SpaceX going it alone to harvest water

[meekGee]

Possibly China's greatest failure was in breaking up their 15th century trading fleets, destroying the records and banning further fleets. There is some controversial evidence that they had reached the Americas. Either way, by turning inward they lost any chance of grabbing a piece of the economic engine that drove Europe for 350-400 years.

If we go to the moon strictly as a pissing contest then huddle down in a continuously occupied but otherwise useless base, we've missed the point.

I read the 1421 book on China reaching America. If it happened somewhat close to the way that author suggests, Then China could have had substantial colonies on the American continents starting a century ahead of the Europeans. The question, similar to the Lunar question, is whether it would have been beneficial to the parent country.  I think probably, but not certain.

If we're doing geopolitics, it's a good observation that China didn't lose the race 400 years ago because it allowed the Westerners to steal its technology.

China lost it all because it went stupid and destroyed its own science and technology.

You been reading the national news lately?

Your point being that concern is warranted?#1 Or that we shouldn't worry about anything?#2  My thought is #1, and there are others that see #2 as the correct vision.

My point is that worrying about "China stealing out technology" is not only useless, it's actually counter productive.

Musk understood that from the early days of SpaceX, and the sad state of all the competitors (haha foreign and domestic) affirms it.

Even in the car industry, the only somewhat relevant competitor didn't get there because it copied more technology than anyone else.

[redneck]

[quote autho
You been reading the national news lately?


Your point being that concern is warranted?#1 Or that we shouldn't worry about anything?#2  My thought is #1, and there are others that see #2 as the correct vision.

My point is that worrying about "China stealing out technology" is not only useless, it's actually counter productive.

Musk understood that from the early days of SpaceX, and the sad state of all the competitors (haha foreign and domestic) affirms it.

Even in the car industry, the only somewhat relevant competitor didn't get there because it copied more technology than anyone else.

Actually I agree with you about spaceflight and most technology MeekGee. I was replying to the question about reading the national news in general. There are so many that see our country as doomed, and so many others that see the rest of the world as incompetent copiers at best. I think both extremes are counterproductive to the US in particular and the rest of the world in general.

I work and deal with people from many other countries with Hispanics predominating. Very few of them have a problem with me stating that the US is my country and the one i care about with concern about any others way into second place.

[OTV Booster]

Possibly China's greatest failure was in breaking up their 15th century trading fleets, destroying the records and banning further fleets. There is some controversial evidence that they had reached the Americas. Either way, by turning inward they lost any chance of grabbing a piece of the economic engine that drove Europe for 350-400 years.

If we go to the moon strictly as a pissing contest then huddle down in a continuously occupied but otherwise useless base, we've missed the point.

I read the 1421 book on China reaching America. If it happened somewhat close to the way that author suggests, Then China could have had substantial colonies on the American continents starting a century ahead of the Europeans. The question, similar to the Lunar question, is whether it would have been beneficial to the parent country.  I think probably, but not certain.

If we're doing geopolitics, it's a good observation that China didn't lose the race 400 years ago because it allowed the Westerners to steal its technology.

China lost it all because it went stupid and destroyed its own science and technology.

You been reading the national news lately?

Your point being that concern is warranted?#1 Or that we shouldn't worry about anything?#2  My thought is #1, and there are others that see #2 as the correct vision.

Concern is warranted. We are actively perusing the path of China 400 years ago but that is only the latest and most overt aspect of the problem.


Another aspect is that despite rhetoric, education is on a downward spiral. The number of asian names of CEOs, grad students, researchers and high level technology workers is stunning. Don't get me wrong. The ever changing soup of the American population is a source of strength. Mutts are the best dogs.


The scale of the shift tells me that something else (education being only one possibility) is at work. It's hard to pick out cause and effect.


I could extend this rant but it's out of place here.