DescentBB

With all the space talk goin around here lately, I thought I'd ask.

EDIT: I feel this is a legit question/poll

do you mean a manned mission? I think we should it, but in due time. Not right now, nor anytime in the near future. We have more pressing problems to solve first. We should however try to expand our scope of knowledge though, as we are with Spirit and Opportunity.

I support it within reason. What we really need to do is do a complete overhaul on the shuttle design simply because they weren't even designed to be run this long. The last thing we need is another Colombia or Challenger. NASA definitely needs a larger budget to do this, and we definitely have enough money to allocate to do the job..so why not do it?

It's being done.

The shuttle retires in 2010 - when the ISS is "complete". After that time, there will be a multi-year period when the USA has absolutely no capability to launch humans into space - while they develop the CEV (Crew Exploration Vehicle) which *should* be in service by 2014 - and it *should* be making missions to the Luna surface "routine" by 2018.

During this time, the USA will rely on Russian systems to launch humans (If that's deemed necessary - and it may not be!).

The CEV will NOT be a winged design (or it is unlikely to be) and will more closely resemble the Command Module from the Apollo era. It will however, be much large and have more capacity and be capable of being attached to a transfer module for longer voyages (Luna-Earth return).

Meantime, the Russians look like they're going to develop their own "Soyuz MK II" to support Luna and orbital operations. Unsurprisingly, they say they can do it for about 5-10% of what it'll cost America to develop a similar craft. (The Russians aren't so concerned about people dying as paranoid Americans. "Good enough is good enough")

We ought to be looking at ways to reach near-light speeds (Or break them, if thats at all realisticly possible...I dare anyone to prove it isnt) so that missions to other planets are decently viable.

I think it might be a while before someone comes up with a working FTL engine...

I support the Mars mission within reason.

i think it'l be a while before someone even comes up with a plausable FTL engine THEORY!

nasa's latest addition to scramjet flighttests spells good things for spaceflight . engines with that kindof speed and efficientcy (it's very efficient iirc) like that may one day enable horizontal launches.
remember the weight of fuel is one of the biggest reasons reaching orbit is so hard to do (and thus expensive).

ie: fly horizontally, just like a normal plane, then pitch up, hit the scramjet, pick up insane speed, and you may have enough inertia to reach, or even break orbit.
this equals WAY cheaper orbit/spaceflight.