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Newt promises a permanent moonbase by the end of his second term

OCaptain said:
The proponents of a Space Elevator forget one big thing - the tether would be the biggest terrorist target ever.
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Back when people were talking about space elevators, terrorism wasn't a garden variety commodity; it was an exotic in South American jungles.

But do read The Fountains of Paradise. The plot of it does concern an attempt to destroy a space elevator.
 
fishbob said:
Treaties? Treaties?

Newt don't need no stinking treaties.
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You mean, the Chinese who have stated they are going to put a manned colony on the moon, can exit the existing treaty with one year's notice, and claim the moon or parts of it?

Oh, wait....we can exit the treaty with one year's notice too.
 
TragicMonkey said:
The biggest drawback to a space elevator would be the space elevator music.
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At least you'd get to hear a whole song. I can't count the number of times I've been singing along with a song in the elevator, then the doors open and the other passengers throw me out.
 
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Well, Newt got the Space 1999 DVD box set for Christmas and it's clearly got him all excited.
 
Tricky said:
At least you'd get to hear a whole song. I can't count the number of times I've been singing along with a song in the elevator, then the doors open and the other passengers throw me out.
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From 50 miles up that would be an ugly job, but somebody would have to do it.
 
mhaze said:
You mean, the Chinese who have stated they are going to put a manned colony on the moon...
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Saying they're going to do it is one thing. Actually do it is something else. To date the Chinese have flown exactly three manned space missions. No docking, no orbital rendezous, no lunar lander test missions, no manned flights beyond Earth's orbit. Seems they've got a ways to go yet to make their boast into reality.
 
Corsair 115 said:
Saying they're going to do it is one thing. Actually do it is something else. To date the Chinese have flown exactly three manned space missions. No docking, no orbital rendezous, no lunar lander test missions, no manned flights beyond Earth's orbit. Seems they've got a ways to go yet to make their boast into reality.
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Perhaps that's how Newt will build that base. Outsourced to the Chinese!
 
The billions of dollars that would be wasted on such an endeavor are clearly better spent on domestic concerns. I'll be back later with the hard numbers on what could be done with just one billion dollars.
 
Muldur said:
The billions of dollars that would be wasted on such an endeavor are clearly better spent on domestic concerns. I'll be back later with the hard numbers on what could be done with just one billion dollars.
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Yes, let's cure all human concerns before we explore space. We certainly know we can do that for sure and for all time with the limited resources we have on our precarious little planet. So what if the expense of exploration in the long run is really a mere pittance? So what if there are resources out there that can help us down here? After all, turning our back on outer space provides such immense returns as far as navel gazing and not having to work out the long term survival of our species.

Lets just stay here on Earth and forget space. When you have all your eggs in one basket, they are soooo much easier to deal with.
 
LSSBB said:
Yes, let's cure all human concerns before we explore space.
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Absolutely! Take care of our needs before we splurge on our "wants".

We certainly know we can do that for sure and for all time with the limited resources we have on our precarious little planet.
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We have what we have to work with. Resource retrieval from space is an economic non-starter for any resource we actually need. The expense getting it and getting it back (even if we could manage the tech) is prohibitive.

So what if the expense of exploration in the long run is really a mere pittance?
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I don't consider billions of dollars a "pittance". Neither do the millions of people who are poor, homeless, hungry, sick or any combination thereof.

So tell me...which families must go homeless? Which children hungry? Which elderly/disabled person sick? How will you choose? And how will you explain to them that their misery and privation is building the Glorious People's Visionary Space Colony?


So what if there are resources out there that can help us down here?
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See above. Reality isn't Star Trek.


After all, turning our back on outer space provides such immense returns as far as navel gazing and not having to work out the long term survival of our species.
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The long term survival of our species is not going to be found in space. It's going to be found in sustainable use of planet Earth. That is where our concern should be.

Lets just stay here on Earth and forget space. When you have all your eggs in one basket, they are soooo much easier to deal with.
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Earth is the only place we have to live. There are no other habitable planets in the solar system, and that is where we are limited to by any realistic estimate of technology.
 
RenaissanceBiker said:
The thing is, there's no really good reason to send a man to the Moon anymore.
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Reasons to go to the Moon:
1. Because it's there
2. To shut up the cretins who believe Apollo was faked
3. To rekindle a sense of wonder
4. As a stepping stone to Mars
 
Multivac said:
Reasons to go to the Moon:
1. Because it's there
2. To shut up the cretins who believe Apollo was faked
3. To rekindle a sense of wonder
4. As a stepping stone to Mars
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1. It's not going anywhere. If you want to go there for recreational purposes then spend your own money doing it.
2. Cretins can be silenced for a whole lot less.
3. Did someone's sense of wonder go out?
4. It's cheaper and easier to send robots to Mars. The Moon is not needed for that.

I'm all for space exploration and in the long term I would like to see us colonize other worlds and even other solar systems. I just think it requires a deliberate, cost effective, well-planned effort. Newt's idea is none of those.
 
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