That really makes me feel sad. Almost fifty years ago humans set foot on a foreign world for the first time in history. Today it is unsure whether we will ever return there, not to speak of travelling further, going boldly where no man has even gone before...

KangarooKirby

March 22nd, 2011

10:53:18 PM CDT

(0)

Maybe not NASA, but there are multiple private companies working to get people back into space. I think one company's already done it. Space vacations are coming!

MrMuskOx

March 25th, 2011

9:14:39 PM CDT

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I'm only 5'ing this because everyone else hates it.

Aldrai

March 22nd, 2011

11:24:36 AM CDT

(0)

We will return. Oh yes, we will return.

GrapeNuts

March 22nd, 2011

2:04:19 PM CDT

(-1)

Am I supposed to be reading that like Wayne Campbell?

Aldrai

March 22nd, 2011

8:54:07 PM CDT

(-1)

yes but you have to have an ominous sound playing in the background. Which this site provides perfectly.

Fleeflicker

March 22nd, 2011

4:05:53 PM CDT

(-1)

WAYNE ROONEY

Xerxes36

March 22nd, 2011

11:33:18 AM CDT

(2)

Sentimentality aside, it marks the beginning of the end of space being a government realm; a place to plant flags and resolve existential nationalistic crises. The private sector will now segue into taking over space exploration/exploitation and probably do a better job of it with much less resources, given time. Good bye NASA; hello Space-X.

GrapeNuts

March 22nd, 2011

1:03:46 PM CDT

(1)

Only for the next dozen or so years, maybe more, their best customer will be various governments. They've already won one and a half billion dollars to resupply the ISS, a job previously held by the Shuttle. The only major private sector group interested in launching things is the telecommunication industry, and they'd be a minor part of their revenue.

I appreciate that it's a waste of resources to use government scientists to design and build the heavy-lifting capacity we'll need to colonize another body. But it'll be sad when children will see the Wal-Mart flag emblazoned on the side of the first ship on Mars.

Xerxes36

March 22nd, 2011

1:16:10 PM CDT

(1)

What's sad about it? Every dollar "Wal-Mart" puts into sponsoring a Mars-shuttle is a dollar the government saves to pay down the debt, education etc. I would find it heartening to see the private sector furthering the advancement of humanity, together with the public sector.

6 replies hidden

GrapeNuts

March 22nd, 2011

1:40:01 PM CDT

(1)

It would be wonderful to see that. But the private exists on profit. And at present, there's no infrastructure that could take advantage of space exploration besides scientific research. The only thing that would get them to go up is federal funding. When Conglomo-Corps spends a dollar on that lifter, 81 cents will come from taxpayers anyway, along with a 20% tax break.

Government had to build the roads that business relies on. They had to dam the rivers that we rely on for light. It was a series of governments that sent ships over the atlantic to colonize America. They did it with the intent of helping private industry (if you could call the EIC private), but they had to do it at their own pace, leaving as many corners as possible uncut.

Shinryuu

March 22nd, 2011

3:09:42 PM CDT

(2)

>Conglomo-Corps
That made me think of Weyland-Yutani aka The Company, which stands for a vision of space travel that is [i]definitely[/i] awesome.

Xerxes36

March 22nd, 2011

6:58:34 PM CDT

(2)

Science Fiction has taught us that there are no nice corporations in the future; generally the only profit-making parties who are not evil are charismatic smugglers: they're out for themselves yet they have a heart of gold!

Shinryuu

March 23rd, 2011

10:51:34 AM CDT

(0)

And they have ships that can make the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs.

Xerxes36

March 22nd, 2011

6:52:07 PM CDT

(-1)

I disagree; tourism, communications and possibly in the next 20 years power generation will, increasingly augment scientific research as a profit generator in space. Both smaller countries and corporations will want their own satellites.

The private does exist on profit, but that is a good thing insofar as it tends to keep costs down while simultaneously marketing "space" to create demand where it may not have existed prior.

I'm not arguing with you that the immense resources government can leverage are generally needed for major public infrastructure and entering new frontiers; you mention the EIC, there you find the crown, merchants and speculators working together. Jamestown before it was a colony was a corporate settlement out to exploit resources; similarly, before space is seriously occupied there will need to be someway to generate wealth. Government can facilitate but is self interested individuals who will really take us there.

Xerxes36

March 23rd, 2011

4:07:53 PM CDT

(-1)

Well that's kind of an irrelevant tangent... I don't think we'll be giving smallpox blankets to Na'vi tribes anytime soon.

Xerxes36

March 22nd, 2011

7:04:11 PM CDT

(-1)

Alas - we may have been too late!
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Chavez-says-capitalism-may-rb-3915
449179.html?x=0&.v=1

lickitwellhiem

March 22nd, 2011

4:52:44 PM CDT

(0)

why is this on U&C?

Xerxes36

March 22nd, 2011

6:59:46 PM CDT

(1)

If we can make room for Charlie Sheen can we at least show a little respect for the end of the Space Shuttle?

wisdumcube

March 22nd, 2011

7:34:22 PM CDT

(0)

[ comment (and 5 replies) is below rating threshold and has been hidden ]

(0)

You could make a real tribute instead of posting a google-searched image of a space shuttle in conjunction with a sound asset that has been used on ytmnd 39 times.

oxygenfad

March 23rd, 2011

5:58:56 PM CDT

(-1)

I don't understand why we don't contract the military industry to lead the development of space programs. These people obviously want bazillions of dollars, what difference is it if the media use propaganda to make tax payers think we need a war, and the media making space exploration the focal point for tax dollars. It would be even easier to convince them as our fate as a species relies on us transforming other planets.

drunk-ewok

March 25th, 2011

7:38:15 PM CDT

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i don't know why but my whole life i imagined the space shuttle was just around the size of a big van, probably because they call those shuttle buses and i'm mildly retarded.