| Does the Future Belong to China? |
| Yes |
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20% |
[ 2 ] |
| No |
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50% |
[ 5 ] |
| Other |
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30% |
[ 3 ] |
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| Total Votes : 10 |
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Message |
webtaz99
Commodore
Joined: 13 Nov 2003
Posts: 1229
Location: The Other Side
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 Wed May 04, 2005 1:47 pm |
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I find that highly likely, unless the US makes another desparate money-is-not-an-object race.
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"History is made at night! Character is who you are in the dark." (Lord John Whorfin)
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Zeke Zabertini
Captain
Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 4832
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| Wed May 04, 2005 7:11 pm |
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I suppose it's possible. They've got a ways to go before they're capable of that, though. The U.S. space program certainly seems to be at a standstill...
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Theresa
Lux Mihi Deus
Joined: 17 Jun 2001
Posts: 27256
Location: United States of America
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| Wed May 04, 2005 7:45 pm |
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No, it's not.
1 example; http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/
And if China works to be THE world superpower, go them. I may not appreciate their humanitarian endeavors, but, w/e.
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Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with our scars
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Hitchhiker
Rear Admiral
Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 3514
Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Wed May 04, 2005 7:49 pm |
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| Theresa wrote: | No, it's not.
1 example; http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/
And if China works to be THE world superpower, go them. I may not appreciate their humanitarian endeavors, but, w/e. |
As much as I am excited by the return of the space shuttle, I doubt the space shuttle (considering it is called an "orbiter") shall ever be a viable form of interplanetary travel, and I doubt overall that it will remain in service much longer.
It is possible to reach Mars, if more funding is seriously devoted to manned spaceflight. I'm all for saving the Hubble telescope and launching more unmanned equipment into space, but the International Space Station was supposed to be the first big step into space. It's already overschedule and less promising than I hoped it would be, yet we continue to construct it. Government-sponsored space travel has, unfortunately, become overrun by bureaucracy.
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Theresa
Lux Mihi Deus
Joined: 17 Jun 2001
Posts: 27256
Location: United States of America
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| Wed May 04, 2005 7:55 pm |
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To go OT a little bit, last time I was at Kennedy, they had some awesome stuff in conception. (This was in the last three or so years).
-------signature-------
Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with our scars
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Hitchhiker
Rear Admiral
Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 3514
Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Wed May 04, 2005 8:02 pm |
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| Theresa wrote: | | To go OT a little bit, last time I was at Kennedy, they had some awesome stuff in conception. (This was in the last three or so years). |
I'm sure they do. They need money though. I'm confident that once a serious project is funded and developed, we will get closer to manned interplanetary travel.
Back on-topic, what of the subject of China's humanitarian issues in relation to their ascent as a superpower. I was reminded of one particular issue recently, the Dalai Lama's exile and China's relationship with Tibet.
I heard an interesting comment about text-messaging in relation to the fate of China too.  The government tries to control the media so that things it wants censored do not appear--for example, the news of anti-Japanese protests--but the news still spreads via people text-messaging each other.
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Zeke Zabertini
Captain
Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 4832
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| Wed May 04, 2005 8:04 pm |
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T, you're missing my point. The space shuttle is defunct. It has fallen behind all original expectations of it, and NASA still calls it a test vehicle. We need to start utilizing modern technology to make space travel safer, cheaper, and more versatile. NASA's had a lot of stuff in conception for over a decade, but they're not going anywhere with it. Our space program is stagnant. So we're going into orbit again with the same old relic we did before. Whoopie.
EDIT: HH is right. This is a bit off-topic. I think it's relevant though.
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Theresa
Lux Mihi Deus
Joined: 17 Jun 2001
Posts: 27256
Location: United States of America
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| Wed May 04, 2005 8:05 pm |
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No, I'm afraid you miss my point. But since it's going so wildly OT, I don't care.
-------signature-------
Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with our scars
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Zeke Zabertini
Captain
Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 4832
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| Wed May 04, 2005 8:22 pm |
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| Theresa wrote: | | No, I'm afraid you miss my point. But since it's going so wildly OT, I don't care. |
Do I have to make a topic about the state of NASA to get a straight answer out of you? Sometimes things lead to seperate topics. It's useless to try to make threads for all of them. How am I missing your point? All you did was give me a link to an article that talked about the space shuttle readying for launch. What about that is your point?
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webtaz99
Commodore
Joined: 13 Nov 2003
Posts: 1229
Location: The Other Side
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| Wed May 04, 2005 8:24 pm |
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I think the (possible) space race would make a good (but separate) topic.
{hint hint}
-------signature-------
"History is made at night! Character is who you are in the dark." (Lord John Whorfin)
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Theresa
Lux Mihi Deus
Joined: 17 Jun 2001
Posts: 27256
Location: United States of America
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| Wed May 04, 2005 8:26 pm |
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I made it so very clear that I was only giving one example. Shuttles may be defunct compared to what we could/should/do have, but they are still pretty damn impressive. But, I as I said, I've no inclination in getting into any type of one on one discussion with you. And you know that.
-------signature-------
Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with our scars
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Zeke Zabertini
Captain
Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 4832
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| Wed May 04, 2005 8:32 pm |
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| Theresa wrote: | | I made it so very clear that I was only giving one example. Shuttles may be defunct compared to what we could/should/do have, but they are still pretty damn impressive. But, I as I said, I've no inclination in getting into any type of one on one discussion with you. And you know that. |
Actually, I didn't know that. Why not? You're an awesome debate partner.
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Jeremy
J's Guy
Joined: 03 Oct 2002
Posts: 7823
Location: Aberdeen, Scotland
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| Thu May 05, 2005 9:09 am |
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Going even more OT then I believe NASA is using the limited money it has into projects aimed more at getting lots of people into space economically.
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