The President's Space Initiative Speech

"Frank" wrote in message ...

I'm cautiously optomistic, we are way overdue with our space exploration.

I fear this may only be election year rhetoric. Or strictly a reaction to
the Chinese announcements.

No ****, Sherlock. There was Bush, once again, spouting out the grand plan
so that he could win an election instead of do the right thing... except he
does have a plan. Not even a budget. No scientific basis for some little
questions like how the hell will the astronauts get from here to there. How
much will it cost. Will this be a one way mission for the astronauts? (that
will save alot of money since Mars has significant gravity and therefore
even more fuel is required to break out of Mars gravity for the trip home).

"Bob Noel" wrote:
Everything launched from the moon will have to be launched from
Earth
first. Anything going to Mars will have to escape gravity twice.

Not true.

True unless you posit a moon base that mines raw materials, refines
them, and manufactures Mars shot equipment from scratch - an absurd idea
in the time frame of Bush's plan.
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM
(remove pants to reply by email)

"Wdtabor" wrote:
Then we better get started.

Yes, basic research on new space propulsion technologies is a good idea,
but manned space travel should be an afterthought.
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM
(remove pants to reply by email)

Hopefully it is a sign that cast-in-concrete blind partisan support is
finally giving way to some real *discussion* of issues.

On the contrary, many of the posts opposing the President's space initiative
have been filled with political invective, and an almost palpable loathing
of Mr. Bush.

I'd say this is a sign that nothing has changed, and real *discussion* is
illusory.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I'd bet that we won't hear another word about it after November. And, of
course, it will somehow turn out to be the Democrats' fault. ;-)

That is what is known as a "sure thing."

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Dan Luke" wrote in message
...

"Bob Noel" wrote:
Everything launched from the moon will have to be launched from
Earth
first. Anything going to Mars will have to escape gravity twice.

Not true.

True unless you posit a moon base that mines raw materials, refines
them, and manufactures Mars shot equipment from scratch - an absurd idea
in the time frame of Bush's plan.
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM
(remove pants to reply by email)


Bush has it all figured out. He is going to trade the Martians green cheese
for fuel.

"Dave Stadt" wrote in message
...
Bush has it all figured out. He is going to trade the Martians green
cheese
for fuel.

No way. If he thinks the Martians have fuel, he'll announce evidence of WMD
as a pretext to invade them.

On Fri, 16 Jan 2004 02:07:31 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

Hopefully it is a sign that cast-in-concrete blind partisan support is
finally giving way to some real *discussion* of issues.

On the contrary, many of the posts opposing the President's space initiative
have been filled with political invective, and an almost palpable loathing
of Mr. Bush.

I'd say this is a sign that nothing has changed, and real *discussion* is
illusory.


I have a feeling if it had been Gore proposing exactly the same thing,
there would be golf claps all around from that crowd instead.

Pre-speech AP poll..................

"Just over half of Democrats' opposed the plan by "the United States."
Once it was identified as a "Bush administration" plan, Democrats
opposed it by a 2-to-1 margin."

There are real problems in that party I cannot fathom personally.
There is definitely a near pathological desperate hatred that defies
logic most of the time. This is not a partisan thing, it is giving
NASA the attention that it has desperately needed for decades.
Jeez JFK sent us to the moon for crying out loud.


"For I dipt into the future, far as human eye could see,
Saw the Vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be"
-Tennyson

On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 23:23:13 GMT, "plumb bob"
wrote:


Really? Think about what you are saying. It is quite absurd. What are they
going to do? Head down to the Moon Home Depot and pick up supplies or what?
Everything, except dirt, is going to have to come from earth. And last time
I checked, dirt is not on the materials list to build a space ship.

So tell us what can be manifactured on the moon at a cheaper cost than on
earth. Really, I'm clutching my chair in anticipation to hear how this will
be done.

Plumb Bob


There are many raw resources on the moon. It wont make sense
at first to try to use them all. but eventually............


http://www.crystalinks.com/lunarmining.html

http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/s...ish_603711.htm

http://www.permanent.com/l-mining.htm

http://www.permanent.com/l-overvw.htm

http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0397/0397gaz2.html

Far better than this would be a program, like the Manhattan project of
the 1940's or man-to-the-moon project of the 1960's, that would make
us energy-independent. No, the dishonest hydrogen-vehicle "program"
doesn't count. After we cut our ties to mid-east we can tell all the
nut-case radicals to stuff it.