toldailytopic: Is space exploration worth the expense for our country?

[eameece]

Yes.

At the least so we can find new resources to plunder and new planets to colonize, especially if we totally mess up the one we are on.

Sounds like you are fine with plundering other planets just like we did this one.

But I think the space program is worthwhile, because it opens up new realms of discovery, technology, and potential expansion. We developed something important and we should continue. If the private sector takes over, a lot of government safety regulations will still be needed. But we should learn how to take care of our planet before we actually start changing other places or moving out into space. There should be plenty of time for that, and we can begin as soon as we throw out the Republicans for good.

 

[rocketman]

Sounds like you are fine with plundering other planets just like we did this one.

But I think the space program is worthwhile, because it opens up new realms of discovery, technology, and potential expansion. We developed something important and we should continue. If the private sector takes over, a lot of government safety regulations will still be needed. But we should learn how to take care of our planet before we actually start changing other places or moving out into space. There should be plenty of time for that, and we can begin as soon as we throw out the Republicans for good.

Even if private firms manage to launch in the future they already have heavy regulation which even the private firms have to adhere to, you have the FAA (yes, for rockets too), also you have the range saftey folks which have the ability to destruct any vehicle which goes off course or threatens people. The range works for the goverment not a private company and is not hesitant to destroy a launch that goes bad, and they have no stake in it if it is a loss. Privatly owned firms yes, and a highly regulated business too. You won't see the repubs go soon though eameece, they will be there for a while.

 

[rocketman]

I suspect SpaceX is charging far less than $50 million.

I doubt that unless it is going on one of their falcon 1's the falcon 9 is about 50 million. :idunno:

 

[The Berean]

I doubt that unless it is going on one of their falcon 1's the falcon 9 is about 50 million. :idunno:

I seriously doubt Astrobotic Technology has anywhere near $50 million to spend. Astrobotic Technology is a small seed company out of Pittsburgh, PA. I couldn't find any details about the cost for this launch. I did find a reference that SpaceX is offering a 10% discount to any Google Lunar X-Prize team. So maybe Astrobotic Technology has some wealthy "silent partners"? :idunno: When Scaled Composites won the $10 million Ansari X-Prize they revealed afterward that Paul Allen had contributed millions of dollars to their project.

 

[eameece]

You won't see the repubs go soon though eameece, they will be there for a while.

Which unfortunately means we won't be going out into space anytime soon, because things on Earth will still be in too great a mess, thanks to them.

 

[rexlunae]

I'd like to die on another planet, if for no other reason than to make some member of some distant future civilization have to ask, "What is this and how in the world did it get here?!?!" of my skeletal remains.

 

[The Berean]

The main reason that space travel is so expensive is the expendable rockets that we use to leave the Earth and get into orbit. For decades scientists and engineers have been working on the holy grail or orbital space travel: the fully reusable, single-stage-to-orbit, space vehicle.

 

[The Berean]

To day is an end of an era. The final space shuttle mission ended today with the landing of the space shuttle Atlantis in Florida this morning. :noid: