Obama to NASA - We need new tech...

"Let's start thinking about, what's the next horizon? What's the next frontier out there? In order to do that, we'll need some technological breakthroughs that we don't have yet." --U.S. President Obama

Is Obama thowing out hints to our private sector that now is the time to release the super secret stuff? What we need is the breakthough of manipulating and propagating gravity waves or some other propellentless propulsion.

"Rather than keep on doing the same thing, let's invest in basic research around new technologies that can get us places faster, allow human space flight to last longer," he said.

Faster being the keyword here. I personally beleive we have the technology to go faster but our military is keeping it to themselves much akin to what happened with early GPS.

Source

"Aviation's holy grail is laminar flow."

Tweet from @NASA
source
Source

Um no NASA, the holy grail to avaiation is propellantless propulsion. Laminar flow is cool but we need new ways of propelling ourselves to greater speeds cheaper. Think outside the box NASA.


The real things to consider if we ever achieve the holy grail of aviation are the legal implications of people leaving this planet under their own free will. Do we really want the general pulic in deep outerspace? It would eventually happen, enthusiast would make their own space vehicles and see what is out there for themseleves. Would we want them to bring anything back? I doubt we would see hobbiest in space in our lifetime but stranger things have happened. Have you ever seen the Astronuat Farmer?



He builds his own rocketship and the government trys to stop him from getting into space.

Something else to look at when thinking about this new tech. This thread discusses gravity research and is an interesting read.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I get the feeling that these "breakthroughs" will break through very soon. I have to agree with Obama on this one, we need new tech not the same old thing we have been doing for the last several years.

This is so much inspiring for the many people who dreams to travel into space. Great find I did not know of. Star and Flag for you .


Thruthseek3r

The new tech can be found in private space companies:

Bigelow inflatable habitats
ULA propellant depots
SpaceX rockets
AdAstra VASIMR engine

I do not think we have to worry about the average Joe leaving the planet anytime soon in a ship or rocket. It would be interesting when they release the technology to create ships that are similar to cruise vessels, although I would not want to be one of the first people try it out...I can only imagine a titanic type scenario out in space involving a small asteroid instead of an iceberg. (that is if the titanic story was true and they did not sink the ship to collect on the insurance)

mispost

i have to agree that not only do we need better tech but that some parts of the military already have quite a lot of it. we have always relied on rocket propulsion to break free of the atmosphere. something that i rather suspect has done quite a lot of damage to the atmosphere itself, possibly burning a lot of it as the rocket shoots up.

will we see anything come of this? unfortunately those within the secret army will most likely NOT want THEIR toys to be know about, of course due to national security. the only reason they let Eisenhower in on the Manhattan project (only AFTER Roosevelt died and he took over as president), was because THEY wanted to use it. this type of secrecy seems to come from that era (i'm sure if we looked hard enough we would find it spread throughout history :@@. the idea of keeping things like 'MAGIC" (the breaking of secret enemy codes), and the Manhattan project (the research and building of atomic weapons), only makes sense. after all if the other side doesn't know about it to begin with then they can't try to gain access to knowledge or change codes. (this is where the pearl harbor conspiracy comes into play, after all the British knew about the Coventry raid yet was unable to do anything about it or risk loosing what access they had to German communications).

the reasoning is sound. but as seen within context to things like the Coventry air raid, not always so good for the common citizen. (just as the infamous Spock saying "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of a few", i guess). the thing is who controls WHO gets to know? you would think logically that the head honcho aka the president would be that one wouldn't you? well apparently from all we hear about UFO's ect, that is not the case. people cite that weak presidents would let things slip and so they don't get told. kinda warped thinking considering no matter how much a moron you might feel the president is, it's still his hand on the BUTTON

it would appear then that those with the actual knowledge are the only ones worthy of the truth. that is rather one sided. something should be done to break the strangle hold on technology only some (mostly by lucking out), have access to. it's really not a secret when pretty much every government within at least the stronger nations is looking at the same stuff. who knows what would happen if the info was disseminated? maybe some weird guy out there may have input that would bring it even further ahead.

its past time this tech was released for the good of all, not just for the good of the "secret military". space exploration would be a good place to start.

NASA to Obama - Give us our funding back so we can do our damn jobs!

Obama is being an idiot. NASA does not need to do fundamental research new ways to do things. The United States already has the science, the mathematics, the technology and the people to go to the moon and beyond on manned missions. What is needed is the will, the leadership and the funding to do so - reinventing the wheel is not needed.

It's good the shuttle is retiring. It can carry a payload of approximately 25 metric ton into orbit despite which is poor considering the magnitude of each launch and the cost of each launch. The Shuttle is essentially 100 metric ton of dead weight. The replacement to the shuttle should have a similar cost per launch but without the 100 tonne dead weight - or in other words a 120 metric ton payload. Essentially 5 times more capable for a similar cost or approximately as powerful as a moon rocket.

This is possible in around 5 years. Stop dicking around claiming we need fundamental research, just build the freaking thing.

Originally posted by nyk537
NASA to Obama - Give us our funding back so we can do our damn jobs!

The position of the congress is also important, not just Obama. Here is a little breakdown:

Congress:
-Want SLS/MPCV
-Will cut science/technology/commercial crew to get it

White House:
-Want science/technology/commercial crew
-Will cut SLS/MPCV to get it

I tend to agree with the white house more than with the congress.

NASA to Obama - How about we put money FIRSTLY into clean, cheap and safe energy sources that can make a revolutionary difference to society and world humanity before creating space vehicles that are faster?!

But that's not a priority because there's no way to funnel tax dollars to the military industrial complex.

As an idiot when it comes to string theory/quantum mechanics, I at least know that this is the direction that has to be taken if we are to reach the stars.

Originally posted by nyk537
NASA to Obama - Give us our funding back so we can do our damn jobs!

I'm betting you also cry that we should raise taxes and want big government to make social cuts.

I could be wrong but its all to common on ATS to have republicans who bash Obama on his policies and then talk about programs needing funded but not wanting taxes to pay for them.


Why give more funding to liars anyway? Its not like NASA would tell you what they find.

Originally posted by whoshotJR
I'm betting you also cry that we should raise taxes and want big government to make social cuts.

Nope. I'd like to cut taxes and still see government make social cuts.

I'd much rather see the available money go to NASA and Defense than to welfare and food stamps.

The whole Space Launch System and the politics surrounding it are so ridiculous it's sometimes hard to decide whether to laugh or cry. This is the current situation in a nutshell:

The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 required NASA to build a rocket with a payload to LEO of at least 70 tons by 2016. It should use current contracts (eg. shuttle contracts) as much as possible. NASA was given the deadline of January this year to decide how to proceed and report to Congress.

Instead of making a decision how to build the rocket, NASA reported back in January in this fashion:

... However, to be clear, neither Reference Vehicle Design currently fits the projected budget profiles nor the schedule goals outlined in the Authorization Act. .... none of the design options studied thus far appeared to be affordable in our present fiscal conditions, based upon existing cost models, historical data, and traditional acquisition approaches.

Not even NASA wanted to build the rocket, they realized that it's too expensive.

To which Congress responded:

We appreciate NASA's report and look forward to the additional material that was required but not submitted. In the meantime, the production of a heavy-lift rocket and capsule is not optional. It's the law. NASA must use its decades of space know-how and billions of dollars in previous investments to come up with a concept that works. We believe it can be done affordably and efficiently - and, it must be a priority.

Apparently it doesn't matter that even NASA thinks it's too expensive. The representatives want the fat government contracts to certain companies in their states and that seems to be the only thing that matters.

To this day, NASA still has not reported on how they are going to proceed. They are still delaying and stalling. There have been Congressional hearings regarding the issue and now NASA is saying that the decision should be ready by the end of summer, over six months late.

sources:
nasawatch.com...
nasawatch.com...

Originally posted by nyk537
NASA to Obama - Give us our funding back so we can do our damn jobs!

Ha I was thinking the sane thing but you already said it!

I live on the space coast and the last shuttle going up was very sad for our area. About 15,000 people total over the last three years lost their job. When Obama came here he was not welcomed by the majority. Funny how now he's changing his tune where before he didn't really want private companies involved. Space X is awesome and I think they will be able to do a lot and they have the means and the money. When I'm done with school I'd work for them even though working for NASA is a dream of mine.

I look forward to the future of space flight, it's going to just get better!!

I do believe we have these technologies already though we just haven't seen them...or have we

reply to post by whoshotJR


There's always that one that pulls the liar card.

NASA isn't going to tell you many things they do. Do you expect the military to tell you their secret stuff too?
Also you have to remember these NASA employees are doing their job! Believe me they would like to tell some of what they see but they can't! They'd lose their jobs! I have friend that work for NASA and they would love to share what they know but they can't.

Sorry I get a little grumpy when someone disses NASA but I'm a little bias

Originally posted by nyk537

Originally posted by whoshotJR
I'm betting you also cry that we should raise taxes and want big government to make social cuts.

Nope. I'd like to cut taxes and still see government make social cuts.

I'd much rather see the available money go to NASA and Defense than to welfare and food stamps.

edit on 16-7-2011 by nyk537 because: (no reason given)

wow

more defence spending, even though we spend more than the rest of the world COMBINED? and the money doesnt even go towards things we need like infrastructure and the border?

needed that laugh.

And all of this from the very same President that has signed off on cutting the very budget from the organization that he is wanting new Technology from. Obviously the concept of R&D has bypassed him, to where he fails to understand what it takes to get those new technologies that are reliable and dependable, along with the price tag that goes along with it.
We all marvel at the space shuttle and what it accomplished, however, what many people don't know is that the original plans for this kind of vehicle did not start in the late 1980's, with the space shuttle Enterprise, rather it started while Richard M. Nixon was in office and his vision for the space adminstrations goal and drive, wanting a reusable vehicle that could go up and be used over and over, rather than a one time shot vehicle. Nor has Obama considered the considerable time and effort that it takes for the new technology to come around, from the very idea phase to testing it, along with the trial and errors that go hand in hand with such.
All that can be stated is that his words are noble but his actions are deafening.

reply to post by Question Fate


I don't believe I said that the money should be spent on the exact same things...or did I?

Nope...I didn't think so.

Defense is much more than we are doing now, as evidence by what you said. The border is a huge issue with me in particular. There is much that could be done in the way of defense that isn't.

reply to post by whoshotJR


I would rather fund Nasa than our welfare programs. At least they are useful and have created many inventions that we use today. GPS is a prime example.