Poll

It is late July 2019, following on the surprise announcement on July 20 that the US, Russia, EU, Canada, China, Japan and India were going to unify their manned space programs and their budgets into the United Nations Interplanetary Settlement Program.

Large scale LEO habitats are the priority
2 (8%)
For the foreseeable future it will go to human exploration of as many bodies in the solar system as can be reached before any real settlement plans are made.
3 (12%)
Initial priority is a Lunar Settlement
6 (24%)
Initial priority is a Mars Settlement
7 (28%)
Equal priority to LEO, Moon, and Mars
0 (0%)
If it doesn't fit these choices DON'T choose this option, write a response with a description of your choice and a <25 word summary of that description and I will add it to the list
4 (16%)
Equal priority to LEO, Moon, Mars and Asteroids
3 (12%)

Total Members Voted: 25

Voting closed: 08/19/2015 04:36 pm

Author Topic: It is late July 2019, as director of UNISP what will you do?  (Read 2683 times)

Offline nadreck

It has been too long since there was a new poll. So here is one for those of us who think we can do a better job as emperor of the universe:

So folks, imagine you are in charge of a program that is charged with settling mankind off Earth. Your budget will ramp up over a 5 year period to the combined total of all the existing government manned space programs out there.  EDIT since the original question is truncated further details are that from 2019 to 2025 the HSF programs of the participating countries are ramping down gradually and moving their budget to UNISP which expects to have a total annual budget of $25B by 2025.

What are your priorities?

Feel free to write about them here in replies, even before you vote, but note voting ends August 19th. Also note if there isn't an appropriate choice to describe the priorities of your program write a description of your program and include a summary that can be made into a choice on the pole. Don't vote until I have added it to the poll.

Also feel free just to vote without replying if that is the way you want to contribute.

BUT REMEMBER: Be excellent to each other, you may all be UNISP Tzars but you still have to play nice or we give the budget to Skynet to settle space with killer AI drones.
« Last Edit: 07/29/2015 05:00 pm by nadreck »
It is all well and good to quote those things that made it past your confirmation bias that other people wrote, but this is a discussion board damnit! Let us know what you think! And why!

Offline nadreck

And yes that is my vote, I think that those four priorities could keep mankind busy for 50 years or more.

EDIT: clarifying that "Equal priority to LEO, Moon, Mars and Asteroids" is my choice.
« Last Edit: 07/29/2015 04:46 pm by nadreck »
It is all well and good to quote those things that made it past your confirmation bias that other people wrote, but this is a discussion board damnit! Let us know what you think! And why!

Offline JasonAW3

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     I think, at first, I'd devote about 30% to both Manned Space exploration and planetary probes combined, for the first two to three years.
     I would dedicate about 50% to Infrastuctural establishment, to include new and updated launch facilities, improved launch vehicles, establishing orbital fueling stations, development of Asteroid and comet capture and retreaval, mining and resource development in Microgravity, on the moon and Mars.
     The last 20% would be held as a contingency / R&D fund for technological development.

     After completion of the majority of the Infrastructure, funds would be shifted to 50% Manned Space Flight and exploration / automated probes, 20% to maintenance of Infrastructure, to include resupplying and refueling depot stations, facility maintenance and improvement as technology and systems dictate. 30% would be retained fo Science, R&D, Technology development, and, of course, contingencies.

     Let's be honest, nasty stuff WILL happen, as will cost overages, for one reason or another (Bad weather, accidents, meteors, etc) and those who don't factor in for this are doomed to fail in ANY project.
My God!  It's full of universes!

Offline chalz

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My plan would start with LEO only. If the goal is the most general one of expanding human presence in space then the most flexible option is learning to live in space. The large gravity wells of planetoids are a big energy investment meaning the rewards had better be worth it. We can be pretty sure now that every other body in the solar system is much worse for human existence than Earth. So it seems a waste of effort to try to make them something they aren't.  Therefore why not skip that part and stay in space. Passing asteroids provide raw materials and the sun or the atom is the energy source. Plus in the scenario 25B is the budget which would not buy a big Mars base.

Offline CraigLieb

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There is really only one mission: Preserve humanity. Mars is the only real long-term viable option since the moon has no atmosphere. The others choices seem to be stepping stones to a viable Mars colony. And might be pursued along the way. They can also be back-waters that continue to distract us, leaving us with no real second home. I watched the Apollo moon landing as a young child. I am now nearly a grandpa. How disappointing. Lets get moving.
On the ground floor of the National Space Foundation... Colonize Mars!

Offline Kansan52

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Other:

All the money will be devoured setting up a new bureaucracy.

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