Re: Interstellar exploration - do we have the technology today?

On Mar 26, 3:24 pm, Too_Many_Tools <too_many_to...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Mar 21, 6:48 am, _ <jtayNOSPAM...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

Let's say that for some reason (some version of) we decided to send a probe
to look around another reasonably close star.  We found an interesting
planet orbiting or a strong indication of intelligent life or a president
needed to get re-elected.

Something within 10 light-years.  

Do we today have the necessary technology to do this?  Can we send
something that far, accurately, and get it to stop when it gets there?  Can
we send something from which we would be able to detect the information it
sends back?  What would such a probe use for energy, guidance, telemetry?

Do we have the technology?..yes.

Do we have the will?...no.

Will that change?...I doubt it.

Am I disappointed?...Of course.

TMT

TMT

As I said...the will is gone.

If the will existed, this reservior of knowledge would not being cast
to the wind....

TMT

Massive job cuts in space program likely By MATT SEDENSKY, Associated
Press Writer
Tue Apr 1, 5:04 PM ET



More than 8,000 NASA contractor jobs in the nation's manned space
program could be eliminated after the space shuttle program is shut
down in 2010, the agency said Tuesday.

The number of civil servants is expected to remain roughly the same,
but dramatic job cuts are possible among private contractors as NASA
transitions to the Constellation program, which is developing the next-
generation vehicle and rockets to go to the moon and later to Mars.

Constellation isn't scheduled to begin flights until 2015.

Bill Gerstenmaier, an associate administrator for the space agency,
cautioned that the estimates of job losses were preliminary and don't
take into account numerous factors of potential workload. "Don't
overreact to these numbers," he said.

NASA acknowledged job losses could fluctuate depending on who's
occupying the White House next year and their support for space
exploration.

The bleakest forecast was issued for the flagship Kennedy Space Center
at Cape Canaveral, Fla., where just 1,600 to 2,300 employees were
expected to remain in 2011, a cut of up to 80 percent from its current
8,000 workers. The Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans was
forecast to lose as many as 1,300 of its 1,900 jobs.

"Our greatest challenge over the next several years will be managing
this extremely talented, experienced and geographically dispersed
workforce as we transition from operating the space shuttle to
utilizing the International Space Station," the report said.

Nationally, NASA said the number of full-time civil servants in its
manned space program would fall to about 4,100 in 2011, a loss of
about 600 jobs from this year. Including outside contractors, the
number of jobs would fall to an estimated 12,500 to 13,800. About
21,000 are currently employed.

NASA said it could be more than a year before it has more dependable
job forecasts.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said the state was committed to trying to
blunt the impact of the job losses with an aggressive effort to lure
new contractors to the area that would work with future NASA flights,
as well as private launches. In all, he said the state was trying to
attract more than 50 space-related firms to the state.

"This rapid shift is opening doors for new companies and technologies
that are blurring the previous separations between aviation and
spaceflight," Crist said.

Tracy Yates, a spokeswoman for United Space Alliance, the largest
space shuttle contractor, said the new report came as no surprise.
"It's no secret here that we will be a smaller company once the
shuttle missions have been completed," she said.

___

Associated Press writer David Royse contributed to this report from
Tallahassee.


.

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