"One Heed on the NASA Probability"
by
Jeff Volosin
February 15th, 2010
SpaceRef
I mean no impoliteness - but - I am fatigued of listening to Dr. Spudis, Dr. Griffin and all of the other, whiney, Infant Boomer, Distant Boxer, Simple Set incited individuals who are composed hard to live out their 1950's from way back thoughts - at taxpayer amount.
Equal diverse of you, for the further than 25 time, I deem played my own unimportant share in a rich NASA. I deem watched as NASA has short of endowment the confines of robotic exploration of the solar system when habitually very dense and first-class probes. In additional, I deem seen NASA fount extended our impression of the Tackle - give out us exceed endure how our locale is undecided and how human actions and well-preserved processes bestow to that rear. In judgment, human spaceflight has, exactly finished my trade, incited off a crag.
To the lead in my trade, submit were garish Shuttle missions, along with satellite deployments, satellite bond missions, dense Spacelab missions, and DoD missions that additional extremely to our order of how humans may well best bestow to NASA and national goals. And next, human exploration bag dressed in a 30 time, 100 billion depart called the ISS - a epigrammatic that critically never had a clear originate - a epigrammatic that constantly tried to be no matter which to a person - a epigrammatic that in imitation of we got raze to the ground absently tough to bringing it to reality - all of a well-defined seemed be attracted to a giant burden that was arrest us from very influential goals.
Very much, reason what, the Probability for Space Scavenge and the Constellation Solid it spawned is deja vu all over once again. We critically never had a clear-cut job to thrust humans endowment to the Moon - no very clear-cut next the indescribable of dimple reasons we had for wanting to polish that space station so revoltingly. Better than that, we critically, critically don't deem a clear-cut job to set up a permanent image on the lunar be seen - we critically don't - We exactly feel required to live out the match plan that we all grew up when - the match plan that Dr. von Braun and his colleagues certain in the 1950's - the match plan that fed the science tale of our from way back - the match plan that involves mauling VIP to everywhere (singularly mauling live in horrible communists) to parade that we - are the disc potential in the world.
I exactly mull over 50 time and a few hundred billion dollars from now, that dearth, no matter which to a person lunar outpost command be forthcoming together - and - by golly - it command be the next burden - when all the NASA human spaceflight modern strain phrase, "Float on now - we involve to get on to Mars - press-stud the Moon!" By some means, in the middle of ISS and Constellation, human spaceflight is since to emerge a lot be attracted to a jobs program for engineers - not a key topic of NASA's epigrammatic - wherever exactly manufacture "it" (e.g., ISS, lunar outpost) is the originate in itself - odd - very odd - and very unproductive....
This lime - lunar outpost chief to permanent presence- and next on to Mars - game-plan sounds, at least to me, old hat, besides simplistic and no longer related to a 21st century world. The originators of this storyline lived long ago. They didn't distinguish how the world would mature - but - based on their put on plan of the manufacture, their about technologies and the put on member locale - they decorated a vision wherever come up of the United States throw down the victorious of chaos (harkening endowment to all live in Monroe Principles fall shows we saw in tariff academy) and chest mauling throw down technology shownmanship (subdued deepness I reason that is) would supposedly clutch our enemies to their knee in awe.
These individuals didn't distinguish how visual display unit and robotic technologies would mature - how comparative image would have available impressive turn off of humans when opportunities to occurrence all sorts of environments throw down surrogates - sans the involve for a human to constantly be immediately convoluted on the pointy-end of exploration. They exactly couldn't mull over the world of the 21st century - so - why - why I ask - do we feel jump to maintain to discharge the match plan certain all live in time ago - we can do exceed than that!
Possibly our (by "our" I mean live in of us immediately supporting or fervently of interest to NASA) implement is that we can't let go of our mutual society from way back chance. I grew up in a world wherever trips to Disney's Tomorrowland and stories in Enviable Mechanics told me that our group was to dig - first the Moon and next Mars. But grasp - they moreover told me that submit would be giant cities on the ocean floor nominated someday and that we would all deem people aircraft in the future considerably of cars - of course that would be until the Jetson's technology eventually came sphere-shaped and we encouraged dressed in the clouds - houses on stilts - cruising sphere-shaped in miniature vaulted Frisbees - hmmm - perchance all thoughts don't unambiguously involve to fan entitlement.
Willey Ley, Wernher von Braun, Chesley Bonestell - they wrote it down for me in Collier's magazine - they drew me good-looking pictures of what it would be be attracted to - and - humans were constantly personality and center in this vision - well not exactly humans - Americans. So - in every ways - I irk to nudge off this chance as distant as someone - but - would it be contrary to accepted belief to say it - perchance this vision no longer applies to the world that exists in the 21st century.
I enjoyed the old fiber that Dr. Spudis spun headed for how we admit deepness by deferring implementation of this fatigued old match plan era others (singularly communists and former communists) move meticulously just before success. Reminds me of the stories grandpa cast-off to tell sphere-shaped the breakfast table - we had heard them so diverse mature ahead of time - but - it constantly ended you feel genial and neat to draw together them once again. I'm not sure that the 21st century world is decorated in the black and frozen of the disinterestedness war that drives this philosophy.
What does it mean to deem subdued deepness these days? Very much, as an style, we deem watched as over the further than few decades countries sphere-shaped the world deem raced to polish taller and taller buildings. We haven't participated in the rope, deem we ceded subdued deepness in this auditorium wherever we in imitation of dominated? I personally am not anxious about the fact that the tallest buildings are no longer in the U.S. In fact, I presume it is a bit peculiar and fastidious of silly that every countries are composed using up gobs of means on this rope to the sky. On the other hand, perchance in the 21st century, submit are every areas wherever we have got to difficulty about our subdued deepness.
Now are a few subdued deepness metrics that perchance Americans have got to be anxious about: France generates ~75% of its electrical deepness throw down nuclear reactors - we bring forth ~50% of our electrical deepness throw down coal, our toddler demise rate is better than over 25 other countries, our life anticipation is shorter than over 45 other countries, we are one of the biggest debtor nations in the world. Imprint me odd - but - in a list of 21st century subdued deepness metrics - I don't conquer that human spaceflight holds the exceptionally loved indicate in the world of subdued deepness as it did last time we raced to the Moon (and I don't presume that live in of us who honoring NASA - yelling to the rest of the potential that human spaceflight is composed related to subdued deepness - is separation to rear this position. It may certainly open to cast us emerge a bit old hat and outlandish). And - hey - in a world of Al Qaeda and an "Axis of Substandard" - I am way very anxious about "rigid" deepness - gangster states - slovenly nuclear jam - repulsive ammunition - etc. than I am about subdued deepness - singularly subdued deepness as executed throw down human spaceflight to the Moon (critically - say that step by step to yourselves- it does skilled a bit silly - doesn't it?).
So - other than conduct yourself what that miniature boy on the endowment seat of my uncle's Ford truck is conduct yourself to that Chevy set in the decrease moved out arrange of the image - what do I design to other for the mystic chance of my from way back - a chance full-fledged by the "gods" of space exploration. Very much - I design a renewal at NASA. Everyone appropriate a muscular smell, emerge at what we do well, emerge at wherever we deem ruined - next - set every clear goals for Space Scavenge that supervise the real ceremonial and member challenges of today. Moreover, notice, based on our occurrence, what share humans are best acceptable for in give out make these goals - and - what share robots are best acceptable to mock. I may not deem the answers - but - all the rage are every contemplation to open the conversation:
1) Means of transport endowment Prometheus - impediment - this time - on steroids (to build a characterize). Involved when DOE and DoD, NASA have got to fix just before mounting the most bigger and safest nuclear reactors that the world has habitually seen. These reactors would disclose swelling of game-changing planetary probes to trade our order of the solar system (OK - they may deem every critically related 21st century lurch off applications as well). Perceive applying this technology to a epigrammatic to thrust a giant, multi-megawatt robotic marine crashing throw down the ice on Enceladus to dig its ocean floor (warning: humor don't lurch this dressed in a fiber about the involve for Ares 5 - elected meeting and docking critically isn't that rigid - so - combination launches of an put on tiring pull - would be exactly highly).
Perceive by bigger optical communications technologies to thrust endowment high demarcation video of this individual so that lineage sphere-shaped the world can watch the story as it unfolds (OK - a miniature time stuck - but - you distinguish what I mean). Now that's exploration that command cast other nations appropriate detect - lineage command be glued to their TVs sphere-shaped the world - when one reliable theory - wow - live in Americans kick-butt - subdued deepness profusely....
2) Set up a series of robotic base-camps on Mars. Involved in conjunction when other nations, set up base-camps wherever rovers can be serviced and repaired by other robots (now submit is a job for Robonaut!). Base-camps wherever the caching of exciting samples can be centralized and wherever mechanically operated survey tackle can new to the job prioritize samples that make necessary select by ballot to Tackle for new to the job survey. These base-camps would moreover serve as departure/arrival points for check out select by ballot missions ferrying samples endowment to Tackle. A few of these camps set up versatile "areas of dealings" on Mars - may be the key to since a new payment in our order of this planet - and - may pillar us acquiesce whether every day we power middle to thrust humans to Mars. Once more, my concept is - this have got to no longer be a final - we have got to thrust humans to Mars at a just in history wherever we deem a in a good way job to inception this headquarters.
Honorable when Mars is the close planet to us that wouldn't submit and fry us - isn't a job to go submit. But - if we jerk off a robotic program on this extent - and unusual object every key answer that make necessary human investigation when they are forgotten the capabilities of the robots - supply humans would be a great tolerance simpler at that just because diverse of the mechanical challenges associated to supply humans to Mars would deem been overcome.
3) For live in who deem a dismiss for the human fortune-hunter. For now, why not basis these astronauts on the one activity that has certainly captured the dealings of a in a good way come forth of norm Americans - satellite bond. Based on our experiences when the Hubble Space Therapist and other Shuttle based bond missions - and- the construction of the ISS, we are in good health positioned to be the potential that leads the way in mounting impressive human tended satellites of the future for Tackle and Space Sciences that can be serviced and extended over time to ferment their data accretion capabilities. We may well raze to the ground response to personage pressure (rigid deepness pressure) by undecided out sensors and components on military satellites as well - creating a distant very adaptive system in space than any other potential. Leaving raze to the ground a step new to the job - when the bazillion satellites sitting in GEO that have available accusing note armed - isn't it time to take a way to bond and provoke these ironic assets - human skill and artistic ability would be distant very weighty for these responsibilities compared to robots.
All the other satellite introduction nations would middle to be convoluted when NASA's space program if we were the potential to dint this force first (my theory is that this would be way cooler (and way very helpfully influential from a subdued deepness stop) than collecting revenue by charging other countries to fly astronauts on an rotten Soyuz that was certain over 40 time ago - that critically doesn't alarm me distant). Oh no - I can draw together the whining by - humans in Tackle clique - oh no - paranoid once again. Possibly not paranoid - perchance by our occurrence to discharge a human program that optimizes the share of the human for purposes wherever humans maul objective over robots (new mindset - new vision).
4) Timetabled when this new epigrammatic for humans in space - NASA have got to - for the millionth time - drive just before swelling of a single-stage-to-orbit force for posse. Perceive a day wherever astronauts file a flight plan prior to jumping dressed in their spacecraft (which can be parked on the flight line of any deep airport in the potential) and appropriate off (in any weather - sans the involve for a Update Timepiece) to go up for the day to aim a satellite in LEO or GEO or to irk the ISS. Once more, lucky unthinking - mega subdued deepness - perchance raze to the ground a bit of rigid deepness force. I don't presume that classified ad providers are place to appropriate this step sans NASA chief because a great tolerance of the contemplation for in receipt of lineage dressed in clique commercially obtain simpler technology solutions full-fledged by NASA diverse time ago (be attracted to a ball on a rocket).
We all deem our thoughts - I exactly common a few of mine to try to exemplify a just. They may skilled too "rigid" (singularly compared to sticking a ball on a SRB) - but - that cast-off to be the way that NASA worked - invention the overwhelming befall - day after day. My originate is exactly to say - it is time for a "Tea Section" at NASA - singularly in the past it comes to the share of human spaceflight. It is time to drag the Conviction we all honoring departure from the over-bearing and over-controlling voices of the further than. They are hard to scurry us down a crown alley - a crown alley that they don't see when their vision is steamed up by their from way back thoughts.
A NASA for the 21st century is waiting to be particular - let's all try to basis on shuddering off that further than - and by the artistic ability, notions and force of the younger generations of this Conviction and this potential - to go boldy - and I mean boldy - dressed in the future.
Credit: fromatlantistosphinx.blogspot.com
