The Big Picture: Once Upon a Time in The Future

[zwitterion117]

Bob,

I"M WITH YOU BROTHER!

 

[BenzSmoke]

NASA canceled what!? Why was no one told? Why isn't this the major news story?!
Why would we limit the evolution of our race in the name of earthly problems?!

If these problems are so powerful as to effect our evolution, than why aren't we getting off our a*ses and fixing them?!

 

[MB202]

And now in my eyes Bob is a bigger, more selfish ass than before.
Seriously?
Your pissed that they are cutting the funding for a Space Program that has been in decline for a while now and has directly cost the lives of several of of your fellow human beings, so they can use the money where it will be needed in the future.
I wonder if you will have the same viewpoint if the economy of the US goes right in the shitter, causing various companies, say for example The Escapist, to fire their employees and then suddenly your out of a job because Obama put more money into sending someone into space than into fixing the economy. I doubt it.
Keeping a failing space program running is not the responsible thing to do in a global recession.

The most annoying thing about this is that your being stupidly short sighted. Your a child in his high chair looking at the candy and saying "I WANT IT NOW!" when your parents are struggling to put the potatoes on the table to keep you healthy because they can't afford it. They didn't say, "No thats it forever, no more space travel."
They simply said "We don't want to burn the cash right now, others can pick it up later if the time is right."
Getting through the boring potatoes will make the sweet candy all the tastier and it's why grown ups order the main course of the meal first. Hopefully some day you'll be able to sit at the grown up table, but with each hate speech you post I realise we wil be waiting a while longer for you to pull up a chair, which is a shame, because when you open your mind to a serious discussion, your a great champion of logic and reason.

So how about growing up Bob?
Grow up and get over your childhood, like other healthy adults, no one has a perfect childhood but we get over it as we grow up, its part of being an adult. Granted, some have have more to get over than others, but the ones that do get over it have a better life because of it.
Grow up and get over your idea of walking on Mars because you saw it in a movie as a kid and it was your only escape from your childhood.

Even if your going to claim that your childhood was darker and more traumatic than anyone can possibly imagine, do you really think you should be in the public eye giving out your opinion which has obviously been warped by your childhood?

Your fellow humans are dying of disease and famine all across the planet you share with them. Surely a narcissist like you would want to be the better man, rise above those that made your childhood your personal hell and make the planet a better place. But no, you just have your selfish dream and you are less of a person because of it. And you think you can just blow it off because people were a dick to you as a kid and now you think its your turn to get even?

Part of me hopes this video is a joke.

Well, he DID just admit that if you think he's the bad guy because of what he said then fine, he's the bad guy, and at least he gave his reasons for saying what he did. Selfish, yeah, but really, deep down, we're all a little selfish. I'm willing to bet that more than half the people here on this forum will completely ignore world peace in favor of accomplishing their own dreams and goals first.

 

[Devil's Due]

Sure, and every WHITE president has had a bunch of mouth-breathers asking whether he was born in Sweden, Scotland, or Croatia.

When did the discussion bring in white Presidents? Why have you automatically begun to think about Presidents who are not dark skinned as your response? That does sort of label you racist in a way.

Anyone asking for his birth certificate is stupid, since anyone going for President is obviously checked out, so Obama is fine, same with anyone else taking the office. People can become blind with ignorance it appears, both the people asking for the certificate and those who want to shout "Why? Because he's BLACK?! HUH?!" too. People should just take a step back and ACCEPT it, he's President now, if you don't like him, don't let him get re-elected, or vice-versa if you like him. Simple.

As for the thread, disappointing that the space program is done for, but I'm still applying for an officer position in the United States Air Force, and if lucky, possibly going into a space career. Military space programs are always fun, like StarGate SG1 ;-)

 

[Dartinin]

You are not alone... if not more well informed then I. sad thing is that America ... shows all the signs of a dieing nation ... its only a mater of time before we destroy our self's (if we have not yet done that) and some other nation takes on the crown of "representatives of humanity" some one like china I would assume will take it from us.

 

[ChroniclerC]

Dear TheEscapist Magazine,

You guys usually do a pretty good job of bringing me all manor of nerdy, sciency, or just plain interesting news. The mass media didn't cover the cancellation of the Space Shuttle Program because they are idiots. You, TheEscapist, are neither mass media nor idiots. SO WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS UNTIL NOW?!

Sincerely,
~ChroniclerC


Yeah, I'm not sure what's worse; the fact that we, as a country, are no longer going into space, or that this fact has so completely fallen through the cracks.

 

[EPolleys]

I haven't agreed with you on some other things in the past Bob, but I agree 100% with what you said here. I'd rather choose space travel too given the choice.

 

[Seamus8]

We shot a giant eyeball into space, it saw there was nothing useful in pratical distance, so we're putting it off until the limits of what makes practical distance practical changes.

 

[hem dazon 90]

Anyone else want it to happen?

 

[Swaki]

wow, yeah i dont care about space travel, im sure that there is tons of important information up there that can help us understand how the universe came to be, if there was life on nearby planets (nearby being relative) and how/why they died out or even better, survived (my grasp of all of it is loose if im being generous, but hey im still struggling with 2nd year college math) and all of that i want to support.

but getting a man up there?, starting colonies? that is pretty low on my ideal to do list of humanity, above a way to bring back disco but below a sled that works uphill and during summer.

 

[Dana22]

Taking Cities on Mars over World Peace wouldn't make you evil, but unreasonable and unlogical.
With World Peace we would have so much more time, money and volunteers to focus on such projects as exploration of space.

 

[Swaki]

You are not alone... if not more well informed then I. sad thing is that America shows all the signs of a dieing nation, its only a mater of time before we destroy our self's (if we have not yet done that) and some other nation takes on the crown of "representatives of humanity" some one like china I would assume will take it from us.

yeah, i hope not, cause the whole "leaders of the freeworld" and the other titles some representatives award America when giving speeches may be why the US got some PR issues, it kinda rubs the rest of the democratic countries the wrong way.

but, i doubt that America will die out, with the most patriotic citizens in the world (i think its because the flag looks so nice, i mean i love Denmark but our flag is pretty boring, even if it is a gift from god) and more nukes than any other country, America will go out with a bang, not a whimper (screw T. S. Eliot ^^).

 

[Phantom64]

You are FAR from the only one. I am absolutely obsessed with space, and the entire idea of interplanetary colonization fills me with wonder, hope, and AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW YEAH!!!!!!!!!

Fuck the poor. No, I don't mean that. But let's face it, since when did the poor get in the way with making cool shit? Since when do people actually do something about the problems Earth is facing instead of just complaining about them? The answer: very little for both.

So why not expand? We're doing it with technology already; why not do it to technology that matters. Like it or not, space exploration will be MANDATORY for future survival. Hell, what about those mineral rich asteroids circling around the sun? I think we could solve a few problems with diminishing resources if we started sticking buildings on the bigger ones.

The entire concept of building a structure on the moon or Mars gets me giddy. When they announced Constellation was to be disbanded, I was devastated. If I ever become the US president (I won't), I'm taking money out of education and all that boring shit and putting it into space travel. I'm also going to act really liberal until the Republicans start getting pissed. Then I'm going to act really conservative. Don't ever elect me president.

Screw China and India. America got to the moon first, and we should get to Mars first. We own the moon already (there's a flag on it; I think that constitutes ownership), so we should probably start building stuff on it before someone else does.

Wow and here I thought Bob as the only misanthrope on here. Reading your comments alone dropped my support of space funding even more.

 

[Feylynn]

While I was going to post "The Case for Mars" apparently someone beat me to it on the first page...

So here's
Instead.

I've never been a 'huge' space person. It's always amazed me at some level but it never felt like my cup of tea, I just accepted that other people more passionate would get it done.
This mind set does not mean I can overlook it not happening or worse, being intentionally ignored by any of humanity.

We're all "Green this, green that" recently, then why the hell would anyone ignore the real solution. This cosmic vessel's lease is almost up, need to replace half the parts in it and think up creative ways to not use the rest.
Time for a new one, I want a Mars one.

Humanities 'Perfect dying luxury world and ability to sustain it's population can come after the
Continuation of the entire species
is dealt with.

Space is mandatory. I guess some people don't realize that the earth is small, sickly, and leaving no room for the only way to get bigger as a presence in the real "World"
(That may perhaps be ironic coming from such an escapist persona as myself and their obliviousness to the current world)

 

[Pills_Here]

We can and should be exploring space. Period. It'll take A LOT of money and more effort than we put into most things we do as a species but I think with conventional technology we could travel not only to Mars but to the outer solar system (and don't tell me there's nothing intriguing about those moons of Jupiter and the other gas giants). Hell, Freeman Dyson had an idea to send us there decades ago.

Think "giant railgun"

 

[Wolfgang21]

I'm with you Bob, I want cities on Mars.

 

[Mangue Surfer]

Space? come on! Why spread the misery of mankind to the universe? Let us be satisfied with destroying only this planet.

 

[microwaviblerabbit]

We shot a giant eyeball into space, it saw there was nothing useful in pratical distance, so we're putting it off until the limits of what makes practical distance practical changes.

Except now our entire society functions off these giant eyeballs in space. Satellites are what holds the modern world together, without them the transfer of information would be much slower and more expensive. Not to mention their uses to monitor the earth and what goes on.

The space program is expensive, and it seems to lack immediate rewards. But how many advancements came from useless projects? Laboratory mold, melted chocolate bars, and an ancient novelty toy created antibiotics, microwaves and the steam engine.

Without expanding the boundaries, how can we discover new things? The space program has to tackle problems we would never face on earth, and the solutions it comes up with help tackle other problems we face on earth. The question of long term power for space vehicles launched research into solar panels - a way to resolve the energy crisis we face.

Part of me wonder if the American space program will be the equivalent to the Viking landings in North America - they got there first, but quickly left, leaving little impact compared to those who came after. We speak English (and French) in North America - not Norse.

 

[Aulleas123]

*sniff* *sniff*

Smells like pretentious to me.

Getting to space takes money, if we're broke we can't get to space. So fix the economy then get to Mars. Look at the big leaps in American advancements into space.
-1960: Right after a period of economic stability and general social dullness when everything was in black and white. At this point, we send our first pieces into space. Yes, it's a reaction to the Soviets, but it got us moving.
-1980's: After the shit-hole that was the '70's, we develop the space shuttle which gives us the opportunity to have more prolonged journeys into space. This was at the time when we got our economic footing and national confidence back. Look, not everyone likes Reagan, I get it. But he did a fair amount for the national space movement than most other presidents of our time.
-2000's: While our government was doing everything it could to get involved with every other country in the world, the private sector grew. This was when millionaires decided to go into space. I am glad Bob mentioned this, however it's also interesting how he takes a typically naive view of private business. I'm pretty sure if we send up people from Boeing and Lockheed Martin into space, we won't really need to worry about the first contact being the Vulcans meeting the Jersey Shore.

All in all, there were things that I agree with Bob on. But brushing aside private advancements into space travel and pointing the finger at the American public because we're a bit more concerned with 10% of our country being out of work than sending people to collect space rocks seems incredibly pretentious to me.

You said everything I could have ever wanted to say about the video, only better.

And yes, private industry is working to make trips into space possible: http://www.space.com/news/spacex-faa-license-private-spaceship-reentry-101122.html

Something else to chew on: I wonder if, before 1920, people ever had thoughts that journeys through the air would be privatized? Ok, most probably did, but I'm sure that some people believed that such was impossible and that it would be a disaster if anything but a federal government facility is responsible for mass transit above the clouds. Sure, today we have oversight with airport communications and the military air force, but it's still United, Continental, and Southwest that bring us from place to place.

Couldn't it be true for space as well?