Results 31 to 40 of 41
-
05-13-2014 #31
Re: The next great space mission should be protecting the earth from asteroid impacts
Yup , we can't put the Genie back in the bottle .
1 out of 1 members liked this post.
-
05-13-2014 #32
Re: The next great space mission should be protecting the earth from asteroid impacts
Today the US Air Force chimed in on the dangers of Space Junk and asteroid collisions.
http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDispla...pace-junk.aspx
-
05-17-2014 #33
- Join Date
- Jul 2008
- Posts
- 13,541
Re: The next great space mission should be protecting the earth from asteroid impacts
A lengthy article in today's Guardian on the colonisation of space and the options some of which are being implemented. Too long to copy -there is a separate link with photos- so here are some extracts -in the meantime I would gladly swap Mars for an apartment near the Champ de Mars....
"For a brief moment in the 1970s, the grandeur of the night sky felt interactive. It seemed only decades away that more humans would live off the Earth than on it; in fact, the Space Shuttle was so named because it was intended to make 50 round trips per year. There were active plans for expanding civilisation into space, and any number of serious designs for building entire cities on the moon, Mars and beyond.
In O'Neill's vision, cable cars would connect communities spaced at 200km intervals. Single-family spacecraft – the minivans of the sky – would act as recreational vehicles. On the inner surface of what would be rotating habitats, strips of land would alternate with windows to let in sunlight. That same sun would provide all of our energy needs (a much bolder statement in the 70s than it is now), while the moon would be mined for aluminum and titanium to use in habitat construction. Asteroids, containing water and other material, could be towed along behind the city in the vacuum. His idea to build such cities in the moon’s L5 orbital point inspired the influential L5 Society, which aimed to realise his vision by 1995. Their motto: L5 in ’95!
Still, with longer stays in zero gravity, new problems seem to crop up. For example, your cerebrospinal fluid – the clear liquid found in the brain and spine – drifts upward, where it engorges your retina and flattens your eyeball.
As for actually getting people to the space cities in the first place, it won't be using rockets – basic physics doesn’t cooperate. Rather, space elevators, or “beanstalks”, promise to close that gap. Vehicles would climb out of the gravity well along a cable anchored to the equator and held under tension by centrifugal force on a counterweight tens of thousands of kilometers high..."
Link to the full article -
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/20...on-musk-spacex
1 out of 1 members liked this post.
-
05-18-2014 #34
- Join Date
- Mar 2006
- Location
- The United Fuckin' States of America
- Posts
- 13,898
Re: The next great space mission should be protecting the earth from asteroid impacts
Kim Stanley Robinson writes fascinating (imo) colonization fiction utilizing ideas with some basis in physical reality. I can recommend his novel 2312 and also Red Mars (which features a space elevator).
On a separate note, I just ran across this brief clipping on space junk ->
http://space.io9.com/found-rocket-pr...2/+laurendavis
1 out of 1 members liked this post."...I no longer believe that people's secrets are defined and communicable, or their feelings full-blown and easy to recognize."_Alice Munro, Chaddeleys and Flemings.
"...the order in creation which you see is that which you have put there, like a string in a maze, so that you shall not lose your way". _Judge Holden, Cormac McCarthy's, BLOOD MERIDIAN.
-
05-18-2014 #35
Re: The next great space mission should be protecting the earth from asteroid impacts
Thanks ,Trish , Kim Stanley Robinson looks interesting . His work is described as 'literary science fiction'.
The space elevator idea in one that is undergoing serious consideration.
Space elevator - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
-
11-01-2016 #36
Re: The next great space mission should be protecting the earth from asteroid impacts
Here's an update .
]It looks like our current 'early warning 'system gives us about a 1 week warning on incoming asteroids . Is that enough time to mount countermeasures? Also ,recent observations show fresh impacts on the moon. 1 week , imagine the scenario...
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...oming-asteroid
-
11-02-2016 #37
- Join Date
- Jul 2008
- Posts
- 13,541
-
11-03-2016 #38
Re: The next great space mission should be protecting the earth from asteroid impacts
Yup , I remember that or a similar clip from the late 90's Sandra Oh had my interest back then.
-
06-19-2018 #39
- Join Date
- Jul 2008
- Posts
- 13,541
Re: The next great space mission should be protecting the earth from asteroid impacts
Looks like the next 'great mission' is to hire the Space Cadets to protect the USA from....
“The essence of the American character is to explore new horizons and to tame new frontiers. But our destiny, beyond the Earth, is not only a matter of national identity, but a matter of national security.
“When it comes to defending America, it is not enough to merely have an American presence in space. We must have American dominance in space. So important.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-a8405666.html
1 out of 1 members liked this post.
-
08-05-2018 #40
- Join Date
- Jul 2008
- Posts
- 13,541
Re: The next great space mission should be protecting the earth from asteroid impacts
Earth calling America, Earth calling America...is anyone there?
The president also mentioned his proposed “space force”, telling supporters there was “so much happening in space” besides “Mars and the Moon.”
“I have also directed the Pentagon to begin the process of creating the sixth branch of the United States armed forces called the Space Force. Space. Very important,” he said.
“That’s going to be great. Look, so much is happening now in space, I’m not just talking about Mars and the Moon, I’m talking about tremendous defence capability, offensive capability.
“It’s in space, so we’re going to do the Space Force.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-a8478241.html
2 out of 2 members liked this post.
Similar Threads
-
Protecting youreself
By njuscme08 in forum General DiscussionReplies: 2Last Post: 09-28-2012, 11:21 PM -
password protecting flash drives
By cass1980 in forum General DiscussionReplies: 3Last Post: 02-17-2008, 05:00 PM -
MISSION TRANSEXUAL (REVIEW NEEDED)
By rusty young in forum General DiscussionReplies: 3Last Post: 06-16-2007, 07:05 PM -
Asteroid Will Kill Everybody...
By chefmike in forum General DiscussionReplies: 9Last Post: 02-21-2007, 03:51 PM