> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of Ronn! Blankenship > Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 2:45 AM > To: Killer Bs Discussion > Subject: NASA Goes Deep > > <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/20/opinion/20porco.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1> > > The cost to the nation of this misstep was > enormous. For starters, we lost an investment, > adjusted for inflation to 2007 dollars, of $160 > billion. That was the cost to get to, land on, > walk on, drive on and otherwise explore the Moon. > (Of that amount, $29 billion, in > inflation-adjusted dollars, was the approximate cost of the Saturn V.)
But the investment paid off...there was no nuclear war. It was a wonderful way to show who really had the better missile technology without making each other go boom. > Equally troubling is what we put in place of > Apollo. The $38 billion developmental cost of the > shuttle has gotten us nowhere in the solar system > fast. And the International Space Station could > have been built with only half a dozen Saturn V > launchings instead of the more than two dozen > shuttle trips that will be required to finish it. > The bottom line: a colossal misuse of funds and a > disheartening lack of progress and loss of time. The whole point of the shuttle was to make space travel a lot more straightforward: in terms of both cost and regularity. The reusable nature of the shuttle meant that, eventually, only the solid rockets would have to be replaced. The expensive shuttles would each be used a number of times a year (> one time/month) and the maintenance costs were supposed to be minimal. This would result in launch to orbit costs of no more than $100/kilo. I remember believing this in the '70s. Instead, we have a program that's actually more expensive per kilo than that provided in the '60s. The new plan is to go back to the '60s technique of rockets and capsules. IMHO, this reflects the fact that we've hit a physics/technology wall...and will need new types of space technology before human space travel is anything more than a multi-billion dollar entertainment expenditure. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
