Senator: NASA to lasso asteroid, bring it closer

[Origanalist]

What could go wrong?

Science!

 

[torchbearer]

Who wants to start the Ron Paul Space Rangers?

building a firefly.

 

[sailingaway]

From Natural Citizen, a video of how NASA wants to do it:

 

[Origanalist]

From Natural Citizen, a video of how NASA wants to do it:

"NASA has said that the total cost won't be as much as previous estimates of 2.65 billion dollars"

I love science too. But who is paying for this and did they consent to it?

 

[jtstellar]

i don't support anything i don't even have the power to say no to. how's that for a rule of thumb?

and how do you argue space program is more urgent than some foreclosed home owner needing a government subsidy to buy a house because he is on the streets with 5 children? you can't. support one, support all. at least have the decency to oppose it on a federal level, and if you're that bitch stuck on spending other people's money, do it at a state level where it's you and your neighbors being the loser suckers. can't have a state/city sponsored space program? similar to the way a brain can never grow on you, you mean?

ah, right, an asteroid is mineral rich. ya, smart investment. let's move those smarts to green cars please, like we haven't had enough excuses for hit or miss "smart" federal investments. oh wait. tell you what, if there are less people like you, we would be using resources efficiently enough that we don't need those minerals. what's the use of obtaining good results through illegitimate means, if it only serves to legitimize the process for things in the future that are equally counter productive and worse? however hell much minerals you manage to 'mine' out of it.

 

[sailingaway]

"NASA has said that the total cost won't be as much as previous estimates of 2.65 billion dollars"

I love science too. But who is paying for this and did they consent to it?

DHS is building an $8 BILLION dollar building to have everyone all together. Today in Boston being ever more evidence that they are useless, I say we should disband them. Probably we should not spend the money on space, but, just saying, NASA has a better success record than DHS...

 

[Origanalist]

DHS is building an $8 BILLION dollar building to have everyone all together. Today in Boston being ever more evidence that they are useless, I say we should disband them. Probably we should not spend the money on space, but, just saying, NASA has a better success record than DHS...

I think we should spend money on space. But not at the point of a gun.

 

[Natural Citizen]

Thanks for posting that. I just couldn't find the thread. Something to consider is that the space program has historically enjoyed 100% bipartisanship. So...yeah. Not much anyone is going to do to stop longterm plans. Worth consideration is the private sectors involvement with future projects and NASA taking a seat for a while to focus on education before the next big leap.

 

[Natural Citizen]

I think we should spend money on space. But not at the point of a gun.

Most of the spending/cost is lost in the confusion as to what surmises military versus defense spending.

 

[Origanalist]

Most of the spending/cost is lost in the confusion as to what surmises military versus defense spending.

So that's a good thing, right?

 

[sailingaway]

Most of the spending/cost is lost in the confusion as to what surmises military versus defense spending.

Well, if we take their excuse for asteroid wrassling at face value, they are strategically devising modes of saving us from a cataclysmic asteroid. It still feels like a snow day, though.

 

[Natural Citizen]

So that's a good thing, right?

If folks ever get the whole global warming argument correct they'll see that a lot of the loot is designed to go to the space program. And as was mentioned some years ago, global warming is a "matter of national security". Is a big old tall glass of water.

 

[Natural Citizen]

Well, if we take their excuse for asteroid wrassling at face value, they are strategically devising modes of saving us from a cataclysmic asteroid. It still feels like a snow day, though.

You would have to be able to track them according to their complete orbit. That is a longterm algorithm beyond our lifetimes for some of these. They're talking future generations. Sure, there may be some we don't know about and maybe want to get the infratructure up there but with that model there won't be much time to tinker about if one just pops up unannounced/predicted. As I had mentioned to origanalist, much is to do with military/defense spending. My fear here is that we may be seeing the first official stages of the militarization of space. Another concern that should be thought about given the private sectors "grunt work" all of a sudden as NASA sits on the side.

There's no way you can cram all of the relevance into a few paragraphs. What I've just added is vague to say the least.

Here's what you want to listen to. I think I posted it when I first joined the forums. Not sure. This is nothing new. Is just coming into general public discussion now is all. Marina does a great job explaining how we can predict the orbit of an asteroid that won't be back for a hundred years. Now, this is also relavent to curriculum over the last decade and NASA's idle position regarding th grunt work happening from the private sector.

 

[sailingaway]

You would have to be able to track them according to their complete orbit. That is a longterm algorithm beyond our lifetimes for some of these. They're talking future generations. Sure, there may be some we don't know about and maybe want to get the infratructure up there but with that model there won't be much time to tinker about if one just pops up unannounced/predicted. As I had mentioned to origanalist, much is to do with military/defense spending. My fear here is that we may be seeing the first official stages of the militarization of space. Another concern that should be thought about given the private sectors "grunt work" all of a sudden as NASA sits on the side.

There's no way you can cram all of the relevance into a few paragraphs. What I've just added is vague to say the least.

Here's what you want to listen to. I think I posted it when I first joined the forums. Not sure. This is nothing new. Is just coming into general public discussion now is all. Marina does a great job explaining how we can predict the orbit of an asteroid that won't be back for a hundred years. Now, this is also relavent to curriculum over the last decade and NASA's idle position regarding th grunt work happening from the private sector.

My understanding is that at any time they are watching a number that 'might' hit but mathematically by the time they get closer end up not going to be hitting. Maybe Russia's was closer than they liked.

 

[Barrex]

Rofl-gigity:

...and Nasa hopes it will be home by 2023, with a couple of ounces of dirt. By then, the cost will have reached $1-billion - made up of $800-million for the vehicle, plus another $200-million for the rocket launch.

and that is how reality sounds like.

 

[Darguth]

They say it will help them learn to nudge dangerous asteroids away if they lasso one now, bring it closer and let astronauts have a play date on its surface. Personally, I think they just want to play around on an asteroid. Having said that, the space program doesn't piss me off as much as most spending sinks just because I personally think it is cool. I do feel guilty about that, though...

http://news.yahoo.com/senator-nasa-lasso-asteroid-bring-closer-201523624.html

LOL, same here. Space programs are my libertarian guilty pleasure. They're just SO COOL. That said, I'm much more geeked about more private-sector endeavors like SpaceX and Orbital Sciences (yes, I know they get paid by NASA, but at least they are more independent and competitively contracted) than with NASA stuff any more.

 

[Natural Citizen]

Rofl-gigity:



and that is how reality sounds like.

Yeah, that's pocket change compared to the freebies just handed to the banks and whatnot. We're still just handing them 40 billion per month. Thats per month...with a B. Billion. And not a peep or complaint one. But yes...giggity.