think it should be a private operation. will be more efficient, and we will get there faster. like the department of education, NASA is probably not needed anymore
I don't think the key to Mars has changed since I was in college in 1988 and took a class towards exploration of space. The aerospace plane that will make flights into LEO affordable,.The permanent space station from which all trips to the moon will originate with a constantly traveling shuttle that won't use a dramatic amount of fuel. A permanent moon base that will be the leaping off point to Mars. We should have been there already (See the show For All Mankind) but literally stopped manned space travel development in its tracks after the Challenger disaster. Hope this can bring bipartisan support to get where we should already be with private industry contributing as it shoud.
I've also been nervous about this. Mechanical failures, radiation belts, solar storms...and way, way down deep, an uneasy feeling there's more to why we haven't been back than we've been told. Ha, ha, isn't that funny? Perhaps there's a congressman or two who might share some info on the topic? Isn't Spielberg putting out a movie or something this summer? Where'd I put that tinfoil hat...
I was 6 when Apollo 17 landed on the moon. I watched it on our teeny little TV in Dad’s quarters in Germany, desperately trying to see the men walking on the moon. I believed that we would soon have a moon base, and orbiting L5 habitats. Space elevators, the asteroid belt, all of it. I thought for sure that would be happening now, when I’m 58 going on 59. And I think that withdrawing from space, going down the space shuttle and near earth road, satellites for more TV and all that, was a total disaster for America. Yesterday and today were huge and going to be bigger as we keep going forward.
My societal energy and enthusiasm is getting super-charged! Let's get to the Moon and then Mars.
We can mine some asteroids along the way. John Ringo and his alter ego Tyler Vernon suggested orbital mining mirrors to melt them. We just need a invent a way to manipulate gravity...
think it should be a private operation. will be more efficient, and we will get there faster. like the department of education, NASA is probably not needed anymore
“If you’re under 53 years old, you have never once been alive while a human was farther than 250 miles from Earth.”
This is not true. Jared Isaacman was 870 miles from Earth less than 2 years ago.
That’s true, but it really is just a quibble with the point that Glenn is making. No one has left near earth space since Dec, 1972
Absolutely true. Note neither Isaacman nor any of the rest of that Dragon crew was a government employee at the time.
All of which does nothing to diminish these four folks, however - boldly going boldly where only Apollo went before.
It’s been far too long.
Perfesser- Another fine piece and a fine sentiment. Godspeed.
I don't think the key to Mars has changed since I was in college in 1988 and took a class towards exploration of space. The aerospace plane that will make flights into LEO affordable,.The permanent space station from which all trips to the moon will originate with a constantly traveling shuttle that won't use a dramatic amount of fuel. A permanent moon base that will be the leaping off point to Mars. We should have been there already (See the show For All Mankind) but literally stopped manned space travel development in its tracks after the Challenger disaster. Hope this can bring bipartisan support to get where we should already be with private industry contributing as it shoud.
Glenn, I agree 100%. This is just something we have to do as Americans - we need a (final) frontier.
Original Star Trek fandom aside, can we say "next frontier" or "the new frontier"? Final sounds so...terminal...(-;
It's a start. For our president, it is a commitment. That's a win in my book.
I've also been nervous about this. Mechanical failures, radiation belts, solar storms...and way, way down deep, an uneasy feeling there's more to why we haven't been back than we've been told. Ha, ha, isn't that funny? Perhaps there's a congressman or two who might share some info on the topic? Isn't Spielberg putting out a movie or something this summer? Where'd I put that tinfoil hat...
I was 6 when Apollo 17 landed on the moon. I watched it on our teeny little TV in Dad’s quarters in Germany, desperately trying to see the men walking on the moon. I believed that we would soon have a moon base, and orbiting L5 habitats. Space elevators, the asteroid belt, all of it. I thought for sure that would be happening now, when I’m 58 going on 59. And I think that withdrawing from space, going down the space shuttle and near earth road, satellites for more TV and all that, was a total disaster for America. Yesterday and today were huge and going to be bigger as we keep going forward.
My societal energy and enthusiasm is getting super-charged! Let's get to the Moon and then Mars.
We can mine some asteroids along the way. John Ringo and his alter ego Tyler Vernon suggested orbital mining mirrors to melt them. We just need a invent a way to manipulate gravity...
🎶Just stop your cryin’, it’s a sign of the times.🎶