Quote from: high road on 09/27/2021 01:31 pmQuote from: Lee Jay on 09/27/2021 02:36 amI'll tell you what killed it for me - the gap between Apollo and Shuttle. Despite an intense interest, I went into another industry for that reason. And the gap we're in right now (post Shuttle) happened at the same time in my kids' lives. And, no, commercial crew cycling to the ISS doesn't count. It's just a taxi service and just as exciting.So, have exciting things going on that involve people in space. Get rid of the damned gaps!What gap are we still in then? Either the return of the taxi service counts as the end of the gap, or Space Shuttle was part of the gap.We're in a boom in space startups that has been building up for years now.The Space Shuttle flights often involved a high-density of EVAs performed by the Shuttle astronauts, the delivery of hardware beyond just people, or at least the delivery and berthing of an MPLM, followed by a Shuttle landing at KSC. A Dragon launch with cargo or 4 long-term ISS crew members followed by an ocean splashdown is like watching paint dry by comparison.For me, space as it is right now is as boring as it has been during my lifetime.
Quote from: Lee Jay on 09/27/2021 02:36 amI'll tell you what killed it for me - the gap between Apollo and Shuttle. Despite an intense interest, I went into another industry for that reason. And the gap we're in right now (post Shuttle) happened at the same time in my kids' lives. And, no, commercial crew cycling to the ISS doesn't count. It's just a taxi service and just as exciting.So, have exciting things going on that involve people in space. Get rid of the damned gaps!What gap are we still in then? Either the return of the taxi service counts as the end of the gap, or Space Shuttle was part of the gap.We're in a boom in space startups that has been building up for years now.
I'll tell you what killed it for me - the gap between Apollo and Shuttle. Despite an intense interest, I went into another industry for that reason. And the gap we're in right now (post Shuttle) happened at the same time in my kids' lives. And, no, commercial crew cycling to the ISS doesn't count. It's just a taxi service and just as exciting.So, have exciting things going on that involve people in space. Get rid of the damned gaps!
Quote from: Welsh Dragon on 09/29/2021 07:34 amQuote from: Pipcard on 09/28/2021 11:29 pmOf course, those are legitimate concerns. But what's annoying is the either-or / false dichotomy proposition that space travel must be abandoned completely to fix poverty or the environment.I think that's a view more commonly (and falsely) ascribed to people by space fans than actually held by people. Most of the general public couldn't care less either way. Wrong.I'm a volunteer for an obscure little space museum in the Netherlands. One of our activities is that we organize lectures about spaceflight and astronomy subjects. After each lecture there is time for questions and discussion. Over the past 24 years I've seen many times where people in the audience came up with "we must abandon spaceflight and use the funds to fix poverty/famine/climate change".This thing is NOT a view falsely held by space fans. It actually does exist in the general public and it's been in existence for a long time. The first comments of this nature from the general public go as far back as the Apollo program.
Quote from: Pipcard on 09/28/2021 11:29 pmOf course, those are legitimate concerns. But what's annoying is the either-or / false dichotomy proposition that space travel must be abandoned completely to fix poverty or the environment.I think that's a view more commonly (and falsely) ascribed to people by space fans than actually held by people. Most of the general public couldn't care less either way.
Of course, those are legitimate concerns. But what's annoying is the either-or / false dichotomy proposition that space travel must be abandoned completely to fix poverty or the environment.