Topic: Space Questions for Jonny?

[Jonnyboy117]

I really enjoyed Zach's dinosaur Q&A on the recent Connectivity and would like to do one about spaceflight. First, a few guidelines:


- I can't talk about where I work or what I do for a living, so don't bother asking.
- The topics I know best are space suits, human spacecraft, and rocketry. I also know a fair bit about astronaut selection and training, as well as how people live in space.
- I don't know a whole lot about astronomy or robotic missions, but I'll try to answer these if they are easy.
- I can talk a little about space policy but preferably in a historical sense, not what's going to happen next.
- You really don't need me to debunk the Apollo hoax theory. An excellent repository on this idiotic conspiracy theory can be found here: http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/tv/foxapollo.html


Space is a fun discussion topic, and it seems most people are curious about one thing or another. Ask away, and if we hit critical mass then I'll try to record a Connectivity bonus segment with responses.

[S-U-P-E-R]

How awful are the annual NASA budget cuts?

What is your favorite planet? :3

[TJ Spyke]

How awful are the annual NASA budget cuts?

I would like to point out that from 2006-2010, the budget for NASA went UP each year (and in 2011 it only went down by about 1.4%). In fact, in the last 30 years the budget has only gone down 7 times. the planned decrease makes sense due to the Space Shuttle program ending.

Kinda silly, but why doesn't NASA use more eco fuel for its rockets?

[ShyGuy]

More like how awesome is SpaceX?

[Caliban]

Jonny works at Area 51.

On a serious note. In regards to Curiosity, the Mars rover. At first I wasn't interested "pfft, another rover in mars, nothing special", but then I was caught surprised by one thing. The rover's deployment process (UFO Crane). It made me happy to think that they would use such a complex plan, or at least with more added risks than the airbag deployment method.

I know what I just typed concerns to robotics, but it relates, so how come we don't see more of these risks taken in regards to space opportunities? It seems that the basic knowledge is there at least in regards to navigating within our solar system, so how come there haven't been any rocketry/spaceship advancements of note that can be readily used? Are there really that more experiments to be done before a leap is done?

[NWR_insanolord]

What is your favorite planet? :3

Mine's the sun. It's like the king of planets.

[BranDonk Kong]

Mine is Captain Planet, but only when played by Don Cheadle.

[Jonnyboy117]

Jonny works at Area 51.

It's nothing like that; I don't even have a security clearance. But in general, I'm not authorized to speak publicly (i.e. outside family and close friends) about my job because the company has legitimate concerns about employees being targeted by competitors and foreign agents. The policy has roots in defense contracting but still covers my program.

[BranDonk Kong]

He works for Halliburton.

[Kytim89]

What would happen if you wnet into space without a suit?
 
Would privatizing NASA yield better results that are cheaper? I think a free market appraoch to space travel would get us to Mars a whole lot quicker.
 
 

[NWR_insanolord]

Unless we find a way to make money by sending people to Mars, we've got a much better chance of getting there on the government's dime than through private industry.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Where is the Moonbase that should have started construction years ago?
we have to start mining moon water and asteroid minerals.... it would also make launching for further exploration alot easier if we didn't have to fight so much gravity


If we were able to get to the moon "so easily" back in '69, why hasn't been a more frequent thing, especially considering that the computers on the ships back then were less powerful than a current model TI Calculator?


What is a space elevator and how does it work? (it was a goal in Civilazations.... why do we not have one?)


Artificial gravity, is that possible yet without centripetal force?


Sex in space.... has conception been done yet? what about birth?


Aliens... I know they must exist. is there some sort of planetary defense set in place should we actually make contact (assuming it hasn't already happened)?


Why is it that we spend so much time and energy trying to get to Mars (which I fully support BTW), when we still haven't finished exploring the depths of our own oceans?

[Kytim89]

Unless we find a way to make money by sending people to Mars, we've got a much better chance of getting there on the government's dime than through private industry.

I am one of those people who believes that the free market is far more efficient with resources than the government. It is of my opinion that had the government defered space exploration to the private in 1969 after the moon landing then we would most likely be sitting on the moon right now, or pretty close to it. Think of it this way: the video game industry is a good example of the free market. If the government was in charge of the video game industry then we would still be playing with Atari 2600s today. That is what NASA is to space technology. They are an Atari 2600 and private space companies could make the industry into a modern game console or PC in the span of a decade.

[TJ Spyke]

NASA has created a lot of stuff that the private industry uses, like invisible braces, Scratch-resistant Lenses, memory foam, the Ear Thermometer, shoe insoles, Adjustable Smoke Detector, cordless tools, and water filters. Private space flight exists, but is insanely expensive and is one of the main reasons it's almost all done by governments. There is no way space exploration would be advanced as much as it is if NASA had given it over to private companies in 1969.

[NWR_insanolord]

Unless we find a way to make money by sending people to Mars, we've got a much better chance of getting there on the government's dime than through private industry.

I am one of those people who believes that the free market is far more efficient with resources than the government. It is of my opinion that had the government defered space exploration to the private in 1969 after the moon landing then we would most likely be sitting on the moon right now, or pretty close to it. Think of it this way: the video game industry is a good example of the free market. If the government was in charge of the video game industry then we would still be playing with Atari 2600s today. That is what NASA is to space technology. They are an Atari 2600 and private space companies could make the industry into a modern game console or PC in the span of a decade.

Game consoles and space travel are in no way analogous to each other. One is something that can be profitable currently; the other is not. There is no money to be had in any kind of space travel beyond low Earth orbit right now, so the free market would do jack **** with it.

NASA, however, has done amazing things with its relatively tiny budget. The current Curiosity rover is a good example, as is a personal favorite of mine, the Kepler project. Those guys are great at what they do, and are advancing science forward in ways that are only possible this point with the help of governments.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I don't think Kytim realized how many patents NASA holds for seemingly everyday things we use now a days. So many things that don't seem space related were actually developed for or researched in space and then found more practical use down here on the surface for our everyday lives.


and a question for the thread starter:
What are the top 10 (or 20) things NASA has developed that we take for granted today?

[ShyGuy]

Velcro and Tang.

[Caterkiller]

Anything to say about visitors from outside space?

[S-U-P-E-R]

Wow, I guess the NASA budget doesn't get cut every year, I wonder where I read that. On the other hand, it is a smaller % chunk of the federal budget about every year, though. I guess that's where the idea came from.

Jonny, do you do any hobbyist rocketeering outside of work?

[Kairon]

Why did the Space Shuttle use both Liquid AND Solid Fuel Rocket Boosters to launch? What's the difference between the two? What was the thinking in the design for that launch system?

When we send bugs like spiders or ant colonies into space, or even regular plants, what exactly is it that we are learning from those experiments?

[ShyGuy]

Say I wanted to build a space station... 

[ShyGuy]

This thread is all questions and no answers!

[lolmonade]

Realistically, if we were in a position where we had to colonize a different planet, which planet in our solar system would be most suitable for human life?

[TJ Spyke]

From what I understand, Mars would be best. Mercury would be restrict to the ice caps since the other parts are too hot, Venus would have to be floating cities since the surface is too hot and the pressure about 90x greater than Earth, some of the other gas giants would also need floating cities.

[Jonnyboy117]

This thread is all questions and no answers!

The plan is to gather several questions and record a podcast segment with my answers, like Zach did for dinosaurs on Connectivity. I don't think we'll have to wait long because there are already some great questions here.