China's Space Program

[LateX'Dog]

http://imgur.com/a/yPK5h

Inspiring the young and pushing innovation.

This is something NASA used to do.

This is where we should be spending our money on, not waging wars and bailing out companies.

 

[LateX'Dog]

Maybe they can fake some more space walks

How is shooting people into space better for the economy than waging wars and bailing out failing companies ?

Youtube Neil DeGrasse Tyson, he'll explain it much better then i can.

850 Billion dollar bank bailout is more then the entire budget of NASA.

American defense budget 2011: 664.84 billion dollars

Nasa budget 2011: 17 billion dollars

 

[LateX'Dog]

Would it not have made more sense for someone like SpaceX to join/fund NASA?

Seems like a lot of experience/infrastructure/heritage/etc to let slip into mediocrity.

What i think would make more sense is for NASA to open up its funding from members of the public, i'm sure people could spare £1-£5 x the amount of people who are interested in space, you could be pumping in easily couple of hundred million a month into there budget.

A world wide space program funded by the people would be incredible.

 

[LateX'Dog]

Competitiveness breeds innovation and creativity.

I don't think that's true any more, it used to be true in the older days, but people now innovate because they want to.

People want all these cool technologies and are willing to work for it, give people the opportunity to create and they will. We live in a industrial era that squashes creativity and dreaming.

"Don't learn this, you wont get a job in it" is a phrase a lot of people often say, may we should allow them to create that job for them instead of closing the door on peoples dreams.

"We discovered earth for the first time with Apollo 8, how did this effect culture?

The pale blue dot picture was the picture used to identify earth and thinking about earth as a whole, not as a place where nations war.

1970 - Comprehensive Clean Air Act
1970 - Earth Day
1970 - Environmental Protection Agency
1971 - Doctors without Borders founded
1971 - Clean Water Act
1972 - DDT banned
1972 - Endangered Species Act
1973 - Catalytic Converter introduced
1973 - Unleaded Gas introduced

That is space operating on our culture. And you can't put a price on that."

Amazing.

 

[LateX'Dog]

25 things NASA has brought to us:

1. SATELLITE TELEVISION: Our world would not be the same without the satellites now in orbit around the Earth – all thanks to the space programme. They not only give us satellite broadcast television and radio but also power telecommunications including mobile phones and terrestrial TV networks.

2. SAT NAV: The global positioning system on which our in-car navigation systems are based was developed by the US Department of Defense. They would not exist without the space satellites.

3. GOOGLE EARTH: Mapping was never as accurate as the images we can now get thanks to satellites which from space can even see a dog in your back garden.

4. VIRTUAL REALITY: Nasa-developed research and advanced technology devices allow users to project themselves into a computer-generated environment. When coupled with a stereo-viewing device and appropriate software, it creates a feeling of actually being there.

5. ARTIFICIAL LIMBS: Prosthetic limbs are not new but advancements in space robotics are being adapted to create more lifelike, functioning limbs.

6. DIALYSIS: Modern machines to do the work of the kidneys – for patients waiting for or unable to have transplants – were developed as a result of a Nasa-developed chemical process.

7. MRI AND CAT SCANS: Nasa did not invent magnetic resonance imaging but it has contributed to major advances thanks to research into computer enhancement of pictures sent from the moon. Digital image processing has led to enhanced images of human organs.

8. BREAST CANCER SCREENING: A silicon chip originally developed for Nasa’s Hubble Space Telescope makes the testing process less painful, less scarring and less expensive than traditional biopsy methods.

9. ULTRASOUND TO ASSESS SKIN DAMAGE: An advanced instrument uses ultrasound technology to assess the depth of burn damage immediately, improving patient treatment and saving lives in serious burn cases.

10. EAR THERMOMETER: Removing the need to use intrusive, mercury-based thermometers on newborn babies and critically ill patients, the ear thermometer uses infrared astronomy technology to measure the amount of energy emitted by the eardrum. This is how Nasa measures the temperature of stars and planets.

11. ATTENTION GETTER: Techniques used to measure brain activity in Nasa pilots are being used to improve attention spans for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

12. ROAD SAFETY: The cutting of grooves in concrete to increase traction was developed to reduce space shuttle accidents on runways. It is now applied to roads and has cut US traffic accidents by 85 per cent.

13. IMPROVED RADIAL TYRES: Goodyear developed a fibrous material five times stronger than steel for Nasa to use in parachutes to land the Viking explorers on Mars. They expanded the technology to produce a harder-wearing radial car tyre.

14. LANDMINE REMOVAL: Surplus rocket fuel is used for a flare that can burn a hole in the case of a mine and burn away its explosive content.

15. STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS: Nasa software engineers have created thousands of computer programs to find imperfections in aerospace structures and components which has proved invaluable in air safety.

16. WATER FILTERS: Water-cleaning technology has existed since the early Fifties but Nasa came up with ways to filter it in more extreme situations. The activated charcoal with silver ions used in commercial filter systems cleans the water and kills bacteria.

17. FREEZE-DRIED FOOD: Nasa carried out extensive research to reduce the weight of food to be carried on missions. The result was a method for cooking food, freezing it quickly, then slowly heating it in a vacuum chamber to remove the ice crystals. The end product weighs one fifth of the original, while retaining 98 per cent of its nutrition.

18. TEMPER FOAM: Nasa developed a soft, high-energy-absorbent padding to improve crash protection in aircraft. Now “memory foam” is used in mattresses, pillows, military and civilian vehicles, sports safety equipment, amusement park rides, furniture and artificial limbs.

19. SCRATCH-RESISTANT LENSES: A modified version of a process developed by Nasa involves coating the lenses with a film of carbon that helps avoid scratches and decreases friction and reduces water spots.

20. RIBBED SWIMSUITS: The swimsuit worn by Olympic sensation Michael Phelps was developed with Nasa technology. Aerodynamic research came up with material which give 15 per cent faster speeds than any other swimsuit thanks to small, barely visible grooves that reduce friction and drag.

21. AERODYNAMIC GOLF BALLS: Technology is behind the design of golf balls with 500 dimples in a pattern of 60 triangles which allows the ball to maintain its initial speed longer and produce a more stable flight for better accuracy and distance.

22. ATHLETIC SHOES: Moon-boot material has been incorporated into running shoe midsoles to improve shock absorption and provide better stability and motion control.

23. PERSONAL ALARM SYSTEMS: A pen-sized ultrasonic transmitter used by prison guards, teachers, the elderly and disabled to call for help is based on space technology.

24. SPACE PENS: Most pens depend on mavity to make the ink flow to the ballpoint. The space pen was developed for the mavity-free space environment so that the ink cartridge contains pressurised gas to push the ink towards the ballpoint, so you can write upside down.

25. CORDLESS POWER TOOLS: The household and DIY products firm Black & Decker came up with a portable drill capable of extracting core samples from below the lunar surface during the Apollo missions. The same technology has been used on cordless miniature vacuum cleaners.