China launches First Manned space flight

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-10-16 08:09pm

Unmanned probes are cheaper and, most of all, safer.

Anything a manned flight can do an unmanned one can do and more besides. There simply is no reason for NASA, ESA or anyone else for that matter to continue manned flights that could otherwise be done via probes.

PROMETHEUS · Post by **PROMETHEUS** » 2003-10-16 08:10pm

Well, good to hear that the Chinese got back their guy alive. Better than how the Russians fared when they tried the same thing.

Now if we could just get those blasted Pan-Am Space flights going. We're two years over schedule on those already.

PROMETHEUS · Post by **PROMETHEUS** » 2003-10-16 08:12pm

jenat-lai wrote:I notice their rocket seems to burn with alot less smoke than the American thing.

http://www.theage.com.au/ffxImage/urlth ... ecraft.jpg

Probably a different fuel mix or something

It's likely a liquid-fuel rocket, not sure which kind. The kind you're thinking about, which makes a lot of smoke, is a solid-fuel rocket.

Hydrogen and oxygen, by the way, burn almost without visible flame IIRC.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-10-16 08:14pm

Most US rockets are liquid-fueled these days, the notable exception being the SRBs on the Space Shuttle.

Post by **Colonel Olrik** » 2003-10-16 08:25pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:Unmanned probes are cheaper and, most of all, safer.

Anything a manned flight can do an unmanned one can do and more besides. There simply is no reason for NASA, ESA or anyone else for that matter to continue manned flights that could otherwise be done via probes.

If we want to get serious about sending men into space, then there's a lot of work to be done before making manned flights. A trip to Mars right now would be glorious, but completely futile. Before that we need robotic technology, artificial inteligence, studies on how to effectively build closed ecossistem and on how to construct robots to build them and to extract valuable resources wherever they land. So that when we arrive to Mars or any other place we have everything ready to stay there, and to ensure the voyage home.

GrandMasterTerwynn · Post by **GrandMasterTerwynn** » 2003-10-17 12:01pm

Colonel Olrik wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:Unmanned probes are cheaper and, most of all, safer.

Anything a manned flight can do an unmanned one can do and more besides. There simply is no reason for NASA, ESA or anyone else for that matter to continue manned flights that could otherwise be done via probes.
If we want to get serious about sending men into space, then there's a lot of work to be done before making manned flights. A trip to Mars right now would be glorious, but completely futile. Before that we need robotic technology, artificial inteligence, studies on how to effectively build closed ecossistem and on how to construct robots to build them and to extract valuable resources wherever they land. So that when we arrive to Mars or any other place we have everything ready to stay there, and to ensure the voyage home.

Honestly, the only voyage to Mars that would be of any benefit whatsoever is one where the travellers don't return to Earth, but instead stay behind to found a colony. Anything up to that point would merely be mastubatory dick-waving. Of course, what might be a smarter way to colonize space would be by capturing and processing LEOs first. One can spin up a sufficiently small asteroid to provide 'gravity' for the inhabitants. And in some, there may even exist enough water, in the form of hydrates, to provide needed volatiles for the colony.