Asteroid Mining

[Buck Turgidson]

It was the privatisation of colonisation that made the british so successful.

[Pterrydactyl]

the "reliable" russian system, isn't functioning, which is why we have to abandon the ISS.


Also, i know about the shuttles, but he cut development from the program that was to replace the shuttles.  Thats why I won't forgive him.

You're right.  It would have been much better to fund the space program and let the economy rot. 

As opposed to cut the space program, shower illegals with gifts, and let the economy rot?


Bush ended the X-33 program, Obama ended the research into a replacement program.

Also, Bush was the president who wanted to build a moonbase and had nasa start looking into asteroid mining (he cut both after 2001, but the group that was looking into asteroid mining got scooped up by that corporation)

[Jenne]

It seems a little vague, but it looks like it is being kept alive by low-level funding of some kind. 

http://rt.com/news/space-plane-x-37b-programme-179/

Either way, the military possibilities of a platform like this guarantee that the tech will be alive one way or another.  It builds on the Space Shuttle experience, and takes it to a new level.  You could even fit a person in it (an unlikely use for it), and you can easily see how it could be militarised to meet the stated US military requirement to strike anywhere on earth within 1 hour.  Or turned into a returnable satellite. 

It must have been X-37A I was working on.  Would have been '01-'03 timeframe, so that's in line with them pulling the plug in '04.

Apparently Boeing just started work on the X-37C, which would be a scaled up manned version.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-37

Didn't Bush cancel the Venturestar?  I thought that was the shuttle replacement.

Never heard of it. 

Oh you're one of those people.

Fuck you man.  I lost a lot of work when they pulled the funding from Ares. 

[Buck Turgidson]

Jenne,

Are you saying you are a rocket scientist?  We should get together and have a chat in the rarified air - I am a brain surgeon.

The Venturestar was the X-33.

Has Ares been cancelled?

[Jenne]

Probably not in the sense you are thinking, but a lot of my work has been tied to the space and defense industries.  I'm mechanical, not aero, so I deal more in structures than flight. 

I don't know if it was ever totally canceled, but it's been revived.  About 5 months ago, I got contacted by the company I was doing work for looking for old files so they could start work on it again. 

[Buck Turgidson]

So what is Apo bitching about that Obama did?

[undiscoveredbum]

Oh you're one of those people.

Fuck you man.  I lost a lot of work when they pulled the funding from Ares. 

And both of those are unfortunate. Point?

[Buck Turgidson]

The point is, if you were offered to go on a colony ship to Europa, and had to leave everyone you know behind for the rest of your life (though you could always Skype with them), would you go?

[Pterrydactyl]

It would depend on how safe it was on europa, like, did we test the equipment and make sure everything was good to go?

It would be situational, but if I believed that there was a good chance or the mission being successful, I'd go in a heartbeat.

[Buck Turgidson]

How about if you knew all of the equipment was reliable, except for one item, which was only 98% reliable, and you didn't know which one?

[Pterrydactyl]

Maybe.  Knowing NASA and the "double-up" system they use, I'd probably be fine with it.

[Jenne]

Everything on these systems is double redundant. 

[Buck Turgidson]

98% x 98% = 96%

[Jenne]

98% x 98% = 96%

That's the odds of both of them working.  You only need 1. 

[Buck Turgidson]

Ok, so what's the equation?  is it 2% X 2% = 0.04% chance of a serial breakdown?