This is why Congress defunds NASA

So much good has come out of the scramble for new technologies that it outweighs the spent resources, I'd say.

Besides, his whole point about aerospace being a bad career isn't even anecdotal, he doesn't give an example of why it's undesirable.

Yea, its only unrewarding if seeing a space ship You helped design, or if your a lower worker, helped to build, bring humanity into deep space is unrewarding. Many aerospace engineers would disagree. It's like a little toy you build when your a kid. Didnt you love seeing it works? Now turn that Up To Eleven.

...so your theory is that Congress defunded one of the only technologically innovative non-military parts of the government because they do contests for high schoolers that don't allow college student participation?

...

If it's true, they are literally brain dead, thoroughly and irredeemably. I somehow think it has something to do with thinking that, now that the Cold War is over, that NASA is no longer necessary, which just about the most ass-backwards way of going about that line of thinking ever.

I'm an aeronautics student. My buddies in astronautics have had opportunities for internships, perform zero gravity experiments in NASA's Vomit Comet year after year, and have received funding for research ranging from lunar vehicle rocket engines to microgravity biology, and they call upon our department as well as our School of Engineering Education for STEM outreach quite frequently. I can assure you that NASA has definitely not forgotten about university outreach.

That said, I'd like NASA to shift its mission. The ultimate goal of space exploration is space colonization, but we don't even know how to maintain an environment on Earth, let alone create livable environments on other celestial bodies. By diverting energies toward environmental research, we'll hit two birds with one stone - if we learn to maintain the Earth's environment, we can learn how to create livable environments in space.

edited 17th Oct '11 8:30:16 AM by Fifthman

Those NASA bastards are traying to inspire a new generation to go into science????

Shame on them.

Congress defunds NASA when someone coughs in their vicinity. They defund NASA when a bird takes a dump. They defund NASA when the sun rises in the morning. They need no excuse. In related news, Congress is comprised of puerile headline-chasing technophobes who disparage science while benefiting from revolutionary technologies and free advanced healthcare made possible in large part by the space program.

Not that I'm bitter.

edited 17th Oct '11 1:23:11 PM by Fighteer

Is this the part where I face-palm, or head-desk? Or do I do both? A bit confused here.

NASA excited the hell out of me as a kid. Then Challenger blew up when I was 9. Hell, it stil excited me. I remember the Uranus and Neptune flybys; that was some really neat stuff to a pre-teen nerd like me.

So now we can write off getting our youths interested in exploring their universe, now? Yeah kids, have fun at your McJobs.

Screw that. I'm buying a small telescope and teaching my kid how to read starcharts.

Its sad how supporting Nasa is a common point among conservatives and liberlas.

And defunding Nasa is a common point amongst Republicans adn Democrats (with exceptions on both side of coursr)

If we took half of our military budget and spend it in space (Space Marines anyone???)... that would be... excuse me... begins throwing up rainbows*

edited 17th Oct '11 1:26:57 PM by Baff

/thread

I wholly support idea of forming real life Space Marines, especialy if we get cool Power Armor in process.

@ Myrmidon; that person was an ranting idiot who doesn't realize that a lot of our current technologies are by products of the Space Race. And that's the first time I have ever heard "pioneer" used in the same context as "rapist". So yeah, I'm discounting that blog as it has no legitimate points.

At the thread in general; high school programs will never be why Congress defunds NASA. The chances that the average congressmen knows they go to high schools is very low, and generally the more urgent matters come before "hey, they're also spending money on this thing." Not that I don't think Congress is petty, but there's a lot more important things that come before the high school programs for them to be petty about.

The Military is already WAY ahead of you. By about 60 years.

I really think we should build BIG space ships. Something about the size of the ISS, but armored, Radiation Sheilded (All you need is an inch or two of lead and some gold in the windows) and Ion Drives, using solar power. Maybe some big rockets to give it a fast start. Then you can have specially Designed pods and miniships, or even a miniturized space shuttle in a hangar bay for differnt missions. That ways it's VERY reusable. It would have been easier to build if they didn't CANCEL THE F**KING SPACE SHUTTLE!!! But you know, we've got Delta I Is and the new Heavy lift rocket thats Saturn V size. We could make do.

edited 17th Oct '11 2:27:38 PM by Joesolo

I gotta say, the NASA contest that went through my school was of a good deal more academic value than most of the actual curriculum. Forget defunding NASA for this, put them in charge of our damn schools.

@OP: Actually, I'm curious now. Can spiders make webs in zero-g? Because that would be really cool.

They can, but they end up a big clump of web instead of a proper spider-web:

By the way, the spider web in zero-g experiment proved to be one of the most pointless, useless experiments ever. Your taxdollars being wasted, period. And you know what experiment got canceled and replaced by spiders in space? They were going to put mice into a low-powered centrifuge and have them live a few generations at Mars g-force, to see if mammals could survive and reproduce without health effects on Mars (you know, because if we ever hope to colonize Mars, we really ought to know the answer to this question). Yeah, I'd say that they picked the wrong damn experiment there.

edited 17th Oct '11 4:29:38 PM by MyGodItsFullofStars

They can spin "regular" ones, after taking a while to adapt. They tend to be finer and use thinner strands, and have aberrations in how thick they are.

I think it was...Skylab 3? The pictures mostly looked normal, but a little irregular in how densely packed they were.

Low-gravity reproduction is a really important one for long term colonization of much of anything. Fetal development is delicate enough as it is. As interesting as spiders were in terms of behavioral wildlife adaptation, the reproduction one was more important.

edited 17th Oct '11 4:34:16 PM by Pykrete

Yeah...that's a more important experiment, I guess.

And you think Congress gave a damn?

Well, most Congressmen have no more education in science than any random schmoe who walked out of college with a liberal arts degree. Which is to say, none to speak of. So it's at least understandable, if not excusable, why they'd be so absurdly ignorant on such topics.

Hey!

I'll have a liberal arts degree.

And I know...stuff...

The solution to that is to ban liberal arts degree holders from holding office. See, nice and simple.

Better idea is to have the scientists assume control of the planet.

Also good.

Actuallty it isnt.

Careers based in humanism actually have a role to play and a reason to exist.

edited 18th Oct '11 5:35:14 AM by Baff

Most of them involve the phrase "would you like fries with that".