New subject: Utah meteor ~11 pm 23MAR2011

28 Mar 2011

Thanks all! My feeling is that we need to maintain a human presence in space. Besides the advances that come with rising to a great challenge, it sets a threshold of adventure and science, and therefore stimulates education in many important fields. I'm not wed to the ISS but I think a moon base would be well worth our while, with amazing conditions for radio telescopes on the far side (blocked from Earth's radio noise) and visual telescopes just about anywhere on the moon. Humanity should have at least a second home -- Mars to begin with -- as a backup in case our wonderful planet becomes uninhabitable. What other good could come from exploring space and landing on asteroids? Who knows? How could Columbus have known what his efforts would bring? -- Joe

--- On Mon, 3/28/11, Jay Eads <jayleads@gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Jay Eads <jayleads@gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Astronaut talk
> To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com>
> Date: Monday, March 28, 2011, 9:56 PM
> I hope some can correct me here, but
> it is my understanding that the James
> Webb Telescope is currently eating up a ton of NASA's
> funding and will
> continue to do until it is launched in 2015 or 2016. 
> See
> http://www.space.com/9510-nasa-webb-space-telescope-mired-budget-woes-start.htmland
> http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101027/full/4671028a.html
> 
> Though well worth the cost, and baring a major failure
> during launch and
> deployment, the scientific gains will be huge from the
> Webb. Yet Webb
> suffers from a lack of proper accounting and realistic
> costs and I think
> that hurts NASA and it will hurt the manned flight
> program.  Currently
> Webb's cost is causing other telescopes and projects to be
> put behind. I do
> think one of the things NASA faces is a public that is
> demanding more
> control of government spending. I don't think that Webb's
> improper estimates
> and rising costs help the public to see a need to invest
> more into man
> flight at this time. I'm probably wrong, but the image has
> to be
> counter-productive and I don't think that the public truly
> sees a need for
> expensive missions to put man back into space right now. I
> think the public
> is content with the output by current telescopes and probes
> and they are
> delivering lots of gain for their dollars. NASA is seen as
> a luxury, not a
> necessity in today's world in my opinion. Thus why pursue
> man flight? I
> think that is something that NASA and the companies that
> stand to benefit
> financially from man flight have to make and sell to the
> American Public.
> Unfortunately many in the industry are great engineers, but
> not so great at
> selling. I'm  not sure what is going to change the
> perception of the
> American public or when that will happen and I firmly
> believe and hope that
> we as a country return to exploring space with man flight.
> The next ten
> years will be very interesting to see the direction(s) that
> NASA takes.
> 
> On Mon, Mar 28, 2011 at 8:43 PM, Dave Gary <davegary@me.com>
> wrote:
> 
> > Good riddance. The ISS has been of little or no
> scientific benefit. What
> > have we learned? Mold grows in man-made “sort of”
> space environments and ISS
> > crew members suffer bone loss on extended free falls.
> For the time being,
> > manned missions are a waste of valuable resources. One
> Voyager flyby (pick a
> > flyby) has given us immensely more scientific data
> than all the ISS free
> > falls put together. And that’s just one Voyager.
> Going to Mars with the
> > propulsion systems we have, currently, is a pipe
> dream. Anywhere further
> > (just within this solar system) is pure delusion. Hey,
> I’m all for
> > exploration if sound judgement is involved. ISS was an
> experiment in how not
> > to allocate resources. We should learn from our
> mistakes and go on. As my
> > Grandfather always told me. ‘You don’t learn
> anything the second time you’re
> > kicked by a mule.’
> >
> > Dave
> >
> >
> > On [Mar 28], at [Mar 28]  7:45 PM, Steve Fisher
> wrote:
> >
> >
> >> I don't know about "vilified" you are entitled to
> your opinion. You are
> >> wrong but you are entitled to that opinion. ;)
> >> God forgive me for even thinking this but if a
> Soyuz fails to make it to
> >> orbit or to return our astronauts to earth what do
> you think will happen
> >> then? We can just sign over the title to the ISS
> because we won't be going
> >> back.
> >> Steve
> >>
> >>> From: kimharch@cut.net
> >>> To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com
> >>> Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2011 19:38:06 -0600
> >>> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Astronaut talk
> >>>
> >>> I expect to be vilified, but what the heck...
> I disagree that nationalism
> >>> is
> >>> an acceptable argument. If the ISS is supposed
> to promote cooperation,
> >>> then
> >>> why not cooperate to a limited extent (ride
> Russian vehicles) and use the
> >>> opportunity to pursue our own goals?
> >>>
> >>> Kim
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> -----Original Message-----
> >>> From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com
> >>> [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com]
> On Behalf Of Steve
> >>> Fisher
> >>> Sent: Monday, March 28, 2011 7:32 PM
> >>> To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com
> >>> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Astronaut talk
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Downside?
> >>>
> >>> Loss of pride? Degradation of American
> exceptionalism? Should I go on?
> >>> While I agree with you that the ISS has
> probably not been a huge
> >>> bennefit,
> >>> it has at least been an oppirtunity for the
> United States to Lead, not
> >>> follow. Lets stand back and do nothing for a
> while longer and maybe we
> >>> can
> >>> pay the French for a ride.
> >>> Just my two cents worth. Your opinion may
> vary.
> >>> Steve
> >>>
> >>>> From: kimharch@cut.net
> >>>> To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com
> >>>> Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2011 18:58:02 -0600
> >>>> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Astronaut
> talk
> >>>>
> >>>> Interesting read, Joe. Thanks. Rather than
> post my comments at the
> >>>> DesNews
> >>>> site, I thought I'd share with this list.
> >>>>
> >>>> What's the downside of using a
> tried-and-true Russian vehicle for
> >>>> further
> >>>> ISS missions? Doesn't this allow us to go
> on to develop the next phase
> >>>> without having to develop and build (or
> re-use existing technology) a
> >>>> payload system just to service the ISS?
> >>>>
> >>>> A bit unrelated to your blog: I personally
> think the ISS is a waste of
> >>>> our
> >>>> time. In my opinion, US/NASA goals should
> have been (1) return to Moon,
> >>>>
> >>> and
> >>>
> >>>> (2) go to Mars, without the stopover at
> the ISS. I've not read any
> >>>> convincing justification for it (the ISS).
> Other thoughts?
> >>>>
> >>>> Kim
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> -----Original Message-----
> >>>> From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com
> >>>> [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com]
> On Behalf Of Joe
> >>>>
> >>> Bauman
> >>>
> >>>> Sent: Monday, March 28, 2011 6:14 PM
> >>>> To: Utah Astronomy
> >>>> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Astronaut talk
> >>>>
> >>>> Astronaut Kent Rominger spoke Saturday at
> Clark Planetarium; here's my
> >>>>
> >>> blog
> >>>
> >>>> about it (with Cory's interesting photo):
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>> http://www.deseretnews.com/blog/47/10011698/Nightly-news-astronomy-The-Need-
> >>>
> >>>> to-Explore.html
> >>>>
> >>>> Thanks, Joe
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> _______________________________________________
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> >>>>
> >>>>
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> >>>>
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> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >>
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Jay Eads
> _______________________________________________
> Utah-Astronomy mailing list
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> 

Astronaut talk

Steve Fisher

Steve Fisher

Chuck Hards

Chuck Hards

Dale Hooper

Steve Fisher

Dale Hooper

Steve Fisher

Dale Hooper

Barrett

Chuck Hards

Chuck Hards

Chuck Hards

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