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Old 02-10-2010, 10:27 AM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,338 posts, read 93,427,408 times
Reputation: 17827

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Quote:
Originally Posted by bluebeard View Post
This is regarding the value of human space flight:
Is Manned Spaceflight Obsolete? - Room for Debate Blog - NYTimes.com
The most exciting events in space/NASA to me since the Apollo era were the Mars robots - not the Space Station or the Shuttle. Seems like we (taxpayers) got the most bang for the buck from the robots. As soon as you man rate something, the costs are significantly higher.

It's also interesting that we (taxpayers) put a man on the moon in nine years, using 1960s technology and we did it successfully five out of six times. For how long as Space Station Alpha/International Space Station been budgeted? Sometimes I find it difficult to believe that we ever put a man on the moon. Think about it - ever notice how difficult it is to get anything done now, on the job, with all the resources and technology at our fingertips? How the heck did they do it? Nine years. It's mind boggling.

Granted, it was a different national philosophy back in the 1960s as it was a "space race", no holds barred, but the US was also fighting a Vietnam War.

Still, I hope the manned missions continue. Good for job security.

Last edited by Charles; 02-10-2010 at 10:50 AM..
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Old 02-10-2010, 11:31 AM
 
8,742 posts, read 12,856,404 times
Reputation: 10524
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles View Post
The most exciting events in space/NASA to me since the Apollo era were the Mars robots - not the Space Station or the Shuttle. Seems like we (taxpayers) got the most bang for the buck from the robots. As soon as you man rate something, the costs are significantly higher.
Oh that is just great. What do we do when we finally encounter an intelligent life form in another galaxy? Send "Rumba" the robot to introduce ourselves?

Personally I don't believe in the current "man-rating" system. Just think, NASA did not insist the Russian to satisfy its man-rating requirements, yet it is perfectly comfortable to send its astronauts to ride this "non-man-rated" rocket to the ISS. To some extent, it's a NASA hypocrisy for self-preservation. I think we can do better.

Quote:
It's also interesting that we (taxpayers) put a man on the moon in nine years, using 1960s technology and we did it successfully five out of six times. For how long as Space Station Alpha/International Space Station been budgeted? Sometimes I find it difficult to believe that we ever put a man on the moon. Think about it - ever notice how difficult it is to get anything done now, on the job, with all the resources and technology at our fingertips? How the heck did they do it? Nine years. It's mind boggling.
I share your frustration. Somehow somewhere along the way we make "processes" too complicated and too expensive. A mission becomes a jobs program, a high tech welfare project.

Quote:
Still, I hope the manned missions continue. Good for job security.
You want job security? Go work at the post office !

If we're good at what we're doing and stay competitive. That's the ultimate job security.

Last edited by HB2HSV; 02-10-2010 at 11:46 AM..
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Old 02-10-2010, 01:17 PM
 
975 posts, read 2,662,896 times
Reputation: 610
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluebeard View Post
This is regarding the value of human space flight:
Is Manned Spaceflight Obsolete? - Room for Debate Blog - NYTimes.com
Robots are the future.
Robotics and Controls next semester.
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Old 02-10-2010, 02:12 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,338 posts, read 93,427,408 times
Reputation: 17827
Quote:
Originally Posted by HB2HSV View Post
What do we do when we finally encounter an intelligent life form in another galaxy?
Try to find a way to kill them.
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Old 02-10-2010, 03:02 PM
 
8,742 posts, read 12,856,404 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles View Post
Try to find a way to kill them.
We will need your expertise then.

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Old 02-10-2010, 03:12 PM
 
Location: Madison, AL
3,297 posts, read 6,225,556 times
Reputation: 2678
Quote:
Originally Posted by HB2HSV View Post
Oh that is just great. What do we do when we finally encounter an intelligent life form in another galaxy? Send "Rumba" the robot to introduce ourselves?
ROTFL!!!!!! I have one that will volunteer! First Rumba to make contact!!
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Old 02-11-2010, 01:26 AM
 
1,134 posts, read 2,853,167 times
Reputation: 490
ROFL

Might as well send Roomba, I mean, its hard to find intelligent life on earth to send; its important to put our best foot forward.
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Old 02-11-2010, 02:20 AM
 
Location: Heart of Dixie
12,441 posts, read 14,754,919 times
Reputation: 28430
Time to end this thread - there's obviously no intelligent life here.
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Old 02-11-2010, 08:15 AM
 
8,742 posts, read 12,856,404 times
Reputation: 10524
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirt Grinder View Post
Time to end this thread - there's obviously no intelligent life here.
This is like when the Russian cosmonaut went to space and said "I've been to space and there's no God there".
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Old 02-13-2010, 11:04 AM
 
Location: In Transition
1,637 posts, read 1,901,765 times
Reputation: 931
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirt Grinder View Post
Time to end this thread - there's obviously no intelligent life here.
Here's some intelligent discussion on sending robots vs humans into space: Launching the Right Stuff (http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/read/essays/nathist/rightstuff - broken link)

In a nutshell, robots are cheaper to explore, but we still need humans in space. Humans react way differently to their surroundings than robots, as shown by Apollo 17 geologist Schmitt making a discovery a robot would have just buzzed right past. Even some of the Mars robot discoveries were quite by accident instead of design.

Also, robotic telepresence is going to be almost impossible on Mars due to the 5 to 20 light-minute distance for comms to work. Therefore, we will have to rely on how perceptive robots are when exploring Mars, and right now, they aren't too perceptive.

So robots are only going to go so far in exploration...
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