The debate over NASA's future continues - SpacePod 2010.07.19

[MrDiddydodd]

i think NASA really ought to move away from rocket tech and look more at nuclear fusion, because nuclear fusion gives us a almost unlimited amount of feul and it is required in smaller amounts (No need for large feul containers).

[TokiKatChannel]

Space exploration is a part of life, I WILL PISS MY SELF IF PEOPLE CAN LIVE ON THE MOON FINALLY! Plus, when Apothisis or wutever happends we can move to the moon but the moon is smaller so the moon will be over populated. :/

[omega4chimp]

Why would you have so many deep space missions anyway it reminds me of the bible build your foundation first then your house like build moon cites and moon space ports before you do stuff like that

[omega4chimp]

Building a moon city is nasa future.

[BigLonn]

can only be achieved using solid rocket motors? nope thats B.S. SRB's are the most dangerous part of the Space shuttle, Congratulations ATK, you b.s.'d your way into the game again.

[ti994apc]

Forward to 7:35 on this video, who ever that guy is who said "you cannot lift high capacity rockets with out solid rocket motors" is a total idiot in space matters. Has he ever heard of Saturn V? Has ever heard of Falcon9 Heavy?

[dobiehub]

@ti994apc

Who is the idiot ? He did not say- "you cannot lift high capacity rockets with out solid rocket motors"  He did however say- "No matter how you try to create it, you can not get the capacity to go in that direction without solid rocket motors." His comment is taken out of context so it is unclear what "..create it" and "..capacity" or "..that direction" refers to. These people are trying to save the jobs and program that Obama decided to cancel.

[ti994apc]

@dobiehub The point is you definitively can get the capacity to go in that direction with out solid rocket motors. First of all SaturnV was never taken to its capacity. Then there was the SaturnV Nova that was never built which was more powerful that SaturnV. Then there was Russian Engeria which lifted almost as much. None of which used SRB's. If you look at Titan III, IV, and Shuttle, SRB's on large rockets have a poor track record.

[lilypop920]

im intrested

[ti994apc]

Since Shuttle FAILED us with cost and safety. None of its contractors should be allowed to make the next system. Especially the Thiokol Corporation and Lockheed Martin.

[omega4chimp]

Nasa should just put all its resources into making moon bases wouldn't that help?

[210482fmj]

i personally think life came to earth from explorers other planets who developed on this planet. I think we will do the same thing when we find other suitable planets and we will move and start civilizations on them. There are other worlds out there its just a question of how can we reach them. I think maybe using material from space to build vehicles is the answer which could handle the intense heat from high speed travel

[bunny153649]

How bout if we spend all the military budget of the world on space exploration instead of killing each other. I would probably have a space garden by now.

[pacloro]

well its been confirmed atlantis is the last shuttle NASA will send to space,so forget abt ya hopes the american dream is soon going to end.

[PAULOcbi]

@pacloro well not really,the AlphaMagneticSpectrometer was just placed in the ISS this yr.,it monitors GammaRayBursts and I think NASA will need the info. from AMS in 10 yrs. or so.They have been studying Radiation and GammaRays in 'low Earth orbit' for 40 yrs. now in their quest to put a manned mission into 'deep space'.

[Demingosan]

he looks like that guy on icarly

[mjszadis]

They can just call up the Fed and print all the money they need right? Hey Obama, can NASA get a bailout?

[123flaze]

The reason we can't get to full money to the shuttle program is cuss of all the crime on the street , murder , drugs , fight , destruction , and alot more , if we cud get away all those things we cud advance our understanding in space and go to exempel mars and more .. but that's all up to the ppl .: (

[WarmongerWW3]

NASA should be 100% military. That would solve the problem.

[Armigo91]

Since that is the reality, i might just agree to further fund nasa. But even then, were already in a economic crisis. And trust me, nasa isnt going to come with something revolutionary. It will always be a billion dollar modified version of a older rocket.

So its better to save that money, settle our affairs. In if you do think about funding spaceflight as a president, then dont fund nasa. Fund propulsion laboratories so they can engineer what we need,

obviously not a rocket.

[Armigo91]

Ofcourse i took out of account the average level of education among the ordinary persons these day and the great * cough * accesibility to high levels of education *sarcasmic XD *

As long as education doesnt support the high tech industries that spaceflight needs. And as long the GDP of spaceflight industries keeps level as there hasnt been that much increase of it for decades then we wont see a near future breaktrough or industrialization to supply a growth in space companys.

[Armigo91]

unnecessary bureaucracy and theirfore higher cost.

I mean really. Every routine transport system that we humans have made was brought to you by private industries. Building rockets is a 100times more complicated, and its run by only 1 company.

A very big company I must say. But nonetheless its 1 company. And 1 company or organization for this matter isnt going to do anything spectacular no matter how many decades we wait.

[Armigo91]

the cars a few years after the first prototypes.

So thankyou germany.

Somehow we think one company is able to send mankind to space?

A little bit to much optimistic hope in my view.

Space has to privatise.

if you have 200companys of the same, you have like 200times more change to make a scientific or engineering breaktrough. As 200more people are working the branch. And if not you have 200times more accesibility to space.

Not to mention that nasa is government funded. Means alot of

[Armigo91]

I completely agree that mankind has to persuit spaceflight, research it, perfect it. And go to space. And I think we have to do it right now.

What I dont agree with is that somehow nasa and its affiliated partners (lockheed martin and such)

are the chosen partners to accomplish this job. Nasa spacecraft (rockets) are like the steam locomotives in the familly of trains.

THe care didnt came overnight.

The reason the industrial revolution brought us cars because 20companys started manufacturing 

[FlashFizz]

What's the deal with Conway's Game of Life at the 6:45 mark?

:-P

[hotrod4you2]

i can't believe (u.s gov LEADERS)will belittle this great country by relying on russ 4 hitch hiking into space,at a time when we need strength u knock us down again,nasa could have just luanch shuttle very few times looking to be in service,retiring all but 2/3 shuttles,what happens when u.s needs load capacity for something super importent,secert,trust russian?in a globle market when hi tec means everthing,in bed w/ russ? they sell to china! washington leadership in not trustworthy,shameful

[cheddar1100]

Utah experts need to go screw themselves and let NASA do what they want and somthing faster,cheaper,and more innovative for space flight!!!

[davisgreen2020]

Why go back to the Moon ? Helium3. That can be use in fusion reactor. Go to Mars too !! Do both ! Have a timetable !!

[FreedomLiberty21]

is NASA planning a human mission to Mars anytime soon???

[troydeancarpenter]

@FreedomLiberty21 Yes, sometime in the 2030s.

[davisgreen2020]

I like President Obama..But on this the Senate is right ! There is a need for Ares V type Heavy Lifting rocket ! The Ares V was designed to lift 180 tons to Earth orbit and 71 tons to the Moon..Why go back to the drawing board ??!! Fund this !!

[LouistheHedgehog]

@davisgreen2020

I guess he thought NASA can do better, like horizontal launching.

[Jimbob8971]

@davisgreen2020 why go to the moon we are humans we are explorers the moon is on our doorstep we need to go to mars and the depth of the solar system not the moon we have already been there anyways and going back there will waste more money and it would be digging nasa's grave even deeper. which is why i support obama to skip the moon and head straight for mars.

[spacevidcast]

@Jimbob8971 We are explorers, but we're also in need of money. If we went to the moon, commercial companies could take advantage of the materials in lunar regolith, and gov't space agencies can develop innovation. It's not a waste unless you STAY in low earth orbit. We can't go to the stars yet though. We don't have a cost effective technology for that.

[Jimbob8971]

@spacevidcast that would cause more problems there would practical be wars over the moon if knew that they could make as much money off lunar materials as they can off oil. in my lifetime i want to see humans achieve something 100 times better than what armstrong and aldrin did will going to the moon do that ?? NO!

[meatwadgunit]

How bout we just give space exploration unlimited budget and call it a day.

[TheFutureIsRightHere]

@meatwadgunit What about inflation?

[meatwadgunit]

@TheFutureIsRightHere

Screw inflation

The faster I get off this rock the less inflation worries me :)

[TheFutureIsRightHere]

@meatwadgunit Don't forget that WE have to pay for all of that via taxes.

[willistheman48151623]

@TheFutureIsRightHere --its less than 4 dollers a person when you think about it

[sparky577]

@meatwadgunit Why not? We've done it for "defense" for years and years... We are one of the most hated, and more paranoid nations on earth... Not to mention BEYOND FLAT BROKE!!!

[DarPower1]

@meatwadgunit Thays a great idea, then we get ina bigger hole. Space shuttles later, money now.

[meatwadgunit]

@DarPower1

It's a joke. HeeheeHaha

[PullOutAlways]

@meatwadgunit only if we could bra

shits expensive

[roguemale57]

The GFC really hammered nasa and many other government funded iniatives.The ISS drained funds from more bang for buck projects eg. mars robot explorers.My ideal delivery rocket would be putting a capsule on top of the existing external fuel tank and strapping 2 more solid boosters to it.Now watch that baby motor!

[highlander2107]

Stupid bill. This bill is "socialism" by the republican standard.

"As we complete the space station...". Somebody tell this guy it aint 2000. The station is crap and the station is being abandoned.

I'm with Obama, not these idiots living in the past.

[qup5]

Vitter is full of BS. The senate's authorization act is just FY2011 with funding for an SDHLV.

An HLV is not nescessary for LEO ops and if you have fuel depots it's not nescessary for BEO ops either. It just comes down to politicians playing rocket designer in order to get pork spending.

Nice catch at the end there.

[Ro13167]

@spacevidcast Get your facts straight. Challenger was lost because NASA management decided to launch outside the temperature range of the SRB o-rings. NOT because the SRB's were dangerous or designed wrong . As a result of the Challenger accident they were made even more reliable. Listen to Scott Horowitz, who flew the shuttle 4 times, on episode 1380 of the spacehow (dot com). Go to 23' 50" where he talks about solids and safety.

[ti994apc]

@Ro13167 NASA management was NOT responsible. It was DESIGN failure from the start. SRB's can NOT be turned off once started which is very bad when humans are involved. Almost all major rocket malfunctions since 1986 have been with solid fuel. Werner Von Braun made a point to say humans should never ride about an SRB system and he was right. Escape from an SRB system requires a massive ejection system which is added cost and weight.

[Ro13167]

@ti994apc How is it bad if a SRB cannot be turned off?

If a rocket must be turned off in it's climb to orbit there is a problem for the crew anyhow

because a rocket that loses engine power before it reaches orbit is only going one way,

which is down.

Please give me the source of your information regarding rocket malfunctions.

I'm very interested in in that. TIA

[ti994apc]

@Ro13167 I kindly disagree in part. I think it was at least 70% design failure. Not the O-rings themselves. It was the pressure/flexing the O-rings must endure when Shuttles 3 main engines start. The mains push against the tank to counteract its weigh of being strapped on the side. On the pad the O-rings have to bear all the stress and weight. Management should not have been put in the position to make the call.

[Ro13167]

@ti994apc That's interesting. I'll see if I can find the drawings of the connections between the segments. See how it works.

Tnx.

[crissy214]

I thought Nasa was now in the Muslim relations business

[sappha58]

David "Diapers" Vitter opposes the space program.  Probably wants more diapers.

[oisiaa]

I want to see the Ares V with the five segment SRBs and 6 RS-68 engines. That would be a beast!

[Nasiar99]

Wouldnt it be great if the guys at nasa could decide what is best for the US space program going forward.

I dont really want to see some frankenstien rocket thats unsafe and outdated designed by politicians catering to special interests.

[thesmart358]

Now that I think about this subject, I think that a Jupiter DIRECT system would probably be the best, considering how many Shuttle parts would be reused.

[sirachman]

Yay politicians, none of them cares about completing anything in space as long as money and jobs go to their states.

[EndeavourLaunch]

@sirachman Senator Bill Nelson has been to space aboard Columbia on STS-61C

[sirachman]

@EndeavourLaunch Sorry but I find that largely irrelevant.

[kingcake777]

we should use antigravity

[sirachman]

@kingcake777 Sure, but you need to go invent it first.. lol

[kingcake777]

@sirachman you'd be surprised

[edweibe]

Actually we partnered with Russia to get the Space Station built, ditching MIR, and what does Russia do when they see our program being tossed in the trash, they partner with China to work on Mars without us and try to get China on the SPace Station we risked American lives to build. If there's no guiding light to steer to, who will be our guiding light? Sure not China. I like the good ole USA thank you and freedom.

[maksphoto78]

@edweibe Russia will team up with whoever is prepared to dedicate time and money for these space programs. What about Japan, then. It proposed a big unmanned cargo craft for supplying the ISS, and America rejected it. The only way forward is cooperation and mutual support.

[EndeavourLaunch]

Its obvious that NASA and Congress prefer sidemount.. Nelson even stated a 'smaller vehicle than can be evolved.' IMO, Sidemount first, Direct later.

[nilbud]

Republicans are disgusting.

[arsenal553]

@nilbud how so?

[nilbud]

@arsenal553 In pretty much every way. The torture, the kidnappings, the spying (on citizens and aliens), invasions, destroying the civil service, militarism, religious bigotry, stacking the supreme court with right wing lunatics who legalized political corruption in the US. Sarah Palin and her supporters shouldn't even exist outside of some nightmare or a zombie movie, the fact these semi apes even exist is not a good sign for America.

In that kind of way.

[arsenal553]

@nilbud Sure both parties are fucked up, but i wouldn't be that extreme about it. I really dont support any party completely because i think that most of them only care about their own interests. And yes, palin was just some dumb eskimo.

[mrmaciejm]

2011 plan was much better than this dinosaurs idea.

[maksphoto78]

Didn't know the USA were still hell-bent on being the leading country in space. Meanwhile, Russia and several other countries are working together, and will probaby go to Moon, Mars and beyond before the Americans.

[SpaceOz08]

What is the qr code?

[tetsugal]

I think NASA should leave LEO and let the space industry take care of that area. Aside from that I think any human plans beyond LEO should be an international effort between space agencies, chinese included. I know it's not very likely, but that's what I think.

Last week I watched all the people celebrating Spain's victory at the World Football Cup and I thought, if all the people excited about sports were interested in space that much, there wouldn't be so many issues.

Greetings from Spain.