Another giant leap backwards for mankind...

by darthfader 12 Replies latest social current

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  darthfader

  http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388293,00.asp

  What We Could Lose if the James Webb Telescope Is Killed
  

  NASA's James Webb telescope, the successor to the Hubble, is on the chopping block. With the U.S. Congress arguing over fiscal matters, one of the things that may get cut is NASA's budget , with the expensive James Webb telescope potentially getting the ax. If that happens, a generation of scientific discoveries about the nature of the universe may need to be put on hold.

  Right now the future of the Webb telescope, scheduled to launch in 2018, is uncertain. Congress is looking to cut costs, and NASA's budget could be cut by as much as $1.6 billion (or about nine percent of its overall budget). Such a big cut would certainly be the death knell for the Webb telescope, which has so far cost $3 billion but whose final price is expected to hit the $6.8-billion mark.
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  cantleave

  I really hope this project isn't cut!

  We have learned so much from hubble, but we still have so much to find (including our creator waving at us - hoping to get our attention).
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  Anony Mous

  The Christian Conservatives in the US really don't like scientific progress. They rather go warmongering in a country that doesn't share their own ideals than try to benefit humanity. The several large, funded telescope programs (Hubble, Kepler, Webb) have recently proved several times and in several ways that earth is not unique and that life could possibly exist in planets as close as 100 lightyears and they can't have that, it undermines almost all Judeo-Christian religions.
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  darthfader

  Cantleave, I am afraid you're mistaken... You can't use the James Web Space Telescope to look for God, everyone knows that.. You must use the Large Hadron Collider and peer deeply into the tinest bits of subatomic particles. He's there... trust me

  All kidding aside, This country needs needs to promote science and technology jobs, and the space administration is a part of that. The fact that anyone in congress is suggesting to cut NASA's budget shows extreme myopic vision and I would hope that these individuals come to the senses soon.

  American culture needs to develop a vision beyond the next three months. Companies and Individuals only looking at the next financial quarter is part of the reason why our economy is in the tank.

  <disappointed>
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  designs

  The great old man Warren Buffett sees a bright future while Congress wants to dig trenches and fox holes. Invest in innovation, sponsor some bright young person and be their mentor.
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  Mad Sweeney

  Can't wait until we discover something of value in space. Then maybe it will be appreciated.

  China and India are going to pass up the west economically and they'll probably pass up the west in space, as well. When we finally make contact with other intelligent life it won't be Americans who do it.
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  JeffT

  I hope we keep it.

  I'm not sure who is arguing against NADA these days. When I was in college, the common argument was that "we had too many problems here to go blasting money into space." Meanwhile, the space program has given us tons of stuff: almost everything electronic we use these days, new chemicals (forget the jokes about teflon, the stuff is priceless in medical applications), microsurgical tools, gas efficient cars. You name it.
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  bohm

  truly sad. i remember reading about this telescope years ago and wondering what it would discover.

  It is very hard to understand the kind of priorities which lie behind such a move. how many hours in iraq did this buy?
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  shamus100

  Just frigging face it, America. You can't afford the space program anymore.

  China is already planning a trip to the moon, among other things. They'll pick up where you left off.
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  darthfader

  I don't think China will be in a position to do much with their space program. They have spent 100's of billions overbuilding their infrastructure: millions of empty condos, empty roads, unused rail systems. Some would argue that these are from "planning ahead", but every article I've read states that no one can afford to live in these condos and use the roads and rails.

  The Chinese system was built upon jobs at any cost. They employed millions of people in massive public works projects and private ventures without regard to the comsumption economics at the end.

  All that build up will have to be repriced SIGNIFICANTLY before anyone can consume it - destabilizing their economy.

  <still-disgusted>