A New Kind of Space Race

Allan_ecker · Post by **Allan_ecker** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 1:23 pm

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/10/0 ... index.html

Yes, that's right, a manned space flight competition.

With real backers. And real chances. And you heard it right, Virgin Airways is going to build Spaceship One-type craft for commercial space flight.

Hang in there, H. Sapiens, we just may get off this rock after all.

Maximuscoolman · Post by **Maximuscoolman** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 2:26 pm

I wonder if I can save up $200,000 by 2007...

Zavion · Post by **Zavion** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 4:32 pm

All dressed up and nowhere to go though. We should get something together to actually visit to with robots or something, before we start sending up commercial flights. That'd be like taking a flight to Wisconsin.

Allan_ecker · Post by **Allan_ecker** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 5:21 pm

Okay, I like to think I didn't post this just so I'd have an excuse to go off on one of my Ad Astra rants, but two legitmate arguments against getting excited over this news article have been presented. Here goes:

Argument 1: This does not make it seriously possible for ordinary folk to go to space.

To this I can only say one thing: ENIAC. Now, this is a logical sinkhole because there is nothing that says the rocketry revolution will be anything at all like the literally exponential progress the computing industry has seen. HOWEVER, early computers had what this new form of space travel has: official approval, and professional interest by a few wealthy people who can afford such oddities. This, I think, is enough, if not to make space flight an everyday occurance for the common man, to bring this world closer to one that regularly makes space flights. Sure, I can't go to space any time soon, but in twenty years when I've had and finished sending kids to college, who knows?

The point here is that someone is now trying seriously to make it happen, not that I can afford it. YET.

Argument 2: There's nothing of interest in space at the moment. Mars and the Moon are both desolate wastelands, and no evidence has yet been presented that any other body in the solar system will be any different.

Au contraire! Space is teeming with opportunities for the savvy businessperson!

Microgravity: Manufacturing in space allows what I can only describe as an ASSLOAD of chemical processes which are otherwise IMPOSSIBLE. Crystals can grow to huge sizes without suffering mechanical stress (which generates flaws), for one thing. Many biomedical applications also exist, making low-earth-orbit (the place this rocket got to) a valid and exciting destination all its own.

Space tourism: the number of people on earth who have seen it from space is very small. All of them say that it is the most incredible experience of a lifetime. If I had a million dollars, I'd gladly fork over a fifth of it to see the blue marble that way. And it won't always cost that much, either.

Lunar resources: Yes, lunar soil is almost exactly like certain kinds of sedimentary rock from certain states I might mention, but it also has a few things earthly rock sure as hell doesn't have: like abundant Helium-3. On most fusion power roadmaps, the first group of economically feasible reactors could run on this stuff, and having an economical supply right next door (astronomically speaking), we'd be fools to ignore it.

Martian opportunities: Sure, there isn't much unique mineral wealth on Mars, but there is a unique wealth of geological information. Any geologist on Earth would give his or her non-dominant arm (or, more likely, some serious grant money) to explore the devilish twists and turns of this planet's geology first hand.

This is me trying to stay "down to earth", forcasting opportunities possible in a few decades. But I do not consider it an exaggeration to say that mankind's destiny involves total dominion over this solar system, and as many beyond as we care to reach. All indications are that we're the only game currently in town, that all the other players have either left or haven't arrived yet. The field is wide open.

ALSO, I've tried to stick mainly to "brick and mortar" benefits of space. To me, the real reason we need to do this is because it's THERE, and because there's so much about our universe going into space (and building a more abundant presence there) can teach us. Picture an earth that has several large space stations, fully manned and capable of manufacturing operations like smelting, forming, etcetera. These stations can construct things fully in orbit from materials not shipped from earth, but found in space. An economy of space-faring humans could allow exploration on a previously unimagined scale; Manned missions to Jupiter, Saturn, and other planets sporting mini-solar systems all their own could teach us how solar systems in general -work-. Space-born telescopes, many times more powerful (and pragmatically designed) than the Hubble could resolve planets orbiting other stars. (This is actually possible provided one uses some tricks of photography.) The improvement of mankind's understanding of the universe (and, through it, mankind's understanding of itself) gained from going to space can NOT be overstated.

Many have asked: "Why go to space before we solve our problems on earth?"

But did we ask: "Why go to sea before we solve our problems on land?"

Zavion · Post by **Zavion** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 9:26 pm

I don't debate the many wonderful things in space. But none of them are really tourist attractions yet. Space is a wonderful place, and I hope we go there for the scientific yields, and maybe later for pleasureable ones, or, hopefully, to visit our 'cousins' in this galaxy, if there is any.

You raise the point of the question about

Many have asked: "Why go to space before we solve our problems on earth?"

But did we ask: "Why go to sea before we solve our problems on land?"

Which is flawed because it assumed that not asking the first question effects the anwser of the second. Just because we did or didn't do something in the past doesn't mean doing a similar but different thing is automatically right or wrong, and you of all people should know that.

Just so you know, I vote we do explore space and our solar system. I vote we even maybe colonize it.

Maximuscoolman · Post by **Maximuscoolman** » Wed Oct 06, 2004 11:46 am

I guess you're right about it coming down in price, I did think about that after I posted. The furthest I have been away from England is to Wales, I guess I'd rather see Earth while I'm on it before I go and look at it from space. But yeah, going into space does sound exciting,

Alfador · Post by **Alfador** » Thu Oct 07, 2004 3:08 pm

I would personally rather see the Earth from space before even leaving my home continent by air or sea. I would say "country" and include "land" but I've already done so in the first case and the second case is only technically possible if you walk across the locks of the Panama Canal. (To my knowledge.) To Canada by land and by sea, is how far I've traveled. Of course, in pure geographic distance, I've also been to the east coast of the U.S.