Space Exploration

[Velo Vol]

Funny you mention biomedical research as a majority of advances in biomedical research in the last 2 decades have come from ISS.

Such as?

 

[Grand Vol]

And we wouldn't even be where we are today as a species without antibiotics. Something that had zero to do with the space program. We are a mutation away from destruction, but you're right, spending billions for a mission 20+ years away is way more important.

Education and biomedical research are way more important than space. I would support learning more about our own planet much more. If NASA wanted to use the money to explore the Earth in more depth, I say go for it.

Yeah, because we need more people getting grants to discover the mating patterns of the western spotted jumping field mouse...that's going to help you in the long run.

Why do you ignore the fact there are tangible benefits to space exploration? And furthermore, how would your life change without said benefits?

 

[BearCat204]

Such as?

Advancements in osteoblast, embryonic development, cardiovascular research, and about a million other things.

 

[orangeluvr]

The return in spin-off technologies alone make the space program worth it. This is to say nothing of the everyday stuff we take for granted that wouldn't be possible.

And the moral high ground discussion about using nazi scientists is warranted, but a little overblown IMO. We can say what we want in 20/20 hindsight but given the circumstances at the time you got to do what you need to. We shook hands and carved up Eastern Europe with a ruthless dictator who was systematically worse than Hitler. Von Braun was a Nazi, but by all accounts and given his post war achievements he never bought into the ideology despite his complacency for reasons we can't fathom unless we were in that situation. Hell, this country was founded on the extermination of American Indians. Who is embarrassed to live here as a result?

It's always easy to say what we "should" do, it's a lot harder to say what we "would" do. Characterizing that as an embarrassment is wrong. Context means a lot in these situations.

Spot on. The allies made a deal with the devil, Stalin was a ruthless murderer.

 

[82_VOL_83]

And we wouldn't even be where we are today as a species without antibiotics. Something that had zero to do with the space program. We are a mutation away from destruction, but you're right, spending billions for a mission 20+ years away is way more important.

Education and biomedical research are way more important than space. I would support learning more about our own planet much more. If NASA wanted to use the money to explore the Earth in more depth, I say go for it.

What does explore the earth in more depth even mean?

 

[BearCat204]

What does explore the earth in more depth even mean?

Journey to the center of the Earth duh

 

[Grand Vol]

Journey to the center of the Earth duh

Before or after Destiny stalls the rotation?

 

[82_VOL_83]

Journey to the center of the Earth duh

Oh yeah, that's where all the dinosaurs went isn't it?

 

[BartW]

Good work from the Onion:

Modernized Space Camp Allows Kids To Simulate Frustration Over Lack Of Funding

but on a more serious, positive note:

$250 Million Increase To NASA’s Budget Next Year

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Yeah, because we need more people getting grants to discover the mating patterns of the western spotted jumping field mouse...that's going to help you in the long run.

Why do you ignore the fact there are tangible benefits to space exploration? And furthermore, how would your life change without said benefits?

Not what I meant at all. I mean exploring the oceans more. Learning more about volcanoes, research about tsunamis, the super caldera in Yellowstone. More research into the honey bee population. Exploring nature more to see if we can find the next penicillin. The list goes on and on.

I don't ignore the fact that space exploration can have benefits but at this point I just believe there are more important things to worry about.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

What does explore the earth in more depth even mean?

So its your assertion that we have explored Earth fully and there is nothing left to learn?

 

[PKT_VOL]

So its your assertion that we have explored Earth fully and there is nothing left to learn?

Learning what else is out there (space/universe) and learning how to live/explore space, is much more important to the human race than the unexplored or under explored on Earth.

 

[82_VOL_83]

So its your assertion that we have explored Earth fully and there is nothing left to learn?

No, it's my assertion that people like you designed the interstate system in Knoxville the first time it was updated. They waited until they needed 4 or 5 lanes and built 3.

 

[Velo Vol]

Learning what else is out there (space/universe) and learning how to live/explore space, is much more important to the human race than the unexplored or under explored on Earth.

I disagree.

We can actually use stuff here on Earth, tomorrow.

We're decades away from any new benefits exploring space.

 

[BartW]

NASA Spinoff
NASA spin-off technologies

 

[CagleMtnVol]

Big News?

Virgin Galactic Signs FAA Deal to Clear Airspace for Suborbital Flights

Virgin Galactic Signs FAA Deal to Clear Airspace for Suborbital Flights

Virgin Galactic, the private space venture bankrolled by billionaire Sir Richard Branson, has signed an agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that spells out how the company will use U.S. airspace during its planned suborbital flights.

Virgin Galactic officials have said they hope to begin commercial flights aboard SpaceShipTwo out of New Mexico's Spaceport America by the end of 2014.

The deal, which was announced Thursday (May 29), outlines how Virgin Galactic will work with the FAA's air traffic control center Albuquerque and the New Mexico Spaceport Authority to safely provide clear airspace for SpaceShipTwo space plane.

The company's CEO George Whitesides said the new agreement brings Virgin Galactic "another step closer" to its goal of starting routine and affordable space launches from Spaceport America.

Virgin Galactic is considered the anchor tenant at Spaceport America and it began paying rent on a 20-year lease to conduct missions from the "Gateway to Space" building at the remote spaceport near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, just west of the White Sands Missile Range.

Galactic officials said they already have agreements in place with Edwards Air Force Base and the FAA's Joshua air traffic control center to cover their test flights in California.

SpaceShipTwo, which can seat two pilots and six passengers, is designed to be carried by a mothership plane called WhiteKnightTwo. Once the linked vehicles reach an altitude of about 50,000 feet (15,000 meters), the spaceship will be released and its rocket engine will kick in, launching it into suborbital space.

Virgin Galactic officials have said their passengers will get to climb out of their seats and experience weightlessness during the flight with a view of the curvature of Earth against the backdrop of black space. So far, several hundred people have purchased seats, which currently cost about $250,000, for Virgin Galactic's future commercial flights. Celebrity ticket-holders include Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ashton Kutcher.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Learning what else is out there (space/universe) and learning how to live/explore space, is much more important to the human race than the unexplored or under explored on Earth.

You cannot be serious. Please explain how exploring space is more important than learning more about our own planet. What makes you think we are even remotely close to making earth uninhabitable?

 

[Grand Vol]

You cannot be serious. Please explain how exploring space is more important than learning more about our own planet. What makes you think we are even remotely close to making earth uninhabitable?

Apparently you missed the asteroid discussion earlier in the thread.

 

[CagleMtnVol]

Wasn't aware that NASA and Virgin had a contract for this stuff.

NASA AND VIRGIN GALACTIC SELECT PAYLOADS FOR FIRST SPACE RESEARCH FLIGHT ON BOARD SPACESHIPTWO

NASA AND VIRGIN GALACTIC SELECT PAYLOADS FOR FIRST SPACE RESEARCH FLIGHT ON BOARD SPACESHIPTWO

12 Payloads Designed by American Universities, Private Companies, and Federal Labs to fly on NASA-Chartered Virgin Galactic Flight

MOJAVE, Calif. – June, 3 2014 – NASA and Virgin Galactic, the privately-funded spaceline owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Abu Dhabi’s aabar Investments PJS, have identified twelve innovative research payloads that will fly to space onboard SpaceShipTwo, Virgin Galactic’s reusable spacecraft. Each of these payloads was selected by NASA through its Flight Opportunities Program to conduct research during the prolonged microgravity environment experienced on board SpaceShipTwo.

This NASA flight will be the first of its kind for Virgin Galactic. SpaceShipTwo is widely known for its pioneering potential for human spaceflight, but another key function will be enabling new research by offering scientists, engineers, and educators a unique research experience in space. SpaceShipTwo adds an important new research platform by providing a safe, affordable, and high-capacity environment (by volume and by weight) that offers several minutes of high quality microgravity and exposure to outer space and the Earth’s upper atmosphere.

The twelve payloads are each designed to deliver important and technically rigorous results to researchers at universities and organizations, spanning a diverse range of topics that include biological monitoring, on-orbit propellant storage, and next-generation air traffic control systems. As required by the Flight Opportunities Program, each payload is an engineering experiment designed to advance a field relevant to NASA’s overall technology roadmap.

“Virgin Galactic is thrilled to be working with NASA and researchers at such a range of prestigious institutions, and we look forward to flying these research payloads into space,” said Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides. “Our vision for Virgin Galactic is to increase access to space, not just for individuals to experience spaceflight, but to advance humanity by driving significant technological advancement and research. We are proud to have NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate as a customer and to be able to facilitate their important work.”

The twelve payloads manifested for testing on the first SpaceShipTwo research flight include:

• Made in Space, Inc., Moffett Field, California, has designed an advanced manufacturing experiment intended to feed the development of future 3D printers customized for use in space.
• The On-Orbit Propellant Storage Stability investigation by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida, continues a microgravity research program to determine stability data for a prototype orbiting fuel depot that could enable future long duration space missions.
• The Electromagnetic Field Measurements payload from John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, will characterize the electromagnetic field environment inside the spacecraft. This payload will serve as an integration platform for scientific research and instrument development while providing insight into interference from the spacecraft.
• The Collisions Into Dust Experiment from the University of Central Florida, Orlando, will fire an impactor into simulated regolith to observe the subsequent behavior of the fine particles ejected in microgravity. The knowledge of this behavior can help in understanding future operations on asteroids or low gravity moons for scientific study or resource collection.
• The Validating Telemetric Imaging Hardware for Crew-Assisted and Crew-Autonomous Biological Imaging project from the University of Florida, Gainesville, will test biological fluorescent imaging instrumentation for suborbital applications. Fluorescent protein-based, gene-expression techniques allow direct observation of how biological entities react to the stresses of spaceflight.
• The Variable Radiator demonstration from Texas A&M University, College Station, will test a modulating fluid-based spacecraft thermal energy rejection solution. Fluids behave differently in microgravity; understanding that behavior is critical to the operation of spacecraft radiators and other systems that transfer fluids.
• A Micro Satellite Attitude Control System from the State University of New York, Buffalo, will test the application of a carpal wrist joint to the momentum management and control of small satellites. Use of the wrist joint to articulate a reaction-control gyroscope should enable precision pointing of a small satellite on multiple axes.
• The Saturated Fluid Pistonless Pump Technology Demonstrator from the University of Colorado, Boulder, is a cryogenic fuel pump system developed by Flometrics, Inc, which can pump fuel without turbo machinery. This potential advancement for in-space and rocket propellant propulsion would reduce the weight, complexity and cost of spacecraft fuel systems.
• The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) transmitter is an experimental payload sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation and based on aviation equipment designed by MITRE Corp. and modified by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida. ADS-B technology will enable integration of suborbital reusable launch vehicles and stratospheric balloons into the FAA’s next-generation air traffic control system.
• Controlled Dynamics, Inc., Huntington Beach, California, has built a Facility for Microgravity Research and Submicroradian Stabilization that is a prototype system using active vibration suppression to increase the quality of microgravity experienced by an attached payload.
• Ames Research Center’s Suborbital Flight Environment Monitor is a suite of sensors designed to measure the flight accelerations and microgravity quality achieved.
• Johnson Space Center’s Microgravity Multi-Phase Flow Experiment for Suborbital Testing will assess the sustained microgravity operation of a two-phase flow system with a passive gas and liquid separator. This technology is applicable to a number of space applications including water purification.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Apparently you missed the asteroid discussion earlier in the thread.

Don't need to see it. The likelihood of the earth getting hit by a major asteroid is extremely low. The odds of Mars getting hit is much greater. Whats the point?

 

[Grand Vol]

Don't need to see it. The likelihood of the earth getting hit by a major asteroid is extremely low. The odds of Mars getting hit is much greater. Whats the point?

Of course not...

Your complete ignorance of the astrophysical world is astounding. I'm not sure if I should even waste more server space trying to justify anything to you.

We'll just chalk you up as a "no" and call it a day.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Of course not...

Your complete ignorance of the astrophysical world is astounding. I'm not sure if I should even waste more server space trying to justify anything to you.

We'll just chalk you up as a "no" and call it a day.

Just chalk me up to a "no until we have the technology and money."

You don't have to justify anything. We have differing opinions that's all. You think exploring space is detrimental to the survival of the human race and something that we should do regardless of the cost.

I feel that money could be used for helping humans on this planet. Like education, biomedical research, feeding the hungry and getting to know our planet. Your opinion deals in the POSSIBILITIES of benefitting mankind. Mine deals with absolutely helping mankind. That's all.

 

[BearCat204]

Just chalk me up to a "no until we have the technology and money."

You don't have to justify anything. We have differing opinions that's all. You think exploring space is detrimental to the survival of the human race and something that we should do regardless of the cost.

I feel that money could be used for helping humans on this planet. Like education, biomedical research, feeding the hungry and getting to know our planet. Your opinion deals in the POSSIBILITIES of benefitting mankind. Mine deals with absolutely helping mankind. That's all.

Perhaps you should look up "detrimental" again............

 

[Grand Vol]

Just chalk me up to a "no until we have the technology and money."

You don't have to justify anything. We have differing opinions that's all. You think exploring space is detrimental to the survival of the human race and something that we should do regardless of the cost.

I feel that money could be used for helping humans on this planet. Like education, biomedical research, feeding the hungry and getting to know our planet. Your opinion deals in the POSSIBILITIES of benefitting mankind. Mine deals with absolutely helping mankind. That's all.

You obviously have missed everything that has been said so far. Or more likely ignore it. There are more than enough examples of items that have been developed from space travel technologies that have ABSOLUTELY helped mankind.

Your argument is detrimental to your stance.

 

[Obsessed]

Aliens have done been here and gone.