Gingrich pledges moon colony during presidency

At least Titan has an atmosphere (even if the temp is about -200F). Seems this project would be really expensive.

 

America can't pay its bills. The American civilian manned space program is dead. Obama killed it. If an American ever goes to the moon again it will be as a hitchhiker on a Chinese spaceship.

 

It may be because they were unable, and we were unable, to engage in an Industrial Automation race instead of a Cold War.

 

It has already been posted here from a source as costing about 11 billion a year.

And that includes a 50% cost overrun factored in.

 

Well maybe Newt has got plans to live until 150. Because i reckon it would take that long to establish any colony on the moon. The other point is, what is the point? We know nearly everything about the Moon, and i don,t think it is a place that is good for humans in the long run. Mars even worse.

 

Won't happen. FTL is a pipe dream. Leaving the solar system without becoming a cybernetic species is completely out of reach.

 

This entire plan is ridiculous. I agree that eventually we need to build a permanent moon base but unless Newt is going to have a non-consecutive second term sometime around 2050, his promise is nothing more than bull(*)(*)(*)(*).

There is a lot of infrastructure that we need before we can even think about an economically viable base on any moon or planet. We need an SSTO that can work all-weather to bring things to orbit.

That SSTO and other cheap payload carrying unmanned launchers can then be used to contruct a permanent space station at either L4 or L5. That station can then be used to assemble space-only spacecraft that are unable to enter atmosphere but at the same time also don't have to waste mass carrying the payload necessary to reach orbit. They only have to carry the payload necessary to maneuver in space and haul whatever mission supplies they have.

Once we have those built, then we can begin putting actual colonies on the Moon and Mars. Until we have them, anything we put on either body will simply be a massive money sink with nothing to show for it.

 

Right now there's not enough disposal income in the treasury to buy a sick hooker a hotcake. We can't even get the GOP to fund education so who's gonna build this stuff, the Kardashians? Maybe Paris Hilton could be chief engineer. We could get Bachman to to be chair on the committee and Palin would lobby for Alaska to be the next Mission Control.

 

Don't give them ideas, fer chrissake !

 

I think its a great idea, looking forward to seeing you off!

 

Never mentioned faster than light though that or some other cheat would be nifty merging people with technology sounds cool but how would that help other then maybe making people smarter

 

Why do you believe that?

 

What about maglev on Earth in vacuum environments such as underground, high speed mass transit? We may be able to practice a bit more regarding those phenomena and improve the efficiency of our economy at the same time.

 

You don't need FTL to get a crew, from their POV, to another star system quickly.

 

the Dept of Education pisses that away on muffins for "seminars".

 

In my opinion, a moon base may be too political for the US to do on its own. We may be better off gathering more perfect knowledge of hostile environments on our own planet. The ocean floor and within active volcanoes are two examples.

 

Complex machines break down (making sleeper ships out of reach) and food production is subject to the law of diminishing returns as well as increasing mass requiring increased Delta-V to move (putting generation ships out of reach).

FTL itself is an impossibility unless we figure some way to convert people to energy and reconstitute them.

The only option is to go transhuman and make ourselves into a cybernetic species (ie upload our brains to machines and use those machines to maintain other machines in transit.

 

Where exactly are you going to get the Delta-V to get a ship up to near light speeds? How are you going to keep the crew from dying from the acceleration's increase in local gravity? For that matter how are you going to supply a group of humans for the still decades long journey they will have in order to reach an Earthlike planet?

 

I read something different in Wikipedia article regarding Faster than Light travel.

 

Have you considered Ion power?

 

Do not criticise. Long live the Loonie! To hell with wives with cancer! Onwards and upwards!

 

I'm all for a moon colony. Just email me when the enterprise is getting ready to sail....

In all reality if we can afford it by 2020 we should do it, because if we don't, the Chinese will.

 

Give Gingrich to the Chinese and let them sent him to the moon, the everyone will be happy.

 

What was it's references? Star Trek?

Go read the FTL entry on Atomic Rockets. It explains fairly well how physics conspires to prevent FTL travel.

 

So you want to go really, really, really, really slow?

Ion drives are still reaction drives. This means the more payload you have, the more reaction mass you need, which means the greater the total mass of the craft, which in turn cuts down your Delta-V. To increase your Delta-V, you need more reaction mass, which mean increasing the total mass of craft, which in turn...

It's a viscious cycle.