North American Suckup Adminstration...

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

Funny thing when we beat the Russians to the Moon, they switched over to "beating" us in LEO with space stations so they could test the endurance of hardware and humans for a long trip to Mars.

In my Master's program, one of my papers was on how the American's lost the space race. It addressed exactly the points you just raised.

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by krashkart

Could do that, or.... we could fill a moon crater with a few million tons of surplus breast implants (big boobs are 'out' in Hollywood right now) and hope our aim is really good.

My plan to fire our really big gun at the moon to slow our really big gun down for landing on the moon has the advantage of us getting to say we shot a really big gun at the *******ing Moon.

Originally Posted by Platapus

In my Master's program, one of my papers was on how the American's lost the space race. It addressed exactly the points you just raised.

Neat! Normally when I mention those points people just stare off in to space and think I'm crazy.

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

My plan to fire our really big gun at the moon to slow our really big gun down for landing on the moon has the advantage of us getting to say we shot a really big gun at the *******ing Moon.


Neat! Normally when I mention those points people just stare off in to space and think I'm crazy.

or they will have an atmospheric autograph from you....

[Betonov]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

You forget the mass driver has much less mass than the Earth. Its pushing against the Earth when it fires- in essence using the Earth as its reaction mass. It would only impart the momentum it gained in relation to its mass when it fired on the Earth.

In other words the force required to send the mass driver to the moon is far less than the force required to send the Earth there.

It was a joke

But still, if the railgun exerted enough force, and I do mean ENOUGH force, it would move the earth. third newtons law, the railgun would be sent plowing trough pluto, but earth would move

[tater]

http://article.nationalreview.com/43...rld/rich-lowry

A good bit:

NASA administrator Charles Bolden caused a furor when he revealed that President Obama had directed him “to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with predominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science . . . and math and engineering.”

This shouldn’t be hard to do, so long as Bolden is well versed in accomplishments rising out of the Middle East many centuries ago. It gave us what we know as Arabic numerals (although they originated in India). It gave us algebra and the rudiments of trigonometry. It gave us medical pioneers in the tenth and eleventh centuries. (A significant proportion of these scientists and physicians were Christians and Jews, according to Lewis — a fact Bolden had best keep to himself.)

It’s wonderful to feel good about the work of Ibn Sīnā of Bukhara, who compiled an indispensable medical encyclopedia before his death in 1037, but it implicitly raises the question of what Muslim science has done for us over the last millennium or so. The Muslim world would be better served by a frank discussion of how so much of it came to be sunk in backwardness and ignorance, although NASA’s administrator is not the natural person to lead such a discussion (nor, if he’s as smart as advertised, will he volunteer for the task).

Historian David Landes puts it starkly: “The vast bulk of modern science was of Europe’s making, especially that breakthrough of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that goes by the name ‘scientific revolution.’ Not only did non-Western science contribute just about nothing (though there was more there than Europeans knew), but at that point it was incapable of participating, so far had it fallen behind or taken the wrong turning.”

And the almost always spot-on, Charles Krauthammer:

Apart from the psychobabble — farcically turning a space-faring enterprise into a self-esteem enhancer — what’s the sentiment behind this charge? Sure, America has put a man on the moon, led the information revolution, and won far more Nobel Prizes than any other nation — but, on the other hand, a thousand years ago al-Khwarizmi gave us algebra.

[Weiss Pinguin]

... but, on the other hand, a thousand years ago al-Khwarizmi gave us algebra.

I fail to see how that is reason to help them. In fact I'd say that was reason enough to nuke them into oblivion

[Task Force]

soo... since they are dealing with the crazys in islam now. Then why are they called NASA, shouldnt they be called NIRA? National Islamic Relations Association...

[krashkart]

Originally Posted by Task Force

soo... since they are dealing with the crazys in islam now. Then why are they called NASA, shouldnt they be called NIRA? National Islamic Relations Association...

Maybe they are reaching out to the moderates before the crazies have a chance to brainwash them.


*dons flame suit*

[razark]

Originally Posted by krashkart

Maybe they are reaching out to the moderates before the crazies have a chance to brainwash them.

While I'm not saying that's a bad thing to do, NASA really isn't the group to be doing it.

NASA can be used to build international relations. That was the idea behind the Mir missions, and the reason we have the *International* Space Station. Using NASA to reach out and engage other nations in cooperation to further exploration is a great thing.

But making that international outreach a goal above exploration and research? No. It diverts way too far outside the reason NASA exists. If you want something like that, create a new group, and give them that mission. But not NASA.

[SteamWake]

Time for damage control now...

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday that NASA Administrator Charles Bolden must have misspoke

Gibbs huh... rest assured its a crock...

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010...ach-task-nasa/

[tater]

Originally Posted by krashkart

Maybe they are reaching out to the moderates before the crazies have a chance to brainwash them.


*dons flame suit*

Moderates? Sure, there are individuals who are "moderate" WRT science. Just like there are creationists that turn off their brains for the creationism part, but do other sciences that don't stray into those sensitive areas where no science is needed (since god already told us all we need to know!).

If this is an attempt to create muslim atheists, I'm fine with it—but again, it's not NASA's job.