Comment Not accepted for publication (Score 1) 1
This story was not accepted for publication by Slashdot, and I am submitting it to another venue for consideration. - Bruce
Submission + - Letter to Congress: Ending U.S. Dependency on Russia for Access to Space 1
Bruce Perens writes: I've sent a letter to my district's senators and member of
congress this evening, regarding how we should achieve a swifter
end to U.S. dependency on the Russians for access to space.
Please read my letter, below. If you like it, please join
me and send something similar to your own representatives.
Find them here and
here. — Bruce
Dear Congressperson Lee,
The U.S. is dependent on the Russians for present and future access to space. Only Soyuz can bring astronauts to and from the Space Station. The space vehicles being built by United Launch Alliance are designed around a Russian engine. NASA's own design for a crewed rocket is in its infancy and will not be useful for a decade, if it ever flies.
Mr. Putin has become much too bold because of other nations dependence. The recent loss of Malaysia Air MH17 and all aboard is one consequence.
Ending our dependency on Russia for access to space, sooner than we previously planned, has become critical. SpaceX has announced the crewed version of their Dragon spaceship. They have had multiple successful flights and returns to Earth of the un-crewed Dragon and their Falcon 9 rocket, which are without unfortunate foreign dependencies. SpaceX is pursuing development using private funds. The U.S. should now support and accelerate that development.
SpaceX has, after only a decade of development, demonstrated many advances over existing and planned paths to space. Recently they have twice successfully brought the first stage of their Falcon 9 rocket back to the ocean surface at a speed that would allow safe landing on ground. They have demonstrated many times the safe takeoff, flight to significant altitude, ground landing and re-flight of two similar test rockets. In October they plan the touchdown of their rocket's first stage on a barge at sea, and its recovery and re-use after a full flight to space. Should their plan for a reusable first-stage, second, and crew vehicle be achieved, it could result in a reduction in the cost of access to space to perhaps 1/100 of the current "astronomical" price. This would open a new frontier to economical access in a way not witnessed by our nation since the transcontinental railroad. The U.S. should now support this effort and reap its tremendous economic rewards.
This plan is not without risk, and like all space research there will be failures, delays, and eventually lost life. However, the many successes of SpaceX argue for our increased support now, and the potential of tremendous benefit to our nation and the world.
Please write back to me.
Many Thanks
Bruce Perens
Dear Congressperson Lee,
The U.S. is dependent on the Russians for present and future access to space. Only Soyuz can bring astronauts to and from the Space Station. The space vehicles being built by United Launch Alliance are designed around a Russian engine. NASA's own design for a crewed rocket is in its infancy and will not be useful for a decade, if it ever flies.
Mr. Putin has become much too bold because of other nations dependence. The recent loss of Malaysia Air MH17 and all aboard is one consequence.
Ending our dependency on Russia for access to space, sooner than we previously planned, has become critical. SpaceX has announced the crewed version of their Dragon spaceship. They have had multiple successful flights and returns to Earth of the un-crewed Dragon and their Falcon 9 rocket, which are without unfortunate foreign dependencies. SpaceX is pursuing development using private funds. The U.S. should now support and accelerate that development.
SpaceX has, after only a decade of development, demonstrated many advances over existing and planned paths to space. Recently they have twice successfully brought the first stage of their Falcon 9 rocket back to the ocean surface at a speed that would allow safe landing on ground. They have demonstrated many times the safe takeoff, flight to significant altitude, ground landing and re-flight of two similar test rockets. In October they plan the touchdown of their rocket's first stage on a barge at sea, and its recovery and re-use after a full flight to space. Should their plan for a reusable first-stage, second, and crew vehicle be achieved, it could result in a reduction in the cost of access to space to perhaps 1/100 of the current "astronomical" price. This would open a new frontier to economical access in a way not witnessed by our nation since the transcontinental railroad. The U.S. should now support this effort and reap its tremendous economic rewards.
This plan is not without risk, and like all space research there will be failures, delays, and eventually lost life. However, the many successes of SpaceX argue for our increased support now, and the potential of tremendous benefit to our nation and the world.
Please write back to me.
Many Thanks
Bruce Perens
Journal Journal: niwdoG 24
Playing the Godwin card when the topic is really the meaning, ownership, and usage of the symbol "Socialist" (by, for example, the U.S.S.R) is really kinda l4m3.
Yet, strangely, in character.
Yet, strangely, in character.
Comment Re:I by no means missed the point (Score 1) 32
Every week you give another example of where you ignore some of His' teachings in favor of others.
As someone who takes the Gospel more seriously than pretty much anything else, I have to ask for specifics on where you think I'm off course.
You are conveniently ignoring the fact that a political party - or a politician - can call itself whatever it wants.
Denying that the Nazis and Soviets claimed Socialism would be akin to rejecting Pres'ent Obama when he refers to "my Christian faith". I don't know precisely what he means by that formulation, to look at his record, but I have to own the fact that, by his words, at least his lips are "saved". I'm certainly lacking the divine database to evaluate the claim, and thus must take the Nazis, Soviets, and Obama at face value.
Comment LOVE of property (Score 2) 10
There is nothing good or evil about stuff, insofar as it's there. Interposition between the individual and God is where the issues commence.
Comment Re:Hmm Alternate ending... (Score 1) 322
In the Land of Redmond where the chairs do fly.
Comment Re:I by no means missed the point (Score 1) 32
If Christ is the meaning of life then why do you cherry pick only some of his words and deeds when describing things you consider virtuous? Shouldn't you take him in his entirety?
What makes you think I don't?
While I will continue to point out that Marx's communist ideals have essentially never even come close to being realized for any population over a few hundred anywhere at any time, your continued insistence on confusing communism and socialism is quite simply silly.
Trumped by your desperate attempts to differentiate them by, like, an order of magnitude. National Socialist German Workers Party. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Own it.
Comment I've said it for years (Score 1) 1
The only way to protect against lung cancer is to snort asbestos. Because #ReversePsychology
Comment Re:moo (Score 1) 8
Yeah, but if he hasn't worked in the Semi-Conscious Liberation Army, his tinfoil hat may be breaking down.
Comment Re:I by no means missed the point (Score 1) 32
I understand that Socialism is your faith, and you don't feel personally bound by any of its sordid history.
It's the same with Christianity; I don't feel particularly bound by anything done by Rome, either.
And yet, people who haven't understood that the Christ is the meaning of life are going to blow all kinds of smoke.
The best we can do is patience, and attempt not to sound too peevish about it.
You're going to continue to vary Marx's theme of "the Kingdom of God, hold the God", and I'm going to mock your inevitable failure.
It's the same with Christianity; I don't feel particularly bound by anything done by Rome, either.
And yet, people who haven't understood that the Christ is the meaning of life are going to blow all kinds of smoke.
The best we can do is patience, and attempt not to sound too peevish about it.
You're going to continue to vary Marx's theme of "the Kingdom of God, hold the God", and I'm going to mock your inevitable failure.
Comment I by no means missed the point (Score 1) 32
I simply added an original tangent. But despite gyepi's research point, I totally DO think that correlation is causation in this case. As do my German guests. So there.
Journal Journal: Funniest /. article in a while 32
http://science.slashdot.org/story/14/07/22/0236213/experiment-shows-people-exposed-to-east-german-socialism-cheat-more
As my wife is German and my in-laws are visiting, we had a good laugh about it.
Formerly East Germans have a less than stellar reputation.
My wife also wished that the research had included a question of religious affiliation, as Germa
As my wife is German and my in-laws are visiting, we had a good laugh about it.
Formerly East Germans have a less than stellar reputation.
My wife also wished that the research had included a question of religious affiliation, as Germa
Comment Re:Brilliant (Score 1) 2
+1
Comment Re:What's the point? (Score 1) 129
Unimaginative gits.
Comment Re:No Advertising does not power the Internet. (Score 4, Insightful) 418
Notice that the guy who said it is an advertising guy. That's his whole worldview. That's the way he thinks it is and the way he thinks it should be. Meanwhile for the rest of us, we have lots of alternatives. Paid sites, community-supported sites, ad-blocked sites, sites run by people who love what they are running a site about.
Basically this is a little advertiser wanting us to support clubbing a big advertiser, Google. He'd like us to get mad at his competition. What he wouldn't like is for us to start noticing just how much what he is advocating is in his self-interest.
I recommend we all switch to ad-block and screw them all. If some sites die or have to switch funding models, works great for me.
