Discussion about hot topics trending today

[Coco Pops]

to his credit there are some drafts he didn't dodge

To quote Dear Leader ..... Sad

That's brilliant

[Annoyed]

you mean before NASA?

(doesn't it bother anyone when some private corporation comes up with new tech - especially in critical areas - before public research does)

NASA has been pretty much sidelined the past few decades. We've been to the moon, and the shuttle program was ending. The next logical step is obviously Mars. (I don't know if we have the propulsion tech. yet to go deeper into the sun's gravity well and get back out again, so dismissing Venus) But we haven't had the collective will as a nation to spend the money to do that.

I really wish that NASA was maintaining the lead in this endeavor. Private enterprise just reminds me too much of Delos D. Harriman, aka D.D. Harriman in Robert Heinlein's "The Man Who Sold the Moon".

[Gatefan1976]

So much to take apart, so little time...

How the hell do you know what's in my head?

Because you write it?
This is like trump tweets, I pay attention to them because they speak directly to what is in the vacuous space between his ears, I do the same with you.

But I will concede that I know there are problems with the VA system that need to be addressed.

But they won't be, by either dems or repubs.

Missed what point? You suggested that we have a graduated tax system, where the well off pay more than the lower income folks. I pointed out that we already do that, and in fact some lower income people pay no federal taxes at all.

No I did not, I suggested a higher federal tax free threshold.

I don't know the prices in Au, but $100K is very comfortable in the U.S.

Exactly, you don't know, nor do you care to learn. 100k would be comfortable in the US I know that, but she would not get that in the US, half of that perhaps, or just over.

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/pres...me-povery.html

The median household income in the U.S. is about 60K, and in a great many households, that is the combined efforts of two or more breadwinners. $100K income for one person is decidedly "well off".

Yet, barring housing, the price of most things between here and the US are quite similar, especially essentials like food.

Regarding the military during a shutdown.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/governm...itary-be-paid/

Were you trying to prove me right?

Maybe I'll take the rest of it apart later, but I have stuff to do today.

I won't hold my breath.

[thekillman]

You have a point with that.. He does spend a lot of other people's money. His electric car business would be a failed business long ago if it was allowed to stand or fall on its own in the marketplace.

He has also dumped massive amounts of his own money into it. Twitter also hasn't made a profit in years, by the way, yet it's still around. In the end, a business dies if the owner lets it die. In this case, Musk is happy to invest his Paypal billions into furthering technology. For instance, Tesla shares it's patents.

I really wish that NASA was maintaining the lead in this endeavor. Private enterprise just reminds me too much of Delos D. Harriman, aka D.D. Harriman in Robert Heinlein's "The Man Who Sold the Moon".

I do not believe NASA could ever copy such a feat as Musk's. The problem is simply that the politics ensure that no matter what launch system is devised, it'll be cut up into a billion pieces and sold as political leverage across the country. The spaceshuttle was made all over the US. It's insanity.

No, SpaceX is great news for NASA since it allows them to focus on the frontier. SpaceX can deliver cheap launches (in which case reduced mission cost is well worth the initial investing), so NASA can focus it's budget on launching probes and rovers, which don't seem to suffer from the same political leverage issue.

Keep in mind that the SLS (Senate Launch System) is slated at around 1 billion per launch, for a vehicle that would perform comparably to the Falcon Heavy which costs 100m.

In short, SpaceX is well worth the US government's money. After all, SpaceX does also launch satellites for the US military, and resupplies the ISS which are both public and strategic assets. If relations with Russia were to deteriorate completely, then right now the USA couldn't even get their astronauts down. Musk, however, has a crewed Dragon in testing, which includes a launch escape system that could save important lives. Unlike, say, the Columbia.

[Coco Pops]

He has also dumped massive amounts of his own money into it. Twitter also hasn't made a profit in years, by the way, yet it's still around. In the end, a business dies if the owner lets it die. In this case, Musk is happy to invest his Paypal billions into furthering technology. For instance, Tesla shares it's patents.


I do not believe NASA could ever copy such a feat as Musk's. The problem is simply that the politics ensure that no matter what launch system is devised, it'll be cut up into a billion pieces and sold as political leverage across the country. The spaceshuttle was made all over the US. It's insanity.

No, SpaceX is great news for NASA since it allows them to focus on the frontier. SpaceX can deliver cheap launches (in which case reduced mission cost is well worth the initial investing), so NASA can focus it's budget on launching probes and rovers, which don't seem to suffer from the same political leverage issue.

Keep in mind that the SLS (Senate Launch System) is slated at around 1 billion per launch, for a vehicle that would perform comparably to the Falcon Heavy which costs 100m.

In short, SpaceX is well worth the US government's money. After all, SpaceX does also launch satellites for the US military, and resupplies the ISS which are both public and strategic assets. If relations with Russia were to deteriorate completely, then right now the USA couldn't even get their astronauts down. Musk, however, has a crewed Dragon in testing, which includes a launch escape system that could save important lives. Unlike, say, the Columbia.

If only they had I don't know kept one shuttle for emergencies..... Nah that would be sensible.

[Annoyed]

He has also dumped massive amounts of his own money into it. Twitter also hasn't made a profit in years, by the way, yet it's still around. In the end, a business dies if the owner lets it die. In this case, Musk is happy to invest his Paypal billions into furthering technology. For instance, Tesla shares it's patents.


I do not believe NASA could ever copy such a feat as Musk's. The problem is simply that the politics ensure that no matter what launch system is devised, it'll be cut up into a billion pieces and sold as political leverage across the country. The spaceshuttle was made all over the US. It's insanity.

No, SpaceX is great news for NASA since it allows them to focus on the frontier. SpaceX can deliver cheap launches (in which case reduced mission cost is well worth the initial investing), so NASA can focus it's budget on launching probes and rovers, which don't seem to suffer from the same political leverage issue.

Keep in mind that the SLS (Senate Launch System) is slated at around 1 billion per launch, for a vehicle that would perform comparably to the Falcon Heavy which costs 100m.

In short, SpaceX is well worth the US government's money. After all, SpaceX does also launch satellites for the US military, and resupplies the ISS which are both public and strategic assets. If relations with Russia were to deteriorate completely, then right now the USA couldn't even get their astronauts down. Musk, however, has a crewed Dragon in testing, which includes a launch escape system that could save important lives. Unlike, say, the Columbia.

Well, the solution is to fix the process by which NASA operates. You're right, in many ways it is a pork barrel operation. It doesn't make sense to distribute manufacturing among 50 states just to make representatives happy. But I don't like the idea of private companies owning the access path to space.

Some things are best not in control of business. Infrastructure is one of them.
Consider this article regarding liability for the Amtrack crash, which was apparently caused by CSX operators misrouting the train to the wrong track

Even when not at fault, Amtrak can bear cost of accidents

WASHINGTON — Federal investigators are still looking at how CSX railway crews routed an Amtrak train into a parked freight train in Cayce, South Carolina, last weekend. But even if CSX should bear sole responsibility for the accident, Amtrak will likely end up paying crash victims' legal claims with public money.

Amtrak pays for accidents it didn't cause because of secretive agreements negotiated between the passenger rail company, which receives more than $1 billion annually in federal subsidies, and the private railroads, which own 97 percent of the tracks on which Amtrak travels.

What kind of idiot signs an agreement like that?

If Musk, or any other private business does develop a monopoly on access to space, how long before they force equally stupid arrangements upon the govt.?

[Gatefan1976]

Well, the solution is to fix the process by which NASA operates. You're right, in many ways it is a pork barrel operation. It doesn't make sense to distribute manufacturing among 50 states just to make representatives happy. But I don't like the idea of private companies owning the access path to space.

Some things are best not in control of business. Infrastructure is one of them.
Consider this article regarding liability for the Amtrack crash, which was apparently caused by CSX operators misrouting the train to the wrong track

Even when not at fault, Amtrak can bear cost of accidents


What kind of idiot signs an agreement like that?

If Musk, or any other private business does develop a monopoly on access to space, how long before they force equally stupid arrangements upon the govt.?

I take it you are utterly unaware of the contradictions you just posted in comparison to your normal positions?

[Annoyed]

I take it you are utterly unaware of the contradictions you just posted in comparison to your normal positions?

No, I'm fully aware of the contradictions. Although in most cases, it's better to let the free market decide, but when it comes to matters of public infrastructure, which space access will eventually be, I think it's better to let the govt. or a very heavily regulated single company handle it.

[SoulReaver]

some good news:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/11-...sh-army-127105

11 ISIS soldiers killed in 1 day not bad :|

[Womble]

some good news:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/11-...sh-army-127105

11 ISIS soldiers killed in 1 day not bad :|

Without trial? What about their rights?

[thekillman]

Without trial? What about their rights?

They smashed in windows, the bastards! hang 'em, i say.

11 ISIS soldiers killed in 1 day not bad

Not really sure why this is news. There are many thousands of ISIS soldiers and many thousands more who sympathize. Without structural change, 11 is a drop in a bucket.

I mean sure, it's good and all that, but it's like celebrating getting out of bed.

[Gatecat]

They were Turkish soldiers killed during their own invasion of Syria.

[Falcon Horus]

Now I wish the car was sending video........ I just know the airbag is going to go off.....

LOL!! He should have his own twitter account, like the curiosity rover.

Cadet bone spurs was a draft dodger wasn't he? I mean the Prez?

Tammy Duckworth has a few choice words about that, yes.

to his credit there are some drafts he didn't dodge

The video is even better.

Get out of the USA then, you are an invader, not an immigrant.
Burn lady liberty on the way out please.

Lady Liberty's an immigrant too -- she's French.

My theory is that Elon Musk is an alien stranded on Earth. He is trying to advance the Earth technologically enough to build the replacement parts for his ship and go home.

Makes perfect sense.

The next logical step is obviously Mars. (I don't know if we have the propulsion tech.

I'd wager that propulsion would be the least of your problems right now for these Mars expeditions.

I really wish that NASA was maintaining the lead in this endeavor. Private enterprise just reminds me too much of Delos D. Harriman, aka D.D. Harriman in Robert Heinlein's "The Man Who Sold the Moon".

Funny, you should mention privatization. Saw an article about that yesterday evening and this morning:

The Trump administration wants to turn the International Space Station into a commercially run venture, NASA document shows

The Trump administration wants to turn the International Space Station into a kind of orbiting real estate venture run not by the government, but by private industry.

The White House plans to stop funding the station after 2024, ending direct federal support of the orbiting laboratory. But it does not intend to abandon the orbiting laboratory altogether and is working on a transition plan that could turn the station over to the private sector, according to an internal NASA document obtained by The Washington Post.

This is like trump tweets, I pay attention to them because they speak directly to what is in the vacuous space between his ears...

Lots of air-space.

I mean sure, it's good and all that, but it's like celebrating getting out of bed.

Hey, for some people getting out of bed is worthy of serious celebrations every morning (i.e. me).

[Annoyed]

Funny, you should mention privatization. Saw an article about that yesterday evening and this morning:

The Trump administration wants to turn the International Space Station into a commercially run venture, NASA document shows

The Trump administration wants to turn the International Space Station into a kind of orbiting real estate venture run not by the government, but by private industry.

The White House plans to stop funding the station after 2024, ending direct federal support of the orbiting laboratory. But it does not intend to abandon the orbiting laboratory altogether and is working on a transition plan that could turn the station over to the private sector, according to an internal NASA document obtained by The Washington Post.

As I understand it, the station was slated to be defunded by 2025 anyway. So there's no big change there. What I don't get is how he plans to do it. We don't own that thing on our own, other nations are involved, so I don't know how he can try to privatize it.

[SoulReaver]

They were Turkish soldiers

that's what I meant

Without trial? What about their rights?

they've the right to remain silent forever