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Space Travel Created the Tech Boom

by Jeff Burritt Banned
16 replies
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Some argue that going back to the moon is a fool's errand. Or that manned travel to mars is a big waste of resources. However, the computer and electronic revolution which followed directly benefited business and consumers.

The internet we know today, the gps enabled hand held phones and tablets, and the coming household smart appliances would not have been developed so rapidly if not for the space race.

So why not restart manned missions to explore our solar system? It's not the planetary science that we're really after, it's the technology boom we'll see in our lifetime.
#astronauts #mars #space shuttle #space station #space travel
  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    Originally Posted by Jeff Burritt View Post

    Some argue that going back to the moon is a fool's errand. Or that manned travel to mars is a big waste of resources. However, the computer and electronic revolution which followed directly benefited business and consumers.

    The internet we know today, the gps enabled hand held phones and tablets, and the coming household smart appliances would not have been developed so rapidly if not for the space race.

    So why not restart manned missions to explore our solar system? It's not the planetary science that we're really after, it's the technology boom we'll see in our lifetime.
    GIVE ME A BREAK! You can look at the history and KNOW it isn't true! Electronics PREDATES the computer and PREDATES the first rocket nasa ever dreamed of. The TRANSISTOR, as we know it, is one of the NEWEST electronic components on the market. And IT, AS WE KNOW IT TODAY, was first created in 1925. The actual transistor, by function, was created in 1907. The inventor? EDISON! The REASON? It was an ACCIDENT! That was AFTER he created the prototype for the diode, ALSO by accident. HEY, he created the lightbulb, and some how thought this might work, so he started playing around. And he came up with what were called TUBES. The battery, resistor, capacitor, and other things were created earlier by others.

    You might say well, what about the IC? Saying that the IC is an electronic component is almost like saying a computer is a part. In a way, it could be right, but it is an over simplification. AFTER ALL, it IS called an "INTEGRATED CIRCUIT"! In OTHER words, it is "A BUNCH OF ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS... INTEGRATED into a CIRCUIT". Just look at INTEL bragging how they fit so many TRANSISTORS onto their CPUs!

    GPS DOES owe something to space, and it DOES help with some far off places, but it would be a stretch to say that even todays refrigerators that can track contents and order over the internet, owe anything to the space race.

    HECK, even the MPU was created as a way to create a calculator in a flexible way. That was the 4004 from intel, which became the 8008 8080 8086/8088 80286 80386 80486 pentium, etc....

    HOW do they explain all the stuff that happened in the ABSENCE of any new spacecraft? HECK, how do they explain the ABOVE? You know, they USED to say WARS created all this stuff. THAT was more believable since some things, like Jets, entailed risk and costs that militaries were willing to pay for.

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      Neil DeGrasse Tyson gave a brilliant talk, when he gave a good argument that these huge projects spin off so much technology.


      Worth a watch.

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      • Profile picture of the author Jeff Burritt
        Banned
        Yes, the technology that spins off directly benefits people.

        Think about how we must make smarter, lighter more durable computers and electronics, which demand less power. This enables more consumers, especially in third world countries, to have access to communications and information at a fraction of the cost.

        And in developed countries, we keep adding more appliances and electronics to our homes, which all pull power. But we want to reduce the pull on our power grids if possible. These are problems which space travel helps to solve.




        Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

        Neil DeGrasse Tyson gave a brilliant talk, when he gave a good argument that these huge projects spin off so much technology.


        Worth a watch.

        "Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier" - Neil deGrasse Tyson - YouTube
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  • Profile picture of the author WalkingCarpet
    Banned
    When i was young I was all for manned flights to Mars, Uranus.
    Now I am getting older I don't give a crap. My plate is full already. Spaceflight? Yeah right.
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    • Profile picture of the author lanfear63
      Originally Posted by WalkingCarpet View Post

      When i was young I was all for manned flights to Mars, Uranus.
      Now I am getting older I don't give a crap. My plate is full already. Spaceflight? Yeah right.
      Crap comes from Uranus, and your plate is full. And that came from a WC

      Theirs just no end of good material to work with here.
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      • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
        Originally Posted by lanfear63 View Post

        Crap comes from Uranus, and your plate is full. And that came from a WC

        Theirs just no end of good material to work with here.

        You made my day.
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  • Profile picture of the author KenThompson
    Originally Posted by Jeff Burritt View Post

    So why not restart manned missions to explore our solar system? It's not the planetary science that we're really after, it's the technology boom we'll see in our lifetime.
    It's fair to say different groups have different motives for space flight and exploration. Planetary science is at the top of the agenda for some. OK, I got to thinking about what exactly does planetary science mean, and I'll post a link to the US Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology.

    Science - Planetary Science

    There are many practical reasons for engaging in planetary science. And of course there are some with an interest in mining resources should they be discovered. But that's a distant reality and probably not in our lifetime.

    I'm all for space exploration, manned missions, etc. There's a lot of on-going research and testing for an eventual manned mission to Mars. I hope that happens in my lifetime.

    The technology gleaned from all this activity is not the primary goal or intent of space-related activity. Technology is created/invented along the way to solve problems that I suppose are or were unforeseen.

    And if you want to think about "new" technology, I've read here and there over the years that the technology "we" see and use is quite a few years behind technology that exists and used within government agencies. That's not a CT statement or idea.

    Ken
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeff Burritt
      Banned
      I'd love to see cold fusion become a usable and practical energy source in my lifetime. That would solve space propulsion problems and our energy challenges on the ground at the same time.

      It would truly be as revolutionary as the printing press or electricity.



      Originally Posted by KenThompson View Post

      It's fair to say different groups have different motives for space flight and exploration. Planetary science is at the top of the agenda for some. OK, I got to thinking about what exactly does planetary science mean, and I'll post a link to the US Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology.

      Science - Planetary Science

      There are many practical reasons for engaging in planetary science. And of course there are some with an interest in mining resources should they be discovered. But that's a distant reality and probably not in our lifetime.

      I'm all for space exploration, manned missions, etc. There's a lot of on-going research and testing for an eventual manned mission to Mars. I hope that happens in my lifetime.

      The technology gleaned from all this activity is not the primary goal or intent of space-related activity. Technology is created/invented along the way to solve problems that I suppose are or were unforeseen.

      And if you want to think about "new" technology, I've read here and there over the years that the technology "we" see and use is quite a few years behind technology that exists and used within government agencies. That's not a CT statement or idea.

      Ken
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      • Profile picture of the author whateverpedia
        Originally Posted by Jeff Burritt View Post

        I'd love to see cold fusion become a usable and practical energy source in my lifetime. That would solve space propulsion problems and our energy challenges on the ground at the same time.

        It would truly be as revolutionary as the printing press or electricity.
        I'm not saying it won't happen, but cold fusion has been "ten years away" for the last thirty years.
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        • Profile picture of the author positivenegative
          Originally Posted by whateverpedia View Post

          . . . cold fusion has been "ten years away" for the last thirty years.
          And cold turkey (from Thanksgiving) has been "ten seconds away" (in the fridge) for the last thirty hours.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kurt
    Fusion could be the solution to all of our energy needs. A gallon bucket of sea water could power Los Angeles for a month.

    The problem with fusion is, a gallon of sea water can also create enough energy to destroy Los Angeles.
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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

      Fusion could be the solution to all of our energy needs. A gallon bucket of sea water could power Los Angeles for a month.

      The problem with fusion is, a gallon of sea water can also create enough energy to destroy Los Angeles.
      It disturbs me that you spend so much time trying to find the most efficient ways to destroy Los Angeles.

      Your User Title...Boom Boom Boom Boom!...should have been the give-a-way.
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  • Profile picture of the author socialentry
    Pretty much what seasoned said.

    It really doesn't take a lot of computing power to go to space

    NASA had a Pentium II to run the space shuttle in the mid 2000s.. You could not play Doom 3 on that computer.

    Apollo that landed on the moon had something like 50 kb of RAM.

    There was deff. a need for sending and receiving data. Retailers like Wal-mart and Kmart were exploring options by the mid-60s and IIRC even earlier. I don't know anything about how the old system worked but the basic idea was there.

    Countries need to develop a space program though so they can bomb other countries with impunity
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  • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
    NASA spin-off technologies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    Space Travel Created the Tech Boom

    That's nothing. Northern winters that resemble the recent arctic chill in the early 50's created the baby boom. Not just creative - but pro-creative.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeff Burritt
      Banned
      A new twist on cold fusion

      Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

      That's nothing. Northern winters that resemble the recent arctic chill in the early 50's created the baby boom. Not just creative - but pro-creative.
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