When you look at the fact that we spent a whopping seven years to get a man on the surface of the moon and compare that to the current time line set by NASA for our return it makes you sick. NASA's Constellation Program has set the new rough date for this countries next lunar touchdown at 2020. This date has been extended a further two years from the 2018 time line that was issued earlier this year. And what magnificent pieces of technology have the masterminds at NASA dreamed up to get our next generation of astronauts to the moon and back? What futuristic vision will lead our men and women into the next stages of exploration do you ask? Well I'll tell you. Virtually none! Now I know that some will say this is not true. That it takes a person of vision to understand their vision. To this I say use your own vision to take a gander at the supposed vision and you will come away with the same impressions I did. Our illustrious space program is going to send the Orion, which consists of a retooled version of the LEM (Lunar Excursion Module), a slightly improved variant of the Command Module, and last but not least a nearly identical model of the re-entry vehicle (capsule). And how are we going to get this equipment into space. A new lift body with SCRAM Jet propulsion and orbital capability? An advanced version of the Space Shuttle that can launch without the heavy boosters then VTOL land on the moon, return home and re-enter the earths atmosphere, landing as it has for the last 20 years? No! We are going to send slightly varied copies of the Booster Rockets that we currently use on the Space Shuttle. They will be designated Aries I and II.
The Russians meanwhile have said they will have a manned mission to Mars by 2020. Let us not forget that the Japanese, European Space Command, the Russians, and the Chinese have all started space programs designed to get an astronaut of their countries respective origin to the moon by 2020 as well. Two questions can't help but be asked here.
1. Did we or did we not already go to the moon?
A. Are we not the only country on the planet to have landed a man on the moon, and shouldn't that small feat give us a small technical edge in
a new race?
B. Is it not reasonable to assume that with the lack of a major jump in current space traveling technology we can choose to believe that we may
not have gone to the moon or at the very least did we only go once before finding something up there that would not let us return until now?
2. Where are the relative advances that we are currently using in the military and civilian aeronautics industry and why are they not being applied
here?
A. Are we expected to believe that we can create a Mach 2 Stealth fighter (F-22) that is so advanced that it can handle our best fighter, the
F-15, at 17 to 1 odds but we can't do any better than a re-tooled replica of the Apollo mission equipment that is nearly 60 years old in its
concepts.
Sputnik was a watershed moment for this planet. It forced us into the stars but we allowed our government to fail us greatly in this effort. The argument that we should keep the money funding this program and others like it here on terra firma is not as important as what this entire historical time line did and should have meant to this country. Our pride was reborn in names like Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. As a nation we dreamt of what was possible and then we went beyond. It gave us hope and in many cases actually brought the world closer together. Many historians today say that the Apollo missions may have saved our nation and its crumbling morale from the social crisis that was ripping our country apart during the VietNam conflict. If you don't believe me look at what happened when we killed the project. Within three years Jimmy Carter was President and during a national address he noted that a national poll showed that the majority of Americans actually thought the next five years were going to be worse then the five years they had just been through. If we are going to do it, lets do it right. We should all ask NASA to go back to the drawing board and to not return until they bring the dreams of our next five generations with them.
Katana357
Russia is holding a series of ceremonies to mark the 50th anniversary of the start of the space age. In 1957 the first man-made satellite, Sputnik, was launched by what was then the Soviet Union. The launch is considered one of the most significant moments in history and began the space race with the US, which eventually sent men to the Moon. After years of decline the Russians are now back in the space game with highly ambitious plans. 'Expanding habitat:' The launch of Sputnik was a giant leap for mankind and a propaganda coup for the Soviet Union in the midst of the Cold War. As people around the world stared up in awe at the night sky to catch a glimpse of the tiny satellite, there was a realisation that something very fundamental had changed. The Soviet media recognised the story's significance a day late "The launch of Sputnik was at least as significant for mankind as the discovery of America for Columbus," said Yuri Karash, an expert on the Russian space programme. "By launching Sputnik people started expanding their habitat beyond Earth." After Sputnik there was a string of successes in space for the Soviet Union, driven by the intense rivalry with the United States. These included sending the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin, and carrying out the first spacewalk. Now, after a long period of decline in the Russian space programme, the country's scientists and cosmonauts have finally secured a significant budget from the government.
View: Full Article | Source: BBC News
