China Spacewalkin'

[SkywardET]

Yeah, pretty sure we won't go much beyond what we're doing right now. In fact, it will be an epic achievement if we can maintain what we do right now in space.
President Bush said that in 2004. Iraq was still going to be a super-short term affair at that point, Katrina was in the future, and $4 gas and now the most pressing financial situation in my lifetime were unforeseeable at that time. A renewed space program was to be one of President Bush's legacy items, but that was when he could still afford to have a legacy.

All I can say to China is: Welcome to the 60's!

 

[jorgelito]

All are fighter pilots....no suprise. I wouldn't be suprised if the PRC has a moon mission in the next 10-20 years.

They do: Lunar landing 2020.

 

[jorgelito]

Especially them - when's the last time a GOOD product came out of China?

Their best export: people. We get their brain drain ever since the 1800s.

 

[RyanF]

Yeah we made it to the moon.

Then people thought it was routine and stopped caring so we stopped going back and also let the technology die. No one today knows how those Apollo rockets worked. The technology was placed in mothballs and the people who created it grew older and faded. We once made it to the moon in 8 years. Bush asks that we go back by 2015. He said that in 2004. Why should it take us 11 years to do today what we once did in 8 from scratch?

Did we have a race once before? Yes. Have we forgotten most of what we learned? Yes. Is it sad that it is going to take us longer to do today what we've done before? Yes.

Interesting tidbit I learned today in my electronics experimental methods class:
The Apollo guidance computer had only 74kB of memory and 4kB of RAM. The whole mission only required 20 instructions or 10,500 keystrokes of code (I would guess there are multiple threads on this forum with more keystrokes). Makes me wonder if I had enough rocket fuel and raw materials, could I go to the moon with my TI-89?! :icon_smil

 

[sodajones]

Firedrill in space!

 

[Raptor2216]

now the most pressing financial situation in my lifetime were unforeseeable at that time.

I agree with your points with the exception of this one. There were a few prominent people in the news who warned about this potential doom but no one cared to listen. If the politicians get their heads out of their asses, the plan will save us in the short term. This plan might....MIGHT...save us in the long run but if it doesn't, the economy that we know will be purged of all good and bad. People will no doubt be living a tough life and sacrifices will have to be made.

Fortunately, it isn't anything that has not happened before. History repeats itself and it will happen again. People made many sacrifices though WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and the list continues and we came out of those stronger than ever. Whatever happens, I think that America has enough motivation as a whole that we WILL get through it. After all, Its not like the earth is about to be wiped out by an asteroid.

 

[Blutonski816]

Yeah we made it to the moon.

Then people thought it was routine and stopped caring so we stopped going back and also let the technology die. No one today knows how those Apollo rockets worked. The technology was placed in mothballs and the people who created it grew older and faded. We once made it to the moon in 8 years. Bush asks that we go back by 2015. He said that in 2004. Why should it take us 11 years to do today what we once did in 8 from scratch?

Did we have a race once before? Yes. Have we forgotten most of what we learned? Yes. Is it sad that it is going to take us longer to do today what we've done before? Yes.

First of all, yeah, the Soviets were the reason the nation poured money into NASA by the truckload. Plus with an overt Deadline like Kennedy's, we had national pride on the line aside from percieved fate of the future of the world.

Today, the technology is still there, the Orion spacecraft takes a lot of lessons from the original Apollo CSM into its design... same thing with the Artemis lander. The Earth Departure Stage is powered by pair of new variants of the J-2 that propelled the S-IVB into a trans-lunar trajectory.

It is taking long because NASA's budget is bone dry in comparison to its former self of the 60s... and has been since the day we got to the moon. As such the development is moving at a snail's pace. Hell, we still have to do the On-the-Pad Abort tests... and the first manned Orion flight isn't scheduled until 2014 with lunar flights not ready until 2020-ish.

Then there's public opinion... As it stands today, Americans are more worried about how to pay the bills, keep the kids fed, clothed and with a roof over their heads as opposed to how quickly we can put man back on the moon.
Hell, most people are bewildered by the fact that only a dozen men have walked on the moon, and the last one did so more than three and a half decades ago.

 

[picklesuit]

Yeah we made it to the moon.

Then people thought it was routine and stopped caring so we stopped going back and also let the technology die. No one today knows how those Apollo rockets worked. The technology was placed in mothballs and the people who created it grew older and faded. We once made it to the moon in 8 years. Bush asks that we go back by 2015. He said that in 2004. Why should it take us 11 years to do today what we once did in 8 from scratch?

Did we have a race once before? Yes. Have we forgotten most of what we learned? Yes. Is it sad that it is going to take us longer to do today what we've done before? Yes.

Gee, it's too bad those guys didn't take any notes or write anything down...oh wait...

The upside is the Chinese aren't really astronauts, just 14 year-old girls masquerading as astronauts...:icon_wink

 

[HercDriver]

I think they are using their very advanced lead and melamine technologies to develop their space vehicles. China leads (ha!) the way on these important technologies.

As an aside, an American, Richard Garriott (developer of the Ultima video games) will be paying to do a space walk on the Soyuz TMA-13 sometime next month. His dad was an astronaut (Owen Garriott), as well, so it is just $30 million to do a little space adventure and follow in dad's footsteps.

The folks at Seiko developed a watch for his EVA at his behest (his dad wore a Seiko in space); cost of the watch: $25,000 and only 100 will be made. Only one watch has been approved by NASA for EVA, but I'll let you Google to figure out which one. Said watch:

It has the amazing Spring Drive running it as well as a bunch of interesting technology...but 25 grand? I dunno.
http://gizmodo.com/376482/seiko-spring-drive-spacewalk-watch-brings-out-your-inner-space-cowboy


General Tso's is an American creation, not a Chinese one BTW.

 

[Bolter]

I don't trust these silly little bastards. We've got the Russians working with Venezuela down in the Caribbean, the Chinese doing shit in space, N. Korea starting up its nuke program, and our economy going down the tubes. I think I need to go get a case of water and some power bars in case these crazies are up to no good. That should hold me over.

 

[Mumbles]

I think they are using their very advanced lead and melamine technologies to develop their space vehicles. China leads (ha!) the way on these important technologies.

As an aside, an American, Richard Garriott (developer of the Ultima video games) will be paying to do a space walk on the Soyuz TMA-13 sometime next month. His dad was an astronaut (Owen Garriott), as well, so it is just $30 million to do a little space adventure and follow in dad's footsteps.

The folks at Seiko developed a watch for his EVA at his behest (his dad wore a Seiko in space); cost of the watch: $25,000 and only 100 will be made. Only one watch has been approved by NASA for EVA, but I'll let you Google to figure out which one. Said watch:

It has the amazing Spring Drive running it as well as a bunch of interesting technology...but 25 grand? I dunno.
http://gizmodo.com/376482/seiko-spring-drive-spacewalk-watch-brings-out-your-inner-space-cowboy


General Tso's is an American creation, not a Chinese one BTW.

I'm pretty sure that is true with chop suey as well.

 

[HercDriver]

[/b]
I'm pretty sure that is true with chop suey as well.

Jesus, now you got me thinking...

Maybe this isn't really Chinese, as well?

 

[SkywardET]

[/b]


I'm pretty sure that is true with chop suey as well.

Chop suey is Vietnamese. It means "Miscellaneous scraps" and was traditionally a left-over meal. The dish you would order at a restaurant is an Americanized version.

At least, that's what I remember learning a long time ago.