The next Space Age

Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 03:43:10 GMT

High - tech autonomous robotics and advanced propulsion systems should dominate and be exploited
over the next 25-50 years along with globalization of
space. No more "races" and competition. The costs involved just aren't doable by independent nations. Even the actual returns from the investment in Apollo were marginal..and the moon is only 3 days away!

The next Space Age

mthomas — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 05:06:56 GMT

This space propulsion technology could change the
future of mankind in space.

http://nlspropulsion.net

The next Space Age

steve smyth lynn ma — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 08:35:27 GMT

until we stop taking time with us on the ride, we ain't goin' nowhere...time does not exist anywhere else in the Universe...except in our minds...
think about it...time is a man-devised measurement of the passing of life on Earth...
I'll get back later with the simpler, safer, cheaper propulsion system...
that should take care of things, eh?

The next Space Age

Mark, KC, Mo — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 11:38:03 GMT

"High - tech autonomous robotics"

This is brazen low-tech robot racism, show some respect damnit.

"along with globalization of space."

And what about the spacification of the globe? Did you ever consider that?

"No more "races" and competition."

Because everyones a winner.

[quote]The costs involved just aren't doable by independent nations.[/quote]

Which proven conclusively by: the European Space Agency, the Japanese space program, the Chinese space program, the Indian space program, and SpaceX.

"Even the actual returns from the investment in Apollo were marginal.."

All joking aside, this is the main point: there were many, many advances from the Apollo program that became widespread and had unknowable contributions to the economony and culture. Not the least of which was miniaturized video cameras and other miniature electronics.

The image of the pale blue Earth rising over the Moon has been credited with triggering global Environmental Awareness.

To bad these things are not more widely publicized.

The next Space Age

Sara — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 11:44:23 GMT

The next Space Age

James Stepp, Orlando, Florida — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:28:57 GMT

What needs to happen is a gold rush in space. Even when this article pointed out that the value of space energy and resources is underappreciated just that statement alone doesn't say it strongly enough.

Everyone talks about the asteroids slamming into the Earth but what they fail to mention is that asteroid is worth enough in material value, stuff you can hold in your hand, to pay off the US national debt! All it takes is the first company to go grab it to instantly make Microsoft look like a mom-and-pop store, and for less money than building an offshore oil well.

This website says it better than I ever could. Bring on the Gold Rush!!!

www.permanent.com

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G. Behrend — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:34:11 GMT

There are two roads humanity can take to advance technology and humanity, war, or space. You make the choice.

The next Space Age

Bryan,Burnsville, Minnesota — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:40:31 GMT

Humans will have to take a big evolutionary step to make this a possibility. Thomas was right, "No more "races" and competition." We will have to be at ease in our own minds before we clutter up the space frontier with our own worldly problems. This is a challenge I put on myself on a daily basis to not clutter up the outside with my own personal problems before I can even step out to go to work! Much less an environment such as space.

The next Space Age

scott gorczyca mchenry illinois — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:04:12 GMT

It is a fact that this world will run out of resources in the future. We should start looking to space now to stay ahead of our own destiny.

The next Space Age

Nick Cross, Edinburgh, UK — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:24:18 GMT

I don't really see much advantage in using He3 over deuterium. You get a lower neutron flux, but the amount radioactivity issues with deuterium power stations are minor compared with fission, which we already have to deal with. The energy you get back from He3 is not as great as with deuterium and you have to operate at higher temperatures and densities. And you have to go to the moon and back. It is not a good reason to go. If you already there, it may become worthwhile and could be a useful energy source on the moon itself.

The next Space Age

Frank Glover — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 16:30:55 GMT

"No more "races" and competition. The costs involved just aren't doable by independent nations. Even the actual returns from the investment in Apollo were marginal..and the moon is only 3 days away!"

Distance alone isn't what made Apollo diffficult (though having done it, we don't have to re-invent the wheel...those same, or better technologies are available) Technically Skylab went much farther, though entirely around the Earth. As you and others have said, if we want to do more, farther out, humans or machines, we need to work on better propulsion.

"There are two roads humanity can take to advance technology and humanity, war, or space. You make the choice."

Human nature, like it or not, won't change merely because we go beyond the atmosphere. Expect both.

However you look at it 'History' is really only just beginning...

The next Space Age

Derek Meche — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 17:24:03 GMT

What the space industry needs is a fully reusable space transport system. The goal should be for a craft that can take off from a conventional runway, attain orbit, deliver a payload, and return to earth to be reused again in one week or less.

The craft could be a single or tandem design, similar to the Spaceship One design by Scaled Composites. The payload should be close to the capacity of the current space shuttle. It should be able to attain an altitude of 300 miles, and stay in orbit for at least one week with a crew of five. The cost per flight should be equivalent to a Trans-Pacific flight by a large airliner.

Once this craft is developed and successfully placed into operation, it will lead to an explosion in space industry and colonization.

The next Space Age

Mike, Arlington, VA — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 18:02:32 GMT

I either love it or hate it when people say stupid things like 'actual returns on the investment in Apollo were marginal'. I love it because it shows how right I am when I think of how accurate 'Wizards First Rule' might be. But then I hate it becuase it just shows how misinformed and sadly lacking in either education, intelligence, or common sense people really are.

What return are you talking about? Monetary? The biggest problem with government research programs, and government programs in general, is that they are not supposed to make a profit! The USA didn't sit down and say 'Lets go to the moon, it'll make a boatload of cash!'. So by a strict accounting equation, of COURSE the Apollo program had very poor returns.

So maybe we should look somewhere else. How about the affect it has had on the economy? Estimating exactly how much of a boost the Apollo program in particular gave to the economy is pretty tough, after all it was just one small program in a HUGE Federal budget. Still, depending on the REPUTABLE source looked at, estimates range anywhere from 20 to 100 times the money spent one the program were generated in the economy just at that time! Lets forget all those past and ongoing benefits and econimics. Computers, the internet, sattelites, the list goes on and on. ALL either generated by or improved on because of the Apollo program.

This is not some weak welfare program where money is just handed over to be spent on whatever. REAL and TANGIBLE science, infrastructure, and ultimately revenure are generated. Think of it as building a bridge or highway. Unless that bridge or highway charges a toll, it doesn't actually make any revenue, in fact is continues to be a revenue sink with maintenance and repair needed. But without that road or bridge (or technology or new discovery or new resource) the revenue generated by people or buisnesses USING that road (to go to work, to shop, to get entertained, whatever) would not occur. Roads, like the Apollo program, do not generate revenue in and of themselves, they ENABLE it to happen by thier existence.

The next Space Age

Mike M. — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 18:17:32 GMT

The discovery of life outside this solar system will definately fuel the space race, and it will happen. New planets in habitable zones are being discovered at an ever increasing pace. Tantalized by the fact that even if we could travel at the speed of light, it would take generations to reach such places and more generations to report findings. The planet may not even be there when we get there. We may not be alone, but we're alone. We may want to concentrate on making this place better.

The next Space Age

Jim D, Long Island NY — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 18:24:29 GMT

A space elevator on Earth will be difficult and costly, but it might actually be an easy and very cost effective way of mining the Moon and lifting the results back toward Earth in simple "crash landers or splashers".

The next Space Age

Fred, La Crosse, WI — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 18:35:49 GMT

I'm in favor of a dramatic increase of the U.S. space program and of the hard sciences in general for the good of the nation and of the world, but our present focus on old and rickety technologies will lead to the same dead end we saw with Apollo. Get the costs-to-orbit down, way down, the safety levels up, way up. We're too timid about pursuing new propulsion systems and exotic energy sources. Talk to the particle physics community about this...they're the ones who really know something. Dump our current manned Moon/Mars efforts...that stuff will lead to another big technological dead end. If we must stick with rickety and expensive chemical rockets, then it's best to just use robots. We're spending a lot now, but are getting very little scientific, technological and economic return compared to what we could have (unmanned program excepted, of course). Give the poor taxpayer something back for the money, don't just endlessly repeat what has already been done!

The next Space Age

Todd, Billerica, MA — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 19:22:49 GMT

If the commercial side of things can make some progress in the next 5-10 years (SpaceX, Suborbital adventure companies, etc) then we could most definitely see some major advances over the next 50 years since we will no longer be at the mercy of political whims in government run programs.

[...]

The next Space Age

scott — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 19:34:26 GMT

What happens when you put too many fish in an aquarium? They all die! That's what will happen to us if we do not find new real estate in the future. Of course we could also keep killing off enough people to control the crowding too, but I like the first alternative better, how about you?

The next Space Age

Bob, Orlando, Florida — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 19:56:01 GMT

If China gets to the moon, it will be more than 50 years AFTER the U.S. has planted several flags there!

Also, note to Russia (re: North Pole), maybe the U.S. flags on the moon means that the U.S. owns the moon!?

The next Space Age

Wayne, Alamogordo, NM — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 20:41:55 GMT

The question I have about the moon is this, "Who owns the rights to the moon?" We got there first, but we laid no personal claim to the moon. In fact, we claimed it for all mankind. Unfortunately, most other nations probably won't recognize that as a viable claim. Are there future wars and battles to be fought over land, mineral, and water rights on the moon? With various countries manuevering to land on the moon, what are they planning on claiming when they get there? How many of the wars during the history of mankind have been fought over land? Hang onto your rocket ships, there could be a bumpy ride ahead of us.

The next Space Age

Mark Brown, Portland, OR — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 21:54:59 GMT

There is a credible idea floating around SF circles that we are at a critical point in human development where we have the technical knowledge to move into space AND the natural resources to accomplish the feat.

If we continue to gobble up earth resources at an ever increasing pace without securing off-planet resources, we may use up the earth based resources to the point we can't sustain a space based industry.

I say to heck with discussion, let's just go!

The next Space Age

Erich J. Knight, McGaheysville, VA — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 21:58:42 GMT

I thought your readers would be interested in looking at these energy technologies and EPS's theoretic base for ball lighting.

Aneutronic Fusion: Here I am not talking about the big science ITER project taking thirty years, but the several small alternative plasma fusion efforts.

There are three companies pursuing hydrogen-boron plasma toroid fusion, Paul Koloc, Prometheus II, Eric Lerner, Focus Fusion and Clint Seward of Electron Power Systems

Vincent Page (a technology officer at GE!!) gave a presentation at the 05 6th symposium on current trends in international fusion research , which high lights the need to fully fund three different approaches to P-B11 fusion

He quotes costs and time to development of P-B11 Fusion as tens of million $, and years verses the many decades and ten Billion plus $ projected for ITER and other "Big" science efforts like H-3 from the moon.

Here are the links:

http://www.electronpowersystems.com/

U.S., Chilean Labs to Collaborate on Testing Scientific Feasibility of Focus Fusion http://pesn.com/2006/03/18/9600250_LPP_Chilean_Nuclear_Commission/

However, short of a Energy "silver bullet" like fusion , Here is a fully DOABLE technology

Time to Master the Carbon Cycle with Terra Preta Soil Technology;

The integrated energy strategy offered by Charcoal based Terra Preta Soil technology may
provide the only path to sustain our agricultural and fossil fueled power
structure without climate degradation, other than nuclear power.

The economics look good, and truly great if we had CO2 cap & trade in place:

Terra Preta soils I feel has great possibilities to revolutionize sustainable agriculture into a major CO2 sequestration strategy.

I thought the current news and links on Terra Preta soils and closed-loop pyrolysis would interest you.

SCIAM Article May 15 07

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=5670236C-E7F2-99DF-3E2163B9FB144E40

After many years of reviewing solutions to anthropogenic global warming (AGW) I believe this technology can manage Carbon for the greatest collective benefit at the lowest economic price, on vast scales. It just needs to be seen by ethical globally minded companies.

Even with all the big corporations coming to the GHG negotiation table, like Exxon, Alcoa, .etc, we still need to keep watch as they try to influence how carbon management is legislated in the USA. Carbon must have a fair price, that fair price and the changes in the view of how the soil carbon cycle now can be used as a massive sink verses it now being viewed as a wash, will be of particular value to farmers and a global cool breath of fresh air for us all.

If you have any other questions please feel free to call me or visit the TP web site I've been drafted to co-administer. http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/?q=node

It has been immensely gratifying to see all the major players join the mail list , Cornell folks, T. Beer of Kings Ford Charcoal (Clorox), Novozyne the M-Roots guys(fungus), chemical engineers, Dr. Danny Day of EPRIDA , Dr. Antal of U. of H., Virginia Tech folks and probably many others who's back round I don't know have joined.

Also Here is the Latest BIG Terra Preta Soil news;

ConocoPhillips Establishes $22.5 Million Pyrolysis Program at Iowa State 04/10/07

The next Space Age

Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 22:09:29 GMT

I agree with sara...

Mark of KC...miniaturization of electronics is what helped the moon landings in the first place. They are called "integrated circuits". The very un-pale blue earth just reinforced an already "well under way" environmental consciousness. Granted 12 billion of 1960's dollars and Apollo did bring back 800 lbs. of moon rocks and in real terms did NOTHING to continue this romance with human space travel other than LEO missions and a lot of dreaming about Mars.

The next Space Age

CM modesto ca — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 23:01:58 GMT

This is a desperate attempt to keep the manned space program going in spite of the very high cost and lack of financial return. The US is threatened by massive debt, we really can't affort such extravagance. Bush has threatened to veto NASAs budget, effectively cancelling his own lunar/mars plans, just to continue funding his war.

G. Behrend is wrong, we can advance technology and humanity without war or space travel. Indeed, most of the advancements in technology came in spite of war, and had no connection to space travel. The "spinoffs" so often trotted out were a result of basic research, not manned space flights.

The next Space Age

Beaverton, OR — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 00:32:55 GMT

Off the surface of Earth we have access to thousands of times the energy that is available on the surface of the Earth. Tons of raw materials can be accelerated easily into the desired orbit. With the technology of advanced automation there is almost unlimited potential for building a wealthy space economy if we can conquer the transporation issues. What else do we need to build wealth but energy, automation, raw materials and transportation? Let's get going!

The next Space Age

Kevin Baker, Beaverton, OR — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 00:34:33 GMT

The next Space Age

Guy S. Newell — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 14:29:36 GMT

The Apollo program should have taught us one thing for sure. Whithout competition, very little actually gets done. As for the technilogical benifits of the Apollo moon projects, electronic miniturization is not one of them. That was the result of military applications. In fact, the whole space program is a very thin wrapper around a military program. The real reason we take up people from Russia and Europe is so that those countries won't be tempted to shoot it down. The Chinese are upset about being left out, hence the not-so-sutble threat implied by their anti-satilite test.

The next Space Age

Guy S. Newell — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 14:35:56 GMT

We are Americans. The most violent people on Earth. Everything we do has military implications. Especially the space program. The Arabs are jelous. They think THEY are the most violent people on Earth. We make them look like kittens dressed up in baby clothes. Aren't they cute?

The next Space Age

Jeff B., Jacksonville, FL — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 18:09:38 GMT

What needs to happen is mankind uniting for the greater good. Yes there are problems with poverty, hunger, etc., in the world today. How many of those problems would no longer exist if money no longer existed (a la Star Trek?)

We need a First Contact. Or maybe at the least a Trekkie or two (or 100) as the heads of state of the worlds powers...

The next Space Age

Bill Hilburn Jr. — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 22:47:24 GMT

The technological spin offs from the lunar program have revolutionized society, from the life saving medical scans developed to study the astronauts after long flights, to the computer I write this on. Nothing has had the peaceful effect on modern society in the last 50 years as the space program. It is not to far to say that continuing, or even doubling or tripling that effort will have similar direct benefits to the peoples of tomorrow. We may have a boon one day mining space rocks, but that harvest will have a hard time beating the technology the space program has put in the average humans life.

The next Space Age

Hannah Adkison, Magnolia, AR — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 00:10:31 GMT

I think all of this is crap. Sure we can do it to gain more knowledge and to understand our universe better, but in the long run, the Earth will die. Nothing can last forver, so why work so hard to keep it going when it's going to end anyways?

The next Space Age

Craig Wilson — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 03:22:14 GMT

G. Behrend hit the nail right on the head. This planet cannot possibly continue to support the ever-expanding population and its demand for resources. In the end, survival will require war (to thin out the herd and reduce demand for scarce resources) or colonization of other worlds (and extraction of resources from otherwise unusable celestial objects). There is no workable third alternative that I have ever heard of.

The next Space Age

William Bartish, Miami, FL — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 10:30:17 GMT

Paragraphs 1, 3 and 5 hit an important note.

Starting with paragraph 3, Energy: Civilization did not flurish until the beginning of the interglacial period about 11,500 years ago. We call this Epoch the Holocene beginning about 10,000 years ago (is the Pleistocene really over?). With the exception of the CO2 monkey wrench provided by the Industrial Revolution (and our population explosion), we should be nearing the peak of the Interglacial Period with the oceans possibly rising an additional plus or minus 25-feet, followed by glaciation for the next 100,000 years or so. Most Interglacial Periods last about 10,000 years.

We have an immediate need for a cleaner energy source. In ice core samples we are able to detect the past atmospheric CO2 levels for at least the last 400,000 years of the Pleistocene Epoch with at least 3 Interglacial Periods. The CO2 levels rise and fall with these periods up to an approximate maximum of 290 to 300 parts per million (PPM). At the beginning of the 20th century we were up to 280 PPM, we are now up to 380 PPM and rising rapidly. We have no idea what this will cause, there are no records of such a past occurance.

Paragraph 5, Extinction avoidance: Our planet will cease to be habitable long before the suns life cycle ends in 4-1/2 to 5 billion years, there are numerous reasons for that fact. In addition, we still don't know what caused the major extinctions and we don't know what to expect in the distant future. Our solar system is speeding through our galaxy in a wobbly orbit that can take us through some pretty inhospitable space. For our race to survive, we need mobility.

Finally, paragraph 1, Exploration: See paragraph 3 and 5. We need to know more about what's out there.

The next Space Age

John O'Halloran, Seattle, WA — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 16:47:42 GMT

I would like to make 2 points on space. First manned space program is more value than an robotic and second the US's success in space is a large part of our dominance in the world.
On the first point I will reply to the comment above, "Even the actual returns from the investment in Apollo were marginal". This is often stated and completely wrong. The main reason for this is that most people look for something like the jeep that was manufature for the government and went straight into production in the same form. The space program did much more than this. One example is what it has done for hospitals. If you are a patient at a hospital chance are you will use equipment based on a patent generated from a NASA contract. All automated life sign monitoring equipment started with the manned space program. It is currently a billion dollar a year business. By it self as a small example of the many inventions that have come from the manned space program it has more than payed for the entire manned space program in rise in GNP and saved lives. There are many more examples.
The second point is that our place in the world has a lot to do with our success in space. In part because of the industries given a boost by needing to develop radically new technology for NASA. It has also given us the image in the world of the nation that can do the impossible. If anyone has wondered this is most likely the main reason China would want to go to the Moon. If they can show they can out do the US it will make a big difference in the world. It will also provide them a place to develop radical technologies that will eventually make them more technically advanced than the US. We need to ante up now or we may find ourselves out of the game.

The next Space Age

Mark, Saint Louis, Missouri — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 19:44:22 GMT

Remember when WE fired an anti satelite weapon? It was a two stage missle fired from an F-15. Whats the big deal about someone else with anti satelite weapons?

The next Space Age

Resolute Protector — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 19:51:51 GMT

"For the United States to sit back and let other nations move forward in this arena would be extraordinarily detrimental to our self-esteem"

So, the ignorant, apathetic, arrogant Americans should spend BILLIONS of dollars because our self esteem might suffer? It will take a little less than a million dollars a minute to sustain one single man on the moon. This article is veiled, the real purpose behind NASA's machinations is to make as much money as possible for private contractors, just like the 'war' in Iraq.

The next Space Age

Brian, Philadelphia, PA — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 11:38:21 GMT

Until mankind can get beyond this crutch we have that is called MONEY, we will not be able to advance fast enough or far enough to achieve these goals in a peaceful manner nor within a reasonable time limit.

The next Space Age

Author Chris Eldridge, Harrisburg PA — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 14:17:53 GMT

An self-sufficient off-world colony would certainly help avoid extinction events but so would self-sufficient ON-WORLD colonies too. The more self-sufficient we are on a very local level, the less asteroid impacts, bird flu pandemics, economic collapses, and terror attacks will affect us. Just think that it only takes about 20,000 square feet of shop space to build an entire NASCAR from scratch. Shops like that should be in every community and even our own homes could have shops capable of making our own clothing, furniture, garden tools, moutain bikes and canoes... it is possible and even growing more so all the time with rapid prototyping and extremely capable computers and office software! Furhtermore, we can enhance each and every home to be more and more emergency enhanced. No... we don't have to live in a bunker to feel safe. But there are general and very realistic measure that can enhance our homes to cope with nearly any crisis you can think of. Almost all such adaptations and disaster preparedness ideas are good for other things like saving money on heating and air-conditioning and add a great deal to our lives in other ways. That's kind of the whole point... if we do things right and pick ideas that aren't just good for global warming, terrorism, or killer asteroids, we can counter them all while actually increasing our quality of living in the process. Lets make this our challenge... Lets find ways and ideas that can address the most problems with the simplest solutions like being able to work directly and productively right from home. Self-sufficiency may be a little more expensive, but "globalization" has problems all its own. It makes us too darn dependant on key areas like Silicon Valley, Everett Washington, Tokyo, NYC, Houston, and so on that could all be taken out of the picture with one super-disaster or terror attack. We have to pull ourselve up by the boot heals and prepare cause aint no one else going to do it for us.

The next Space Age

Charles Cady, Phoenix Arizona — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:16:00 GMT

The problems of the earth are NOT solvable without resources from space. The simile of “Space Ship Earth” is very real, but what is missing is the understanding that we now have the technology if not he economical engineering to re-fuel Space ship Earth.

I do not trust the American Government, nor any other Government entity, to make the correct decisions on how to most effectively develop the infrastructure and harvest the resource of space. The best thing our, or any, government could do is to announce many huge, billions of dollars, tax-free prizes for being the first to achieve significant space milestones like:

1. Reusable rapid turn around, Low Earth Orbit supply trucks. Something that could take over the duties of the current crop of overpriced government boosters. The government must quarantine to buy the services of 20 such launches a year from such a system.
2. Deploy and then enhance a space elevator capable of lifting a 5 ton payload to Low Earth Orbit, with next to no environmental impact. As a further inducement a second smaller prize should be offered to deliver such payloads to Geosynchronous orbit. These systems must be shown to reliably and repeatedly return equal payloads back to the earth bound terminus of the elevator.
3. Building, staffing and maintaining, for a minimum of one year, an outpost on the surface of the Moon, changing out the crew three times and returning the final crew back to the earth.
4. Returning 100 tons of lunar material to either the L5 or L2 positions, or to low earth orbit. Then capturing this material and processing it into useful materials, even if just radiation shielding.
5. Building, with at least 50% lunar material, an orbiting solar power station, or stations, capable of safely beaming down 100 megawatts of power to the a receiving antenna in the American South West, and feeding that Electricity into the American Power grid.
6. Sending an exploration team out to, landing on and geologically mapping the resources of a major asteroid, like Ceres. Then safely returning the crew and 1000 pounds of asteroid samples.
7. Rendezvous with an asteroid, and changing its orbit in a controlled way, to bring it into Lunar Orbit. This would be a precursor for eventually mining such bodies. It would also prove out the techniques and technologies to save the earth from comet/meteor collisions.
8. Sending an exploration team out to and back from the Moons of Mars.
9. Landing and returning an exploration team to the surface of the Mars polar regions.

Note private entities trying for these prizes would not get a single government red-cent until they achieved the final milestones. Failed attempts would not cost the American Tax payers anything at all.

We must accept that there will be significant loss of life, from these attempts. So long as all those involved have signed and understand informed consent releases, the companies must not be held legally liable for any wrongful death or injury claims resulting from even failed attempts. The exploration and exploitation of all previous earthly frontiers have only been accomplished with significant loss of life, capital and many failures. I’m disappointed that we in America now appear to expect, the conquest of space can to be done without such losses.

Let private companies perform these services. Reward them with lavish TAX FREE prizes. Change the laws so that such enterprises can lay claim permanently to all resources within a 100 miles radius surrounding any of their permanently manned facilities. And most importantly allow them unfettered tax free rights to import resources from these bases back down to the earth.

The next Space Age

andrew, fairfax, VA — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 02:50:34 GMT

we should first look at putting homeless people in houses instead of exploring space. how much of this space money could we be using to help ourselves NOW instead of wasting it away until we know for sure what we are going up there for? and seriously..the moon doesn't really have anything worth looking at. its the closest planetary object that we can get to, and its a dustball. if you're going to put the US even further in debt, at least go somewhere worthwhile.

The next Space Age

Frank Glover — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 21:20:42 GMT

"Nothing can last forver, so why work so hard to keep it going when it's going to end anyways?"

Why get out of bed?

Some of us prefer to accomplish something (or at least see it accomplished) between birth and death.

The next Space Age

Adam — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:50:11 GMT

Hi All

What a lot of doom & gloom, plus runaway enthusiasm. Is there a middle ground? Or is there a BIGGER reason for spaceflight? How about the survival of the Universe?

Life is insignificant NOW, but in a few billion years our descendents could be shaping entire segments of the visible universe. And in a few trillion years, as the last stars die, they'll be doing even more dramatic things to sustain Life.

One possibility is that, left to itself, the Universe will "crash" because all the quantum information that makes the laws of physics possible will be erased by black hole decay - if the Universe expands forever. Can we stop the expansion? One theory is that the current acceleration is caused by the Higgs field not being in its true vacuum state, due to the presence of baryonic matter. If Life uses baryons, via reverse baryogenesis, for power then the Higgs field will cancel out and the Universe will recollapse.

Now a Big Crunch sounds bad, but guided by Life shifting mass around on a cosmic scale, the recollapse can both provide energy for Life and a heat-sink to make that energy usable. And that infinite recollapse energy can power infinite experiential states - infinite subjective time for an infinite number of beings - between Now and the End Point.

Thus Life doesn't have to end - if we set out and "conquer" the Universe. Don't worry about wars between intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos - They're too far away for us to meet up until a few trillion years from now. Else They would be here by now, if they were closer than about 13 billion light years. And in a few trillion years we, and They, will know how to get on better than we do now.

Or else we don't have a future. A simple choice: Everything - real Infinity for all of us, or Nothing.

The next Space Age

Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:49:14 GMT

John O'Halloran... Don't forget that Americans in themselves just didn't have the experience or know how to make a Saturn 5 rocket. They had to scavenge a former NAZI who did...a la Werner Von Braun. In fact Russian rocketry IN ITSELF was far more advanced than anything the "good 'ol boys" of the US could match too!

The idea of medical scanning was born on a Hollywood set and went by the name Star Trek. The actual technology didn't happen really until the 80's (PET scans, MRI etc.) In spite of these facts, a total idiot would not marvel at the American accomplishment of landing on the moon. It was a marvel and to this day I remind my kids of it with the online resources available.

Do you remember how fast the moon landings became "ho-hum"? It was so laughable at how people de-sensitized to it all after the first 2 or 3 landings. I was one of them and maybe you also.

The next Space Age

Frank Glover, Rochester, NY — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:08:04 GMT

"Do you remember how fast the moon landings became "ho-hum"? It was so laughable at how people de-sensitized to it all after the first 2 or 3 landings. I was one of them and maybe you also"

The public has a short attention span. Perhaps even more so now than in the 1960's. All the more reason we need a human presence in space (not just one centralized 'program') that can operate commercially and economically, so as not to depend on the whims of the masses, any more than all human activity at sea does. (After all, there's never been a 'Sea Program' either. Commercial, scientific and military interests simply do what they believe they need to do there. So it should be, outside the atmosphere.)

The next Space Age

Des Emery, St. Thomas, ON, Canada — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 06:21:42 GMT

I've admired Chris Eldridge's admonition to "think small" since I ran across this blog a couple of years ago. Becoming as self-sufficient as possible is pretty obviously the right way for us to make progress, applying the original impulses and abilities to groups now instead of individuals as we did in order to get out of the trees and begin walking across the savannahs of our genetic youth.

Even as recently as several hundred years ago we knew that the maker of wooden stools could trade one for a dozen eggs from a farmer, and another to a potter for a turned and glazed bowl to keep the eggs in. Since then we have traded that sense and sensibility, losing the connection between ourselves and our surroundings. By expecting The Marketplace to take good care of us we seem to have relinquished whatever it was that made us human.

The next Space Age

Jason Schultz, Clearwater, FL — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 16:13:50 GMT

We can all agree, that technology is prevailing at a high rate and will continue to do so as long the education systems flourish. Which will allow us to to accomplish our goals in space travel, global warming, transportation, trading, and whatever other issues are currently being sought. Let's take it back to the basics of understanding, our ultimate goal, " For Mankind to Prevail"!

We can all relate to gazing up at the sky and watching the sun rise, clouds cumulating, the stars and moon lighting up the sky. Our curiousity and imagination, took our minds on voyages, which would be entertaining in a humorous sense, because it really foreshadowed what you would learn later as to be, "SCIENCE". It is these basic concepts, which got mankind and its technology to where it is today, but what about tomorrow?

The education systems of today, need a consistent software (teachers), which will allow for our future generations to have a strong foundation. As the mind continues to grow and build these new ideas, we start using all this knowledge we have gain as building blocks. Now, we have a good understanding of how we got, where we are today...

Today, we are led to believe through the media the severities of global warming, the war in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, Armageddon, and etc. At the present time of the broadcast, people are alarmed and ready to take action. Either we care or we give people a reason to care, and the answer to that is, "TODAY". We need to address the issues of space travel and civilization, global warming, and let everyone know, how they are all related. Grab the People's attention at city hall meetings, school functions, at their jobs, and get them involved. The more media attention, the more people start to believe in these ideas, as they did when the space program first started in the 1960s.

So, today's world revolves around, "MONEY"! How can we convince the People, their money would be well invested into the further education of space exploriation and mobility. And I think by furthering their education or training through modules, which could be set-up on the internet will give them a little incentive and get them involved at the same time. People do not want to waste their time or money by driving to a meeting across town. But by tuning them in to their PCs or TVs, and showing them what they have to gain is a victory on either side of the street.

So for Mankind to Prevail, you do have to help the man and not just the machine!

The next Space Age

Kevin Baker, Portland, OR — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:46:28 GMT

We have not had a true industrial revolution in almost 100 years. Computers and Internet will merely facilitate the next industrial revolution that allows us to harness exponentially greater amounts of energy and raw materials. The vast bulk of industry can exist in outer space, with a lot of busines-to-busines commerce occuring there, rather than on Earth. This 3rd Industrial revolution will bring wealth to our children on a unimaginable scale, and the Earth itself can be returned to a more 'natural' state.

The next Space Age

Jan — Thu, 22 May 2008 01:19:00 GMT

Earth "receives" an giant asteroid impact, such as that which kileed dinosaurs, once a hundred million years. However, humans will kill the earth several thousand times, until that giant killer comes again.
To survive and expand outside to the space, USA has to learn how to share resources, how to cooperate with other countries instead to trying be the ruler of the world.
Population of USA is 5% of the world population, yet it consumes 25% of all world resources...
Costs of space missions are enormous and no country on the earth could in longe range sustain this kind of space research.
If humanity should survive, humans should remove bariers and treat each other as equal instead trying to be superior.

The next Space Age

Keebler McRiddick, Teluride, Colorado — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 07:27:55 GMT

In an age where it's all about accumulating more wealth than anyone could need, and short term quarterly results that make companies burn down the forest to make a fire, and then lament the lack of timber to build a warm cabin, I'm skeptical. What movitaved us before was proving that democratic capitalism was superior to totalitarian communism -- and to be completely honest, there were big commercial interests in making sure that battle was won (fortunately supporting freedom dovetailed with it).

Right now we could feed everyone on the world. We could give them shelter. We could educate them. It's NOT that we can't do it. So the only other explanation is for some reason we do not have the will.

And I don't think we yet have the will to invest in space exploration. Not when everything's about the buck. I hope we, as a species, get our soul back.

The next Space Age

ED colorado springs, colorado — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:58:55 GMT

Fusion is the future, with fusion there will be cheap power and with cheap power we will be able to tell the oil companies, it's been nice but we don't need you anymore. We will be free.
Anyone who dosen't want to spend the money to investigate the possibility of fusion power is not thinking.

The next Space Age

Carl III — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:46:36 GMT

Do it now whether the loss is great or minimal. Talking about it ?
Time is not your friend.
I can go on and on about others comments. I will leave it alone. Statistics are far from what the topic is really about.
Shut up and make it happen. We could do this we could do that. The bottom line is act on it.

The next Space Age

Jessica, New Zealand — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:45:03 GMT

Please, listen: until mankind, all of ourselves, is respectful and mature enough, we need to stay within the orbit of the moon. There's some dangers people have not forseen, and it's not always to do with Earthmen, and the effects on Earthmen. Can we look further ahead, and say if we meet another race "out there in the stars", could we perfectly communicate AND do what we are respectfully asked? AT THIS TIME, I CANNOT SEE THAT, AT ALL, we cannot cope, and one bad temper from an Earthperson out there, could be a tragic problem. Those ones who come from a much more advanced in spirituality and technology, are not behaving badly: Earthpeople are!
AND: The famine-striken would be outraged to hear of how many dollars, equivalent in food, in their own village, that it costs to put up one low-flying satellite to send and monitor "information" from one place to another.
We, humankind, have not been able to solve the problems of war, famine and all contagions, on Earth, let alone be nice, respectful, truthful, and kind all at the same time, few people can can they can do that IN THEIR MINDS as well as in every word, and deeds, emotions: mature enough, polite enough not to cause trouble on Earth, let alone when communicating with the Sky People (those who live on other planets, some of whom monitor Earth for not their own reasons, but to help ourselves). And, the split atom is actually quite forbidden by much greater people than I, Heavenly Angels also know that Earthpeople are NOT allowed that, put simply, it's dangerous, we all know that, when are people going to listen to a prophesy from a very truthful book I read years ago: Mankind, you will go to the stars, your space vehicles propelled by a new, safe, and endless new power. Forget nuclear, it's ignorant.
Theres' another problem. If Earthpeople were to go in one of our shabby, ill-designed and powered with very dark ages propulsion, and one spark escaped near a gas-giant of a planet, would mankind like to be responsible for the end of a planet, for any reason, if he BEFORE realised the kharmic consequencies, such terrible bad fortune for ourselves ruining anything for any reason is just plain like-unto-endless bad fortune, since the other side of the problem would have suffered, that as a race, humankind would suffer at least FOUR times as badly? And, that's what the Ancients have given in teachings, that we get what we give, reap as we sow, its' worse than people think, and applies to almost every thought, word and deed we have, eventually, such things catch up with the individuals, too, so make it good for a 10-fold return: good, righteous, MORALITY, MORALITY, MORALITY will "turn around your lives". If there's danger to others, don't do it, that's fairly basic, fairly simple. Mankind you are hurting yourselves, repent.
The worst problem is ignorance, the worst ignorance is nuclear processes of the split atom. If a few people in "firepower" over others, would just sit down and mutally surrender, write in all nations laws, no to the split atom (no more of those nuclear processes, any of them), then we would be making some difference, a real one, a vital one, and could say: "we are learning to behave ourselves well enough, to take another look at going somewhat near where the other planets (not ours, mind you: someone elses, in almost every case), and we will now solve more of our own problems, instead of becoming some other Sky Peoples' problem. We own the moon, it's our territory. However, we are NOT allowed past that orbit. This planet is under quarantine. Much of this information has come from reading wise books, and is sometimes psychic or Mediumistic, and is serious.
I don't want Earthpeople's contagions, any of them, to go into space: it could hurt others, it could ravage another race if it got that far, they would not have such immunities as we have. And, some microbes that don't hurt us: could end another race. I am concerned about that, for their sakes, not my own, and not my own race: humankind, listen, we are NOT ready, just NOT advanced enough. Don't break that quarantine, since if we caused yet another huge-scale disaster, this time "out in the stars", then of course, the bad kharma would mean such bad fortune for the Earthpeople, I cannot comprehend nor imagine the risk. Enough suffering, enough, enough.
Please re-route the money from extravagant technology that no little African child can eat, even your cellphones are vastly overexpensive, big business with no mercy, since the greedy multinationals truthfully want to make money from the shareholders, and those 9 at the top, are nauseating for their greed and lack of giving of foods, water, clean things, shelters, tents even, to the very poor, even of their own nation. A Telecom satellite has cost $30,000,000 dollars (and they have more than just one), why? To make more money. Reapply that to 3 good meals per day, plus medicines, clean water, clothes and shelter, and education and so forth, for how much time, would that mean, to a child in Kenya? AND: please, while we are on this subject, it's not just the children, they want decent parents too, and parents are often either very poor, or at war. Give up the extravagances, everyone, including NASA and other space and war machines, and be those with MONEY TO USE MERCIFULLY.
If it were money to use mercifully, I'd probably agree: do it. However, since the very, very wealthy are capable of giving so much to the poor, within 3 years, with wise management like land and food-production for the poor, the adults working, or in the cities, etc., the problems would be over: for the following 3 years. It's a bit more complex than this. Helping adults to work is one of the sustainable ways.
I do agree, eventually, Earthman in space WILL be a reality, however, we, in 2008, are just NOT ready, and the evidence is all around the world, people on earth are unhappy, disillusioned, straying like sheep, and often, just wasting their time with lack of education, including time-wasting and rude tv. Our technology has let all humankind down. Lack of morality in the media is a huge disappointment to those of ourselves who want to help so many people in so many ways. If you minds are full of lewd, rude, uneducational thrills and total waste of time rubbish at the movies, then those minds don't have any room for some DECENT, MORAL, AND TRULY INSPIRING WORK: helping others. While humankind will not stop fighting like spoilt and spiteful childish and badly behaved, warlike indeed: who can say at the same time as that, that it's OK to go into space, that its' ok to go to war, that it's ok to be unhelpful (meaning the unhelpful will later turn into those not helped, sometimes that's kharma), and some ignorance that says: "don't try to please others, its' bad", no, why don't people see the sense in cheerfully, wholesomely, giving others joyfulness? If you have a friend that smiles, wholesomely, and often, have you noticed that one is so much better off, so cheerful, so righteous? However: make this appropriate, a cruel laugh is a mockery. That other man's moccasins might be yours, later on, truly...
Think! The uninspired race to perfect space technology, plus lack of MORALS in others, is turning to yet another terrible war on Earth, we can avoid such wars, however, the individuals will decide; and it must be all people's RESPECT GIVEN TO OTHERS, and to respect the good Planet Earth, all her natural life; that may very well win the day.
Enough.

The next Space Age

Dave — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:29:16 GMT

No matter how infrequent the trains are, if a man and his family stand in the middle of the train tracks, they're going to get hit. It behooves them to either move off the tracks, or to build a siding so the trains won't hit them as they near him. As residents of Earth, it would be a smart thing to build habitats away from Earth in order to ensure that some of our family will survive any 'trains' coming our way.
Have we forgotten the adage "Don't put all your eggs in one basket"?