are a precursor mission — kind of an advance team — to figuring out what the conditions are on the planet, and once we figure out how to deal with the human effects, we can then send humans to explore in real time."


While answering questions on the White House Web site, O'Keefe said interplanetary exploration depends on "what we learn and whether we can develop the power and ... propulsion capabilities necessary to get there faster and stay longer and potentially support humans in doing so."


No one, least of all members of Congress, knows how NASA would pay for lunar camps or Mars expeditions. The last time a president pushed such ambitious ideas — the first President Bush on the 20th anniversary of the first manned moon landing — the estimated price tag was $400 billion to $500 billion.


The moon is just three days away while Mars is at least six months away, and the lunar surface therefore could be a safe place to shake out Martian equipment. Observatories also could be built on the moon, and mining camps could be set up to gather helium-3 for conversion into fuel for use back on Earth.


House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, among others, has called for an expansion of the U.S. space program, including a return to the moon. The United States put 12 men on the moon between July 1969 and December 1972.

   


An interagency task force led by Vice President ****  Cheney (news - web sites) has been considering options for a space mission since summer.

Former Ohio Sen. John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, has said that before deciding to race off to the moon or Mars, the nation needs to complete the international space station and provide the taxi service to accommodate a full crew of six or seven. The station currently houses two.

At the same time, Glenn has said, NASA could be laying out a long-term plan, setting a loose timetable and investing in the engineering challenges of sending people to Mars. The only sensible reason for going to the moon first, he says, would be to test the technology for a Mars trip.
« Last Edit: January 8, 2004, 09:56 PM by OCB »

Offline Famine

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Re: Manned Mission To Mars, Moon
« Reply #53 on: January 8, 2004, 09:45 PM »
Wow.

See, Bush da man.

Kevin
The picture kept, will remind me...

Offline Scott

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Re: Manned Mission To Mars, Moon
« Reply #54 on: January 8, 2004, 09:53 PM »
Wowza...who are the idiots who are going to pay for this???

This is why an international Space Agency makes sense to me, with promised contributions from all of the countries who want to participate, then everyone can share in on the glory, they could plant 12 flags on Mars and not just the US one

It would be great though if they commit to this...

Offline Scott

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Re: Manned Mission To Mars, Moon
« Reply #55 on: January 8, 2004, 11:02 PM »
I'd also like to point out Carl Sagan was a huge proponent of unmanned flights...

#1 Cheaper
#2 Cheaper
#3 Cheaper
#4 No Risk of Human Life
#5 Cheaper
#6 Cheaper
#7 The same types of things gleemed from manned missions can be done by unmanned
#8 Cheaper
#9 Cheaper
#10 There is no need to do so really until we are ready to make Mars hospitible (Terraformed) which means hundreds of years from now perhaps

This though was during a time when Congress was considering nuking NASA altogether. There is a lot of sense to be made...that guy must have been a genius or something

Offline Ben

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Re: Manned Mission To Mars, Moon
« Reply #56 on: January 9, 2004, 12:41 AM »
This kind of thing would have to be done by many countries. The US alone can't handle it, because we're blowing our money by blowing up sandy rocks. China, Japan, and some other countries that I can't think of now could help. But, I have to applaud Bush for wanting to go back to the Moon. Mars is a little further off, I'm sure, but I'd love to see it happen.
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Offline sp00ky

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Re: Manned Mission To Mars, Moon
« Reply #57 on: January 9, 2004, 09:47 AM »
Bush to Announce Missions to Mars, Moon

Quote
An interagency task force led by Vice President ****  Cheney (news - web sites) has been considering options for a space mission since summer.

I like how the swear filter removed the first name of your Vice-President. :D
« Last Edit: January 9, 2004, 09:48 AM by sp00ky »
The space left intentionally blank.

Offline DSJ™

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Re: Manned Mission To Mars, Moon
« Reply #58 on: January 9, 2004, 10:03 AM »
Wowza...who are the idiots who are going to pay for this???

No bucks, no Buck Rogers  Plan & simple, Taxpayers!

Government Space Budgets To Continue Growth    :o

Offline Scott

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Re: Manned Mission To Mars, Moon
« Reply #59 on: January 9, 2004, 10:04 AM »
I thought we brought back Dick from Swear Purgatory...testing (I copied and pasted this from RS so that might be why it's blanked out)