Re: We, loosers??

From: Vello (vellokala_at_hot.ee)
Date: 09/01/04 

Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2004 22:15:05 +0300

"Dale" <drc@oz.net> wrote in message
news:ch4a25$mba$0$216.39.145.112@theriver.com...
> On Wed, 01 Sep 2004 03:33:36 -0700, Rusty Barton
> <reuben_barton@yahoostopspam.com> wrote:
>
> >- 3rd flight, first American in orbit (John Glenn, Friendship 7)
> >- 5th flight, 8 hours in space (Wally Schirra, Sigma 7)
> >- 6th flight, over 1-day in space (Gordon Cooper, Faith 7)
> >- 7th flight, 2 man spacecraft, orbital maneuvers (Gemini 3)
> >- 8th flight, 1st U.S. spacewalk, (Gemini 4)
> >- 9th flight, over 1 week in space, (Gemini 5)
> >- 10th flght, over 2 weeks in space, (Gemini 7)
> >- 11th flight, 1st rendezvous, 1st dual U.S. spaceflight, (Gemini 6/7)
> >- 12th flight, 1st docking, 1st space emergency (Gemini 8)
> >- 13th flight, 1st multiple rendezvous, (Gemini 9)
> >- 14th flight, 1st rendezvous with multiple vehicles (Gemini 10)
> >- 15th flight, high altitude flight (Gemini 11)
> >- 16th flight, 3 man spacecraft, (Apollo 7)
> >- 17th flight, Lunar orbit, (Apollo 8)
> >- 20th flight, Moon landing, (Apollo 11)
> >- 21st flight, Precision moon landing (Apollo 12, Surveyor 3)
> >- 24th flight, car driven on moon (Apollo 15)
> >- 27th flight, 1st space station (Skylab 2)
> >- 30th flight, Joint U.S. Russian flight (ASTP)
> >- 31st flight, Space Shuttle (STS-1)
> >
> >All the above happened in the first 20-years of the space program.
>
> That _is_ pretty amazing, especially when you consider that the
> post-lunar 70's US manned spaceflight was done at a leisurely
> pace.
>
> >Since then we have had over 100 Shuttle flights in 20-years that
> >seem to be doing the same thing over and over again.
> >
> >I think thats where the preception that we are going backwards comes
> >from.
>
> Unless spaceflights are the only measure of technological advance,
> I'm not sure how Vello can suggest we have been "dropping back in
> technology". I'm posting to a newsgroup read by a frightening number
> of people around the world at the moment via PC. I've put my 1000
> pound pile of 78 rpm jazz recordings onto a small stack of CDs that
> are far less breakable than a shellac and cardboard medium [ :) ],
> and I just got a state-of-the-art digital camera that is half the size
> of my PC's mouse, yet takes pictures of nearly medium-format
> film quality that I could instantly send to anywhere on Earth.
>
> If this is some sort of dark age, I'd be scared as hell by any
> possible upcoming Renaissance :)
>
> Dale

Well, Dale, I don't think doomsday will be tomorrow:-). And for sure
spaceflight is not only sign of technological stagnation. But we can't
travel faster then our dads (compare development of planes 1920-1960 and
1960 - today) nor we have new energy resources (they invent nukes, we have
been unable to even to develop that technology in way to turn it safe). IT
is success story, of course - but in big part in entertainment business
only. So mankind today is comparable with last centuries of Roman Empire
with turn to hunt for sweet life only. We have success with IT, zero
progress with fast travelling and new energies and dropback in space. From
about 1700 up to 1970 I can't see any stagnation or dropback in any
technology. So from total progress we have got now "selective" one. If to
extrpolate: yesterday - progress in any direction, today - progress in most
directions, tomorrow - progress in some directions, day after tomorrow.....
Not nice to think???

Best,
Vello

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