TenTailedCat on 3/3/2006 at 14:34
(
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70303-0.html?tw=wn_story_page_prev2)
Quote:
The Bush administration has called for a permanent base on the moon by 2020, Gagnon noted. Once there, the United States will be able to monopolize the moon's resources, he said, such as helium-3, an element rare on Earth but abundant on the moon that may drive nuclear fusion.
In January, Russia announced a similar plan, aiming to establish a permanent base on the moon by 2015 and mining operations to extract helium-3 by 2020. China, which in 2003 became the third country in the world to send a human into space, has announced plans for an unmanned lunar landing by 2010, and a manned moon mission by 2020.
To protect U.S. interests, Gagnon said space-based weapons will be deployed near or on the moon.
"The military has stated the moon is the ultimate high ground," Gagnon said. "There's going to be a scramble for the moon by the Chinese, the Russians and the Americans.
This is real. There's going to be a conflict over it."
...
This week is "March Storm," when 50 to 75 lobbyists will spend three days speaking with staffers from more than 250 offices on Capitol Hill. Some of the lobbyists represent the aerospace industry, but most have been hired by smaller space startups and entrepreneurs.
The big talking point? How the private sector can help the U.S. military build space-based weapons a lot faster and with a lot less of taxpayers' money.
...
"In the past, Full Spectrum Dominance meant land, sea and air," said a public affairs officer from U.S. Space Command, who declined to give his name. "Now it encompasses cyberspace and space.
"We need to operate in the realm of space. No doubt about it," added the officer. "We also reserve the right to protect our assets in space.
I had always thought that there were lots of agreements preventing the deployment of space-based weaponry, but then I suppose there are also lots of agreements about following UN mandates and Climate control conventions which America also happily ignores, so roll-on Star Wars.
Are there enough resources on the Moon that the involved parties (US, Russia and maybe China) would be willing to share with each other, or will they be looking to grab everthing they can possibly lay their hands on at all costs?
The Alchemist on 3/3/2006 at 15:08
Link b0rked.
Sap'em on 3/3/2006 at 15:11
"..nuke em from orbit, its the only way to be sure."
;)
TenTailedCat on 3/3/2006 at 15:22
Quote Posted by The Alchemist
Link b0rked.
Fiximified
Agent Monkeysee on 3/3/2006 at 16:53
Bush says a lot of things. It's just pillow talk, baby.
JKeats on 3/3/2006 at 17:03
The Holodeck will be invented in 2025. A complete civilizational collapse will follow shortly thereafter.
doctorfrog on 3/3/2006 at 23:17
ADVENTURES OF THE GREAT SPACE PENISUlukai on 4/3/2006 at 00:12
Quote:
"The Bush administration has called for a permanent base on the moon by 2020"
If by "base on the moon" they mean a small tin foil shack looking like it was put together by homeless people, populated by 2 blokes drinking recycled urine, slowly being irradiated and getting bored with the view then I don't see a problem.
The shuttle has it's work cut out to finish the space station by 2010, which rules that out of any work to help lift equipment. There still isn't a replacement and neither the shuttle nor it's eventual successor are designed to go to the moon anyway. I can't see Nasa asking anyone who looks even vaguely French if they can borrow Ariane 5 (although it's probably not powerful enough either) to launch a moon lander they haven't even invented yet. Or olol, the Chinese.
Which means they need a reliable Saturn V class launch vehicle or better, billions of dollars worth of R&D and lots of luck. And probably, some risk assessment forms - because in this day and age we're close to needing to fill in a form to take a shit.
There's one way this can happen. Dig out the Apollo blueprints and get building that tinfoil shack.
Printer's Devil on 4/3/2006 at 01:10
Unless electricity rates increase by 1 million percent (effective immediately) extracting helium-3 from the moon for nonexistant fusion reactors might be considered a boondoggle.
