I feel like people (even liberals) would be a lot more enthusiastic about the space program if it wasn't so deeply intertwined with the MIC and imperialism, and if it wasn't being used as blatant PR by irritating capitalists.
State-owned enterprises given a reasonable amount of social surplus, so that no one is left behind. Instead it's treated like a pet project for the wealthy, which is a bad look while we have rampant poverty, inequality, and other social dysfunctions that could be helped by a more just redistribution.
I like space exploration a lot and feel like Gil Scot Heron was right, it's a tense duality, a land of contrasts
I mostly agree with this, there's huge potential for science & engineering out in the void, but I still have serious doubts human exploration missions will ever be more than publicity stunts.
Sending even a single human to Mars orbit for tele-operation would easily cost the same as scores of Perseverance probes for dubious benefit. Sending a human touchdown & return mission could easily get you hundreds of probes for the same cost. You may not get as quick or as through of a test, but you can afford to throw a half-dozen specialist probes at basically anything that catches your fancy.
I also fear this too, is here to stay. Tesla's done some nice work blowing the dust off granpap's test models, and getting really nice results on a concept we should have perfected 60 years ago, but you'll forgive me if I yawn a bit.
Like fuuuuck. We could have had ground-laser propulsion stations and rotovators and Verne guns. Refurbing the first stage of an explosive beercan tower is just disappointing for me I guess. We've done this. It sucks. Shit, we can't even get a NTR approved for a Mars-transfer orbit.
Just give me one measly little Orion launch. You could lift so many goddamn bootstraps into orbit...
EDIT: I got kind of rambly there, guess I'm trying to say as long as our idea of a "heavy lift" vehicle is a ~100 ton payload, we're already ceding everything outside HEO.
What problem does sending civilians into space solve?
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Do you want low earth orbit reality shows by 2030 or not?
Join me in the low-gravity porn studio, Mr. Chapo!
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I feel like people (even liberals) would be a lot more enthusiastic about the space program if it wasn't so deeply intertwined with the MIC and imperialism, and if it wasn't being used as blatant PR by irritating capitalists.
State-owned enterprises given a reasonable amount of social surplus, so that no one is left behind. Instead it's treated like a pet project for the wealthy, which is a bad look while we have rampant poverty, inequality, and other social dysfunctions that could be helped by a more just redistribution.
I like space exploration a lot and feel like Gil Scot Heron was right, it's a tense duality, a land of contrasts
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If by mars you mean the Middle East and by scientists, you mean weapons, then yeah.
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I mostly agree with this, there's huge potential for science & engineering out in the void, but I still have serious doubts human exploration missions will ever be more than publicity stunts.
Sending even a single human to Mars orbit for tele-operation would easily cost the same as scores of Perseverance probes for dubious benefit. Sending a human touchdown & return mission could easily get you hundreds of probes for the same cost. You may not get as quick or as through of a test, but you can afford to throw a half-dozen specialist probes at basically anything that catches your fancy.
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I also fear this too, is here to stay. Tesla's done some nice work blowing the dust off granpap's test models, and getting really nice results on a concept we should have perfected 60 years ago, but you'll forgive me if I yawn a bit.
Like fuuuuck. We could have had ground-laser propulsion stations and rotovators and Verne guns. Refurbing the first stage of an explosive beercan tower is just disappointing for me I guess. We've done this. It sucks. Shit, we can't even get a NTR approved for a Mars-transfer orbit.
Just give me one measly little Orion launch. You could lift so many goddamn bootstraps into orbit...
EDIT: I got kind of rambly there, guess I'm trying to say as long as our idea of a "heavy lift" vehicle is a ~100 ton payload, we're already ceding everything outside HEO.