Author Topic: Vice President Mike Pence will visit NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida  (Read 24542 times)

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Sorry @NASA...@MarcoRubio dared me to do it!

https://twitter.com/vp/status/883408689285214211
« Last Edit: 07/07/2017 07:45 pm by FutureSpaceTourist »

Offline Coastal Ron

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The U.S. isn't leading in human space exploration until it can send its astronauts into space on its own.

Space "exploration" is different than space "transportation". Riding in a Soyuz on the way to the ISS is not "exploration", it's "transportation".

Human space "exploration" is what the ISS is all about, and there should be no question that the U.S. dominates today.
If we don't continuously lower the cost to access space, how are we ever going to afford to expand humanity out into space?

Offline spacenut

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The ability to put men into space is the ability to lead in the eyes of the public. 

Offline mme

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These two parts of the speech were interesting:

Quote from: Vice President Pence
And from this “Bridge to Space [KSC],” our nation will return to the Moon, and we will put American boots on the face of Mars.  (Applause.)

Quote from: Vice President Pence
We will maintain a constant presence in low-Earth orbit, and we will develop policies that will carry human space exploration across our solar system and ultimately into the vast expanse of space.


https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/07/06/remarks-vice-president-kennedy-space-center
I see only two politically plausible paths to the USG getting humans on Mars or even the Moon again:
1. Congress passes a law with mandatory funding, time tables and requiring a super majority to repeal.
2. Some US company makes it really cheap to happen in under 4 years.

Other than that I take these statements to mean "we'll keep ISS alive and keep funding SLS and commercial crew at about the same levels we have been as already planned.  Someone else will sort out the details in 4 or 8 years."  Lather, rinse, repeat.  To quote a young Pete Townshen:

Quote
I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

To be explicit, I do not think even another space race would work.
« Last Edit: 07/07/2017 09:43 pm by mme »
Space is not Highlander.  There can, and will, be more than one.

Offline AncientU

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The U.S. isn't leading in human space exploration until it can send its astronauts into space on its own.

Space "exploration" is different than space "transportation". Riding in a Soyuz on the way to the ISS is not "exploration", it's "transportation".

Human space "exploration" is what the ISS is all about, and there should be no question that the U.S. dominates today.

As far as human space flight is concerned, I'd agree with you if ISS was established and then additional infrastructure followed... so that exploration could reach out to new destinies.  Leadership denotes motion in a direction.  Hanging out in LEO for decades with no path beyond is loitering, maintaining the status quo, not leadership.

Our planetary/science exploration program is scientific leadership at its finest -- the grand tours of the Voyagers, the great observatories, the family of Mars rovers, Cassini and Galileo, and smaller astro missions like COBE/WMAP, Kepler, New Horizons.  The list is long, and stretches unbroken from the 1960s.  Missions built on missions, and many nations joined in as collaborators/followers.  Some nations and groups of nations moved beyond these partnerships and accomplished great things without the US, too.  All good.

I'd love to see our HSF program once again have the vitality that is in evidence in our science exploration effort.
« Last Edit: 07/07/2017 11:15 pm by AncientU »
"If we shared everything [we are working on] people would think we are insane!"
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Offline Coastal Ron

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The ability to put men into space is the ability to lead in the eyes of the public.

If that were the case then NASA won't be "leading" even when Commercial Crew becomes operational, since that won't be government transportation systems, but private ones. Really no different than contracting with the Russians.

So apparently you are thinking America won't be "leading" until the Orion spacecraft is finally launched with humans? Even though it will only stay in space for a fraction of the time our astronauts spend in space on the ISS? That just doesn't make sense to me.

And I disagree that the U.S. public conflates the two, especially since most of the news coverage of the ISS is U.S. astronauts doing science (and other things) INSIDE of the ISS, which is U.S. territory in space. We are beyond the Apollo and Shuttle era where we are only in space for short periods of time.

Regarding who is leading who, does anyone else have a giant space station in low Earth orbit to compete with us? Has anyone else kept a space station, of any size, continuously occupied for over 15 years? What are the metrics?

Also, when I talk about the science being done in space with the ISS, people don't stop me and say "yeah, but those astronauts didn't get to space on a NASA spaceship". Is that the prevalent response that anyone gets when talking about the ISS to non-space nerds like us?
If we don't continuously lower the cost to access space, how are we ever going to afford to expand humanity out into space?

Offline Coastal Ron

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An update on V.P. Pence touching the Orion component that had a sign saying "Do Not Touch", Pence says Senator Marco Rubio dared him to touch it.

I'm sure no permanent harm was done to the part, but this Administration has a hard time explaining things in a straightforward way...
If we don't continuously lower the cost to access space, how are we ever going to afford to expand humanity out into space?

Offline TomH

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Offline QuantumG

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“Procedures require the hardware to be cleaned before tiles are bonded to the spacecraft, so touching the surface is absolutely okay,” said NASA spokeswoman Jen Rae Wang. “Otherwise, the hardware would have had a protective cover over it like the thermal heat shield, which was nearby.”
Human spaceflight is basically just LARPing now.

Offline AncientU

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An update on V.P. Pence touching the Orion component that had a sign saying "Do Not Touch", Pence says Senator Marco Rubio dared him to touch it.

I'm sure no permanent harm was done to the part, but this Administration has a hard time explaining things in a straightforward way...

I think that was a joke. People have a hard time accepting this administration doesn't eat children three meals a day.
« Last Edit: 07/07/2017 11:39 pm by AncientU »
"If we shared everything [we are working on] people would think we are insane!"
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Offline Proponent

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From the Post article: "NASA then reassured the vice president that he did nothing wrong, tweeting: 'It was OK to touch the surface. Those are just day-to-day reminder signs.'"

What's the difference between a "day-to-day reminder sign" that's OK to ignore and a serious sign?  Maybe it's the quotation marks? :)


Offline Lar

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“Procedures require the hardware to be cleaned before tiles are bonded to the spacecraft, so touching the surface is absolutely okay,” said NASA spokeswoman Jen Rae Wang. “Otherwise, the hardware would have had a protective cover over it like the thermal heat shield, which was nearby.”

So what was the sign for? Yeesh. I think someone told some NASA functionary to explain this away.
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Offline Rocket Science

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I think I'll ignore those "day-to-day reminder signs" that say "Remove before flight" next time I go flying and see how it turns out... If it's good enough for NASA then it's good enough for me... I'll let you know how it turns out...or maybe I won't be able to, we'll see! ;)
« Last Edit: 07/08/2017 01:46 pm by Rocket Science »
"The laws of physics are unforgiving"
~Rob: Physics instructor, Aviator

Offline spacenut

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Even if it is private, but American, from my families point of view, it is American made, America leading using private companies.  Some of my extended family doesn't even know about SpaceX landing rockets, they just don't keep up with the space program, and think everything space is NASA.  Also, all they ever saw on the news was SpaceX "failing" because then crashed their rockets and didn't land them, even though the satellites made it to proper orbit.  News is mostly negative, so they report any crashes, airline crashes, trains derailing, etc.  It is up to us to spread the truth.  The national news will not do it. 

Offline Rocket Science

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Even if it is private, but American, from my families point of view, it is American made, America leading using private companies.  Some of my extended family doesn't even know about SpaceX landing rockets, they just don't keep up with the space program, and think everything space is NASA.  Also, all they ever saw on the news was SpaceX "failing" because then crashed their rockets and didn't land them, even though the satellites made it to proper orbit.  News is mostly negative, so they report any crashes, airline crashes, trains derailing, etc.  It is up to us to spread the truth.  The national news will not do it.
Give this to your family, they might be surprised what they drive is not fully 100% American apart from Tesla who also just happens to make 100% made American rockets by that guy Elon Musk...
BTW it is up to the individual to educate themselves... We are not a "nanny state"...
http://time.com/4677817/american-cars-brands-manufacturing/
« Last Edit: 07/08/2017 02:02 pm by Rocket Science »
"The laws of physics are unforgiving"
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Offline spacenut

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True, but my extended family is large and is a composite of American culture.  Not many are interested in Space, and what they know, they hear about on the news.  News can be mostly negative thus they want to cut spending on space. 

Offline Rocket Science

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True, but my extended family is large and is a composite of American culture.  Not many are interested in Space, and what they know, they hear about on the news.  News can be mostly negative thus they want to cut spending on space.
They need to change the channel then...
"The laws of physics are unforgiving"
~Rob: Physics instructor, Aviator

Offline Semmel

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“Procedures require the hardware to be cleaned before tiles are bonded to the spacecraft, so touching the surface is absolutely okay,” said NASA spokeswoman Jen Rae Wang. “Otherwise, the hardware would have had a protective cover over it like the thermal heat shield, which was nearby.”

So what was the sign for? Yeesh. I think someone told some NASA functionary to explain this away.

I work in scientific instrumentation and we have these signs too. Its most of the time no problem to "touch" the things we have. In fact, we do it all the time in the lab when we use our instruments and hardware. But we know how to handle them, a visitor doesnt. We dont want anybody to touch our stuff not because "touching" it would damage it, but most ways of damaging it involves touching in the first place. In a more formal way, touching is a necessary but not a sufficient requirement for damage.

The piece of hardware on the display might be precisely manufactured with tolerances in the micron level. We dont know. Then touching it would not damage it. But lifting it up and setting it back down inappropriately or carelessly might ever so slightly deform the piece and would essentially make it useless. So in this sense, the sign is vital to protect the piece from damage, but the damage is not caused by touching it directly.

Offline Chris Bergin

To be fair he can touch whatever he wants if he gives NASA a solid costed plan via the council.
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Offline Coastal Ron

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An update on V.P. Pence touching the Orion component that had a sign saying "Do Not Touch", Pence says Senator Marco Rubio dared him to touch it.

I'm sure no permanent harm was done to the part, but this Administration has a hard time explaining things in a straightforward way...

I think that was a joke. People have a hard time accepting this administration doesn't eat children three meals a day.

A simple statement from NASA saying that Pence was given the OK to touch the part by NASA since it would be cleaned later would have cleared the air quickly about this. NASA could have even tweeted it out.

Instead we have to guess if Pence was being serious or trying to be humorous with his explanation - which the reason why there is a question is that Pence is not someone known to crack jokes. But regardless, the question of "why" he touched it is still left unanswered, which is what keeps this conversation going...
If we don't continuously lower the cost to access space, how are we ever going to afford to expand humanity out into space?

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