Future of human spaceflight (again)

Mu naught

Hi, I'm really not sure what NASA's requirements and such are, but have you ever considered that NASA may very well end all manned space programs in the near future? There are a lot of people who want to see NASA's budget all into robotic exploration.

D H

Ain't gonna happen.

There are a small number of people who want to see the end to human space flight. The most likely outcome of ending human space exploration is that NASA's budget would drop to near zero, including the robotic exploration budget.

In any case, this discussion is complete off-topic to the question raised in the original post. Do not discuss this topic in this thread, please.

cybersysop

I agree that was off subject. So lets adjust that. If manned space flight by humans ends, what degree will the robotic astronauts be required to have in there programing? Will they be ran by a grounded astronaut and with what degree then? An astronaut is an astronaut human or not, Right? So what will be the educational background requirements be for astronauts, whether manned by humans or robotic, Engineering?

D H

You are assuming that a space program will continue to exist if human space flight is terminated. I suspect that there won't be much left to NASA except for its aerodynamics work and a few Earth-observing satellites. Those remaining tidbits could easily be transferred to the FAA and NOAA.

cybersysop

Yes, you are correct, that is assuming that NASA continued space flight. It could also fall under the auspice of national security too. I hope space exploration continues.

D H

Why would you assume that? This experiment has been tried three times already, with the same result each time. Decreasing the funding for human spaceflight does not result in increased funding for unmanned spaceflight. Decrease the funding for human spaceflight and funding for unmanned spaceflight soon follows suit.

Funding for human spaceflight fell drastically after the end of the Apollo program. That freed-up money did not go to unmanned space. It went everywhere but NASA. Funding for unmanned space flight also fell in the post-Apollo era. A similar thing happened in Russia. Great Britain truly did something even more drastic. At the behest of their space scientists, Great Britain banned all government funding of human spaceflight activities. Those space scientists should have been more careful what they wished for. Great Britain's space program soon dwindled to almost nothing; what little money that remained was mandatory support for the European Space Agency, and most of that money went across the Channel. Great Britain has finally rescinded that 40 year old ban (or they are trying to do so).

cybersysop

I agree with you, perhaps I could have stated that better. In any event, the private sector has greatly benefited from NASA technologies and ex-personnel as well. This is however the first era that private companies have the capability and means to really pursue manned space exploration with or with out a government partnership. I am a big fan of manned space exploration in the proper context and a big fan of NASA, despite the bureaucracies in all large endeavors. We owe much to NASA. So I am happy to see that you feel the same and apologize if my post was not clear.

cybersysop

I Hope the we certainly have a better method than 35 year old space shuttle technology to do the job! Maybe scuttling the current shuttles is not so bad. Cant a Boeing 30 year old 707 do the same thing? LOL

cronxeh

When Jamie Lee Curtis did a hotel bedroom scene in True Lies you would've never thought she would end up doing a yogurt commercial for constipation just 15 years later. NASA is like Jamie Lee Curtis, used to be hot, went deep and had muscles, but now..

I want to see space exploration in the hands of private companies, competing to get to MARS first and spending on engineering and research along the way. There are billions of dollars in private sector, not to mention a lot of cheap, innovative workers. You dont need a PhD to get to Mars (maybe a Masters)

mgb_phys

The reason they did it was that the entire space budget, every postdoc, every telescope every lab - would have gone to putting a couple of ex-miltary pilots/future-politicians into orbit for a couple of laps.

Would you want a return to the moon if the USA's entire space+astronomy research budget was spent on it?

cybersysop

There are many good arguments for both. At the end of the day, if and when we have a, ELE comet speeding towards earth, I think I would rather have the resources of our country through NASA and other Countries together will be the best answer as apposed to a private companies. As far as Mars and space exploration goes, currently there is nothing stopping private industry from having that space race right now. SO I am concerned that if we let NASA go, what will take its place? I dont know!

D H

That is a false dilemma. it is also a false premise. The countries with the largest budgets for robotic space exploration are those countries with the largest human space exploration budgets. The UK ban on support for human spaceflight did accomplish its primary objective: There are (or rather were) no British astronauts supported by the British government. It also accomplished another unforeseen objective: The annihilation of the British space program. Thanks to that ban, Great Britain now stands at #21 in civil (non-military) space exploration.

The very organization, the Royal Astronomical Society, that championed the ban on UK involvement in human spaceflight activities has been a key player in getting that ban lifted. Here is a 2005 BBC article on this topic: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4351688.stm.

Great Britain now has a new space agency; it is less than two months old. The old BNSC has been replaced by the UK Space Agency. Their website: http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/default.aspx, A Guardian article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/20...gency-launched. Note that the person chosen to push the button to signal the start of this new space agency was Britain's first official, government-supported astronaut candidate.