NASA and its planned moon landing

[fncceo]

approach and landing flights (and I remember them well) are NOT "spaceflights".

They were flight tests.

 

[rightwinger]

Three-years is impossible ... even if they were serious about achieving it. (see above).

Apollo took five years but there were constant test flights leading up it

 

[Dayton3]

Apollo took five years but there were constant test flights leading up it

The Saturn V only had four test flights, two of which suffered significant engine malfunctions.

 

[Dayton3]

They were flight tests.

not even powered flights. mere gliding.

 

[fncceo]

Apollo took five years but there were constant test flights leading up it

In fact, manned mission between 1961 and 1969 occurred on an average of every five months. Unmanned testing flights more frequently.

 

[Dayton3]

In fact, manned mission between 1961 and 1969 occurred on an average of every five months. Unmanned testing flights more frequently.

not as part of the Apollo program they didn't.

 

[fncceo]

No one is using technology significantly different than what Hitler used in World War II.

View attachment 686774

I don't often respond to my own posts (this, I believe, is the first time). But, looking at that picture got me thinking.

As early as 1943, some prominent Americans were proposing making a separate peace with Hitler and leaving Europe to its own devices while we continued to attack Japan (after all, Japan did attack us first).

While, such a decision would have been a shameful and despicable act on our part, I wonder what a Von Braun and his team, without being at war and with unlimited slave resources and wealth plundered from all of Europe could have done with the V2 rockets.

Von Braun often said he never intended his rockets for war, but for space exploration and, despite his horrendous record of war crimes, was the architect of our manned space program, and the man who created Saturn V.

In one sense, I'm glad we'll never know. On the other hand, I can only speculate on how far they would have gone. Mars by 2000?

 

[fncceo]

not as part of the Apollo program they didn't.

No, as part of our manned space program that didn't start and didn't end with Apollo.

That being said, every single Gemini flight was a test and/or practice of equipment and procedures that would be used on Apollo.

Truly, I'm not sure what point you're trying to make here.

If you are trying to say that NASA will get to the moon before 202X then, instead of arguing why they should be taking never successfully tested equipment to The Moon, you should be pushing NASA to get off their collective, taxpayer-funded, fat arses and start testing the vehicles we already have and actually building the ones we don't.

Start training the astronauts we already have in the procedures they will need to accomplish that mission.

Until that actually starts happening, the chances of NASA going to The Moon are about as good as my getting a date with Gal Gadot.

 

[Dayton3]

I don't often respond to my own posts (this, I believe, is the first time). But, looking at that picture got me thinking.

As early as 1943, some Americans were proposing making a separate peace with Hitler and leaving Europe to its own devices while we continued to attack Japan (after all, Japan did attack us first).

While, such a decision would have been a shameful and despicable act on our part, I wonder what a Von Braun and his team, without being at war and with unlimited slave resources and wealth plundered from all of Europe could have done with the V2 rockets.

Von Braun often said he never intended his rockets for war, but for space exploration and, despite his horrendous record of war crimes, was the architect of our manned space program, and the man who created Saturn V.

In one sense, I'm glad we'll never know. On the other hand, I can only speculate on how far they would have gone. Mars by 2000?

Could be, after all after Apollo 11, the commission headed up by VP Agnew proposed the U.S. continuing to develop its technology and sending a manned mission to Mars by the mid 1980s.

 

[fncceo]

Could be, after all after Apollo 11, the commission headed up by VP Agnew proposed the U.S. continuing to develop its technology and sending a manned mission to Mars by the mid 1980s.

Once we beat Russia to The Moon, America lost interest in space so quickly it was almost unbelievable.

From the heady days of The 1960's, where space was on everyone's mind and our astronauts were more popular than rock stars we have gotten to the point where now, the only discussions anyone ever has of space include mentions of Wookies and Klingons.

Ronald Moore ("Battlestar Galactica") did a series for Apple TV called, "For All Mankind". It is an alternate history of The Space Race where America didn't get to The Moon First, Russia did and the space race never died. We didn't go to Vietnam, instead we put all our resources into the next goals in space, Moon Bases, mining The Moon and Asteroids, Manned Mars Missions (which "spoiler alert" -- North Korea did first).

I think I would have liked to live in that world.

 

[fncceo]

Just one of the (many) reasons Russia didn't get to The Moon before us, despite a substantial early lead in manned spaceflight -- (so significant that Kennedy's Science Advisor, Jerome Wiesner, argued vociferously that we should not even get into a race and let Russian's have space) -- was their lack of a successful Gemini Program.

During Gemini, Americans learned to change vectors in orbits, maneuver between orbital planes, space walk, rendezvous with both manned and unmanned spacecraft, and perform useful work in EVA.

The Soviet Vokshod capsules didn't have the ability to maneuver in LEO that way Gemini craft did and despite the first spacewalk, they never performed any other significant advances with that spacecraft.

Soviets weren't able to successfully dock two spacecraft until January 1969, Soyuz 4/5 -- both spacecraft in orbit simultaneously -- and were still practicing that particular maneuver even after Al Shepard hit a golf ball on The Moon.

Space flight advancement comes in steps. You can't go from here to there without many, many steps in-between. When I start to see people stepping, I'll start planning to celebrate their arrival at the destination.

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

an unmanned moon rover like the mars rovers would cheaper and safer

 

[fncceo]

an unmanned moon rover like the mars rovers would cheaper and safer
View attachment 686792

I agree, but Americans will never again experience the vicarious thrill we had of watching one of our own fellow Americans hop about on The Moon (or Mars) and know that we all helped it happen. We will never again dump a significant part of our national treasure into any space based endeavor that doesn't include our own men and women.

To reverse an old-adage ... "Without Buck Rogers, there are no bucks".

 

[rightwinger]

not as part of the Apollo program they didn't.

Gemini was a practice for Apollo

 

[rightwinger]

I agree, but Americans will never again experience the vicarious thrill we had of watching one of our own fellow Americans hop about on The Moon (or Mars) and know that we all helped it happen. We will never again dump a significant part of our national treasure into any space based endeavor that doesn't include our own men and women.

To reverse an old-adage ... "Without Buck Rogers, there are no bucks".

We don’t need Buck Rogers, we need R2D2

We can accomplish more with Drones and Space Telescopes

 

[fncceo]

We don’t need Buck Rogers, we need R2D2

We can accomplish more with Drones and Space Telescopes

Then we need to admit manned space is OVER and we will never see it again.

 

[Dayton3]

We don’t need Buck Rogers, we need R2D2

We can accomplish more with Drones and Space Telescopes

But unmanned platforms are not nearly as inspiring.

 

[rightwinger]

But unmanned platforms are not nearly as inspiring.

But not nearly as expensive

What are we expecting our space travelers to do?
Live their lives in some tin can never breathing fresh air
Live in some space colony with limited space
Having to rely on constant supply missions to survive

Convicts have better lives

 

[Dayton3]

But not nearly as expensive

What are we expecting our space travelers to do?
Live their lives in some tin can never breathing fresh air
Live in some space colony with limited space
Having to rely on constant supply missions to survive

Convicts have better lives

So? You'd still have no shortage of volunteers for such an assignment.

 

[rightwinger]

So? You'd still have no shortage of volunteers for such an assignment.

Living in a Space Colony sounds romantic
I can’t see where the reality would be that appealing