NASA's space mystery

reply to post by Truth1000

I agree that is would be hard to hide a Shuttle like blastoff, they would have to have the site remote and somebody would have picked it up on Google Earth.

That being said, you can have space capable craft that would be very hard to detect if they use different propulsion methods.

Originally posted by jra

Originally posted by AllIsOne
After the retirement of the space shuttle NASA won't have the ability for at least 4 years to send astronauts into space.

A similar thing happened after the Apollo program was stopped. There was a 6 year gap between the last Apollo flight and the first Shuttle flight.

The Ares I rocket with the Orion module will be operational in 2014. (I'm not even going to discuss the fact that said technology is a rehash of the '60s ...).

In what way is it a rehash?

I think that the only superpower remaining on this planet would not give up such a strategic advantage. It just doesn't sound right to me. I believe that we will have a major announcement coming in the next three years that will reveal an "alternate" space vehicle with incredible specs.

I don't see how loosing manned spaceflight for a few years is such a big deal. It's happened before like I pointed out above. Plus, if Space X's Falcon 9 goes up with no issues, we could see commercial manned spaceflight sooner than the Ares 1/Orion (if it doesn't get cancelled).

I think that 6 year gap is as strange as the one after the shuttle program.

When you get to the bottom of the "new" program it is the Saturn rocket and the Apollo crew module on steroids. But there is no new propulsion system and the splashdown method is so '60s

To me it looks like NASA unconvincingly pretends to develop a new space program, but they know that the real one isn't theirs anymore. Probably never was ...

Originally posted by Truth1000
If the Navy has a space program independent of NASA and the USAF, where are their rockets launching into space from?

That is an assumption: why rockets?

As anyone on the Space Coast of Florida or around the Vandenburg launch site in California, it's kind of hard to have a "secret" launch from any launch site, because it is noticeable from 50-100 miles in every direction, just from the sound.

There are probably thousands of eyewitnesses that have seen silent craft in the air. I don't think they're necessarily alien

You can sort of hide the payload of a space launch, but it sure is hard to hide an entire space program outside of the Cape and Vandenburg.

That all depends on the technology. You assume that what you know from the Apollo or Shuttle program must apply to the "secret" program. Not necessarily so IMHO. We could have platforms in the polar regions or somewhere in the vastness of the oceans.

But I understand your skepticism: why have two parallel space programs? One day NASA will have a lot of explaining to do.

Originally posted by pavil
reply to post by Truth1000

 

I agree that is would be hard to hide a Shuttle like blastoff, they would have to have the site remote and somebody would have picked it up on Google Earth.

Are you aware of how "sanitized" Google earth is? Nothing is in real time ...

THe only thing I see that is "strange" in this thread is that so many people here assume that government decisions should somehow make sense.

I mean, seriously - Your faith in government competence and planning ability is... well, it far exceeds mine. It's even kind of quaint, in an old-fashioned way.

I don't blame you for wanting to believe in secret programs and technologies. It would be comforting to think that somebody (even if thay are evil) has a rational master plan (even if it is classified) - as opposed to having a bunch of myopic, ignorant, political hacks who make technological decisions based on short-term prestige and parochial job protection.

The truth can be far simpler - and far worse - than we imagine.

Originally posted by AllIsOne
When you get to the bottom of the "new" program it is the Saturn rocket and the Apollo crew module on steroids. But there is no new propulsion system and the splashdown method is so '60s

The Ares/Orion is really no different than Russia's Soyuz rocket and capsule, or China's Long March 2F/Shenzhou or SpaceX's Falcon 9/Dragon. They're all comparable to the Saturn V and Apollo. But how is any of this a rehash of the 60's though? The construction methods and materials are new, the avionics are new. What exactly from the 60's is being used specifically?

And no, there is no new propulsion system. The whole point of the Constellation program was to reuse as much from the Shuttle program to keep costs down (as well as to save jobs).

Well said Saint Exupery.

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Polite Mod Reminder

Hi People,

Lets keep it on-topic...and focused on the topic, not eachother.


Cheers,
ALIEN

[edit on 24-5-2010 by alien]

reply to post by jra


Please check your signature re rehash of the '60s