posted
I almost forgot that today's the 46th anniversary of the launching of Sputnik I, back in 1957. We may have taken four steps forward and two steps back, but we'll never be the way we were before then...
And today is also the -360th anniversary of the launching of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, too!
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Cartman
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I really wish there were more to celebrate this anniversary with than a decrepit space station and a bunch of probes.
Registered: Nov 1999
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Actually, we may -- not on today exactly, but I believe we're going to be welcoming the third nation to the manned spaceflight-capable family within a week or so. Regardless of the political reasons, I'm glad China feels that space is important enough to spend their own resources on, as well.
More specifically, the reports are saying that China will be launching their manned Shenzhou V capsule during the week of their National Day celebrations (which, IIRC, is this coming week).
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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Cartman
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Yeah, but capsules alone won't spark a new space race. Now if China started building low-orbit infrastructure of its own, that would grab people's attention.
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Now, if ideology didn't hinder things so we could have a really amazing space exploration capability....
-------------------- "You are a terrible human, Ritten." Magnus "Urgh, you are a sick sick person..." Austin Powers A leek too, pretty much a negi.....
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quote:Originally posted by Cartman: Yeah, but capsules alone won't spark a new space race. Now if China started building low-orbit infrastructure of its own, that would grab people's attention.
Well, what do you think China's going to do? Launch a manned capsule, land a Human on the moon, and then sit on their hands for the next 30 years afterwards?
Oh wait...
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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Cartman
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It wouldn't be unprecedented, no. B)
-------------------- ".mirrorS arE morE fuN thaN televisioN" - TEH PNIK FLAMIGNO
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Decrepit, Cartman? How do you figure? Mir is gone. The one up there now is still being built. It's too small, over budget, and poorly advocated, but it's certainly not decrepit.
--Jonah
-------------------- "That's what I like about these high school girls, I keep getting older, they stay the same age."
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Yes, but it's also not shaped like a wagon wheel, and where's the love in that?
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Saltah'na
Chinese Canadian, or 75% Commie Bastard.
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And it doesn't have defense batteries like Phasers and Photon Torpedoes....
-------------------- "And slowly, you come to realize, it's all as it should be, you can only do so much. If you're game enough, you could place your trust in me. For the love of life, there's a tradeoff, we could lose it all but we'll go down fighting...." - David Sylvian FreeSpace 2, the greatest space sim of all time, now remastered!
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-------------------- "You are a terrible human, Ritten." Magnus "Urgh, you are a sick sick person..." Austin Powers A leek too, pretty much a negi.....
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quote:Originally posted by Nim: Well it does have a photon launcher, they attack incoming craft with it all the time, when they are in last-stage docking maneuvers.
Bah, that's just an illusion created by Thoron Fields and Duranium shadows.
I welcome Chinese manned spaceflight. Maybe it will give us Americans a kick in the ass to fund our own space program better if we think the Chinese will upstage us. Nothing like a little competition to get us out of our funk.
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Cartman
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quote:Originally posted by Peregrinus: Decrepit, Cartman? How do you figure? Mir is gone. The one up there now is still being built. It's too small, over budget, and poorly advocated, but it's certainly not decrepit.
The word was... ill-chosen. But from the looks of things, the ISS will probably come plunging down before it's ever completed. Mir (which was plagued by difficulties) at least lived a long and fruitful life. Heck, even Skylab held out for six productive years despite the setbacks it faced. This station just... orbits. There's not much the ISS can be used for in its present state. If you ask me, that is a colossal waste of effort.
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-------------------- "The best defense is not a good offense. The best defense is a terrifyingly accurate and devastatingly powerful offense, with multiply-overlapping kill zones and time-on-target artillery strikes." -- Laurence, Archangel of the Sword
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