keg Posted July 4, 2016 Report Share Posted July 4, 2016 What I can't understand is back in the late 60s they transmitted live TV from outer space from a planet . And in colour. I think it was the clangers Surly they could build a space ship that could travel to the moon with a load of building materials and knock some houses up. Big problem, when did you last see dustbin lids like the clangers use? Wheelie bin lids won't fit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainBeaky Posted July 4, 2016 Report Share Posted July 4, 2016 (edited) It's already been done - surely Stanley Kubrick had already built a space station in 2001 and I'm sure that the USS Enterprise was travelling at warp-speed to meet the Klingons, or was that the KlangersDon't forget the chap in Wales who built his own spaceship, and reached the moon before the Americans. Morgan, I think his name was... Edited July 4, 2016 by CaptainBeaky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodp Posted July 4, 2016 Report Share Posted July 4, 2016 +1 Interstellar journeys, even at speeds orders of magnitude faster that we are able to currently go, would take many decades to even the closest stars. It would cost trillions and would have a high chance of failure. Until we understand the true physics of the universe we won't have a hope of covering such vast distances easily. And even if we could travel at those speeds the human body can't. Assuming we could travel at multiples of light speed (which isn't disproved) due to the frailty of the human body it would take longer to accelerate to and decelerate from those speeds than we live for, too many "G's" involved for us. We would have to accelerate particle by particle, and that's light years away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davyo Posted July 4, 2016 Report Share Posted July 4, 2016 Pointless going,no McDonalds on Jupiter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keg Posted July 4, 2016 Report Share Posted July 4, 2016 What about McDonalds on Uranus.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davyo Posted July 4, 2016 Report Share Posted July 4, 2016 What about McDonalds on Uranus.... No room,for the 'Piles' bud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol p Posted July 4, 2016 Report Share Posted July 4, 2016 (edited) Sad thing is that theres more interest in building structures dedicated to religion. I don't get it, I know that Mars, Saturn and Venus exist because I've seen them. The only guy I've seen with a beard in a dress who was preaching religion got taken away by the cops in town last summer. Edited July 4, 2016 by Pistol p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted July 4, 2016 Report Share Posted July 4, 2016 Big problem, when did you last see dustbin lids like the clangers use? Wheelie bin lids won't fit! Don't you see,,, that's why we have plastic wheelie bins now, the clangers had all the round bin lids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullet1747 Posted July 4, 2016 Report Share Posted July 4, 2016 It's probably a really dumb question, but with the billion-mile+ journey of the Jupiter probe, I was wondering why we humans aren't building large-scale interstellar vessels? Does anyone here have the answer? LS Money and why Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keg Posted July 4, 2016 Report Share Posted July 4, 2016 Don't you see,,, that's why we have plastic wheelie bins now, the clangers had all the round bin lids. Ah!! Explains it. Thanks for that , now enlightened Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
four-wheel-drive Posted July 4, 2016 Report Share Posted July 4, 2016 I think what it comes down to we prefer to spend our money on killing each other rather than doing posative things with our money but looking on the bright side even that is not a bad thing as we have to many people in the world so killing a few off is a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted July 4, 2016 Report Share Posted July 4, 2016 What for ? How would it benefit us ? It would be monumentally expensive and non-profitable. When they discover trillions worth of resources on other planets we will start building them. If we haven't gone extinct by then that is ... Exactly. It's a complete waste of money and resources which should be spent here on earth instead of destroying our own perfectly beautiful planet. I can understand spending a certain amount of money on understanding space and the planets around us but we know that the nearest planet that could conceivably support life (that means it doesn't) is 500 LIGHT years away. Light years means it is never ever going to happen regardless of how much faith you have in human ingenuity, there really are physically impossible obstacles that scientific advances alone cannot overcome such as degradation and fatigue of space crafts which would need repairs on the move (impossible unless you carry several large factories and several tons of materials with you). There is also the reality that Time in light years is incompatible with time here on earth, meaning that we will never know what happens to those who leave on such a mission and they will never know earth again once they leave, each will be but a memory for the other. Some of the greatest scientific minds in the world believe that contact with extraterrestrials is far more likely to result in conflict as each will try to destroy the other for resources, with that in mind lets just try and repair what we have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted July 4, 2016 Report Share Posted July 4, 2016 Exactly. It's a complete waste of money and resources which should be spent here on earth instead of destroying our own perfectly beautiful planet. I can understand spending a certain amount of money on understanding space and the planets around us but we know that the nearest planet that could conceivably support life (that means it doesn't) is 500 LIGHT years away. Light years means it is never ever going to happen regardless of how much faith you have in human ingenuity, there really are physically impossible obstacles that scientific advances alone cannot overcome such as degradation and fatigue of space crafts which would need repairs on the move (impossible unless you carry several large factories and several tons of materials with you). There is also the reality that Time in light years is incompatible with time here on earth, meaning that we will never know what happens to those who leave on such a mission and they will never know earth again once they leave, each will be but a memory for the other. Some of the greatest scientific minds in the world believe that contact with extraterrestrials is far more likely to result in conflict as each will try to destroy the other for resources, with that in mind lets just try and repair what we have. Cant remember where I read it but someone's theory was that the war of the worlds (planets) were in fact humans that had left the earth hundreds of years ago. The theory went something like this. In the next 50 or 60 years man colonises a distant planet, they are supplied with all the latest technology to help them survive, we also build the most advanced robots and computers to help them live on the planet, after a few hundred years they become more technically advanced than us on earth, we have resources they need for their survival and they intend to take them from us. The start of 'war of the worlds' (planets) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simjakcal Posted July 4, 2016 Report Share Posted July 4, 2016 So Star Trek was just a lie then ?............... .............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adzyvilla Posted July 4, 2016 Report Share Posted July 4, 2016 (edited) In the recent past, and the short term future, the short answer is money. Simply getting 10 kilograms of payload into orbit currently costs $10000s and isn't cost effective enough for many interested parties to get involved. Recent developments with the spacex reusable rockets and similar projects are starting to bring the cost down, but in reality, now agencies like NASA no longer have bottomless budgets, its going to be a while before technology moves forward enough to make it really worthwhile. There is hope though, you only have to see how much the ISS has developed since it was first placed into orbit to see the will is still there, and with more private companies starting to take an interest, the future looks much brighter. However, whilst interstellar travel wont happen for centuries (for the reasons already posted elsewhere), at least without a quantum leap in technology, interplanetary (well around our solar system at least) is well within reach and more than worth the cost. Once we have sorted out a cheaper, reliable method of gaining orbit (space elevator, single stage to orbit, space plane), the rest of the planets in orbit around the sun are only a step away. This technology, is in theory already in existence, there is even a british company leading the way in relation to space planes (see Skylon, the reaction engines ltd project), and recent advances in carbon nano tube technology and ceramic plating make super strong, ultra thin wire that can be hundreds of miles long and capable of lifting huge weight a reality. I would say that with craft already being designed, past the proof of concept stage, or even in active development, we will see a reliable, (relatively) cheap method of ground-to-orbit transit within the next 25 years, cheap enough even for ordinary people to take an orbital flight with the same ease that they hop on a transatlantic flight. Once in orbit, existing technology can be developed and refined (such as solar sails or ion engines), and planets like mars and venus will literally be a couple of months away and return trips can become routine. Craft constructed in orbit can be many times larger than ground launched payloads, with no gravity to overcome, and be far more hospitable and conducive to medium/long term travel, to the outer solar system and eventually beyond. Reserves of H3 on the moon, heavy metals in asteroids and volatile compounds in comets can be fully exploited to build space stations and bases, provide oxygen and fuel for propulsion and habitation, ultimately its just a question of economics and willpower. I have great faith in the ingenuity of the human race and have no doubt that there is someone out there, or at least someone who will be born soon who can invent the technology that will get us out there among the stars and really start exploring. I think there needs to be a change in attitude around the world and a greater willingness for governments and private companies to work together to make all this happen, but I do believe it will happen as resources on earth start to become exhausted, and pressure on what remains becomes too great to ignore. I hope we will go down the cooperation route rather than fighting over what is left, I think that many people are starting to realise this, and thats why even with the frosty relationship between the USA and Russia, their space agencies have never been closer. I'm not an expert, just a space enthusiast and dreamer, but i really believe this will happen in my lifetime, and instead of going to greece for two weeks in the summer, I will be touring the canyons of mars, or maybe even taking a scenic cruise around the upper atmosphere of Jupiter. Edited July 4, 2016 by adzyvilla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
four-wheel-drive Posted July 4, 2016 Report Share Posted July 4, 2016 So Star Trek was just a lie then ?............... .............. Did you not see this one love it myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keg Posted July 4, 2016 Report Share Posted July 4, 2016 I think what it comes down to we prefer to spend our money on killing each other rather than doing posative things with our money but looking on the bright side even that is not a bad thing as we have to many people in the world so killing a few off is a good thing. The weapons race drove the space race and vice versa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted July 5, 2016 Report Share Posted July 5, 2016 (edited) What are we going to do when we get there? I've already boldly been where no man has been before................ Edited July 5, 2016 by Vince Green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lord_seagrave Posted July 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2016 What are we going to do when we get there? I've already boldly been where no man has been before................ Is that the Playpen section? LS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keg Posted July 7, 2016 Report Share Posted July 7, 2016 What are we going to do when we get there? I've already boldly been where no man has been before................ Uranus again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted July 7, 2016 Report Share Posted July 7, 2016 What are we going to do when we get there? I've already boldly been where no man has been before................ Are you sure about that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickS Posted July 9, 2016 Report Share Posted July 9, 2016 Don't forget the chap in Wales who built his own spaceship, and reached the moon before the Americans. Morgan, I think his name was... You're right - Morgan the Moon. There is an epic ballad about him, written and performed by a certain Mr. M.Boyce. https://youtu.be/FBrjdQIH8uw Ogi Ogi Ogi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secretagentmole Posted July 9, 2016 Report Share Posted July 9, 2016 (edited) You do realise we are building a Sub Orbital vehicle? http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/space_access.html Using http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/sabre.html Be nice if you fancy a day out in Sydney..... http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/mach5cruise.html Edited July 9, 2016 by secretagentmole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sha Bu Le Posted July 9, 2016 Report Share Posted July 9, 2016 What are we going to do when we get there? I've already boldly been where no man has been before................ Ok who was she??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sha Bu Le Posted July 9, 2016 Report Share Posted July 9, 2016 Why aren't we building spaceships Because dilithium crystals have not yet been discovered. without them the warp drive cannot work Any trekkies about?. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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