The Shuttle was a MISTAKE?

[Flt.Lt.Andrew]

Ha! So the bastion of American imperialistic power is forced to justify its own existence? How about "We're here to say to the Russians, and anyone else who might be intellectually superior (although thats not hard), economically or technicologically, We rule. You come second to us."
Seriously. Dont breathe down my neck here because I'm saying it as it is.


A.

[H]

Ha! So the bastion of American imperialistic power is forced to justify its own existence? How about "We're here to say to the Russians, and anyone else who might be intellectually superior (although thats not hard), economically or technicologically, We rule. You come second to us."
Seriously. Dont breathe down my neck here because I'm saying it as it is. A.

Are we needing to go back to our personal little PM forum, again, Flout Lieutenant Andrew? Americans -- even speaking of only the U.S. -- are German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, etc. -- even some Australians have made their escape to over here. One of the smaller percentages of the population (even more so in the political arena) are the actual Native Americans. By the way, how has the historical relationship of Nunga, Murris and other aboriginals effectively been doing with the rest of the Australian population? Sweat needs open air to evaporate so I'm staying away from your neck: just asking how it is ?

[Katahu]

It's pretty interesting that you start talking about subs and their similarities to the space station.

[beefhole]

The thing about those people intellectually superior to Americans Andrew, is that, well, the majority of them end up working for us anyways

[jordonj]

Okay...so this goes from the possibility of the futility of space travel to a flaming of Bush, and America in general...?

Just a thought: who do you think we would be flaming if Russia had run the cold war?  Also, economists are predicting that China will be the next economic superpower.

Another thought:  When has any superpower held the top slot for very long from a long-term point of view?  If my memory of my high-school history serves me correctly, Spain was the world power for some time, then England took the top slot.

But really, maybe it's time to put this to bed...I don't even see the point anymore.  We've already established that this PC taken to the extreme should stop (and the mods seem to have agreed), and we aren't even talking about the space shuttle anymore.

[Katahu]

I agree with what you say about the flip-flopping. However, some of us have not even deviated from the topic of shuttles. When we were discussing about the ocean and space, we were trying to point out that the dangers in either environments are no different from each other. Example in both situations: dealing with pressure differences, dealing with extreme radiation in space and extreme hypothermia underwater, unexpected occurances - faulty equipment for example, and then dealing with calculations.

In other words, extreme risks exist everywhere we go, no matter where we go. Space is no different.

It also won't make any difference if NASA were to go back to the Saturn V configuration. They still have to deal with faulty equipment, extreme radiation - which require a ton of expensive materials to shield against, pressure differences, and deal with calculations. I can picture how the world would react if the same problems of the shuttle were to occur on the Saturn V designs [explosions on lift-off, etc.]. In fact, such designs suffered such a fate more times than the shuttle design. Yet, we - as a closed-minded human society as a whole, believe the shuttle was more problematic.

In short, the only to prevent such risks is to [god forbid] abandon the idea of space exploration all together. There you have it folks.

[Woodlouse2002]

In short, the only to prevent such risks is to [god forbid] abandon the idea of space exploration all together. There you have it folks.

He see's the light!

[beefhole]

Okay...so this goes from the possibility of the futility of space travel to a flaming of Bush, and America in general...?

Yeah Jared, I've been trying to figure out just exactly how the line of discussion went there

Just goes back to everyone else's point about common sense.  Thee is absolutely zero reason for it to have gone in this direction.  And, unfortunately, I've lost respect for the person I believe responsible.

[Katahu]

Guys, I don't want to act like a mod over here, but please don't fling this discussion back to about how this topic has changed. I'm trying to get this topic back on track over here.

[Hagar]

Maybe Kevin was right after all.

[Wing Nut]

Sorry, don't look at me.  I'm staying out of this one...

[Hagar]

[quote]Sorry, don't look at me.

[jordonj]

Jeeezzz...USSSSS  >:(

Can ye nauht be givin' it a rest already!!!

[Flt.Lt.Andrew]

Nice pun thingo Jordan!
The only thing is, subs are waaaaaaaaaay scarier than shuttles.


A.

[Katahu]

Anyways, back to the topic at hand [that main topic that started this whole thread in the first place].

The main reason for space exploration [or any form of exploration] is to study the unknown and take risks. How can we, as a human society, learn about the space around us if we can't even learn how to accept the fact that dangers lurk wherever we go?

Christopher took that risk when he sailed a boat across vast distances while others thought he was going to fall off the edge of the planet.

It's no different with NASA. NASA is taking that risk again while others believe that NASA is just being reckless.

The risk I'm talking about can mean many things. Like getting people killed in space [just as the Storm-Crab Fishermen are getting killed in the ocean every season for a few million bucks].

*Katahu keeps his trusty box of syringes by his side and notifies the big, tough men in white coats to be on standby*

If you wish to throw this topic off again, just try and make my day.