davidson@sdcsvax.UUCP (J. Greg Davidson) (01/10/86)
I'm sorry my last article cast NASA in a bad light. I support NASA's space program actively; writing letters to politicians, donating money to SpacePac, etc. I appreciate what research NASA has been able to do on alternatives space technology; the conferences that the agency has sponsored, the development the agency has been able to do on tethers and ion rockets, etc. Nevertheless, NASA is caught in the middle of some very nasty, short sighted politics. Since the space program is in its infancy, each mission should be as committed to advancing space technology and the space infrastructure, as it is to the immediate scientific, military or commercial payoff. Unfortunately, it seems to be as difficult to explain this to scientists as it is to congressmen. I think its very important to spread the word throughout the technical community (and everywhere else) that there is much more to be done than NASA is currently being allowed to do. Chemical rockets are just not going to get us where we want to go. The money being spent by SSI, the WSF and CalSpace combined are tiny compared to NASA's R&D efforts, yet they've been very helpful in keeping ideas alive when programs have had to be terminated at NASA. As the space advocacy movement continues to grow, we build the grassroots support for a more active and daring space program. Its a long haul, but bootstrapping is what space development is all about. Space starts only 200 miles away; its just in an awkward direction! _Greg
ems@amdahl.UUCP (ems) (01/14/86)
In article <1287@sdcsvax.UUCP>, davidson@sdcsvax.UUCP (J. Greg Davidson) writes: ... > As the space advocacy movement continues to grow, we build the grassroots > support for a more active and daring space program. Its a long haul, but > bootstrapping is what space development is all about. Space starts only > 200 miles away; its just in an awkward direction! > > _Greg How far away IS space, anyway? I thought it started at about 100 miles but that some orbits could dip to 75 mi. or so (a few times, at least) before reentry. So just how far does one have to go to reach 'space'? -- E. Michael Smith ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems This is the obligatory disclaimer of everything.