T. L. James has a thoughtful post on the space program as the outcome of a mass movement.

Rand, the link you give doesn't seem to be working; from James' main page I find that this one does work, however:

http://www.lamarssociety.org/2003_01_01_marsblog_archive.html#87665212

Re
http://www.lamarssociety.org/2003_01_01_marsblog_archive.html#87665212:

Did you read where they say nuclear propulsion will be required for renewed lunar exploration?

Huh? Fission-heated hydrogen rockets needed to return to the Moon? That's nuts.

Nope. Didn't say that at all. I said "Space nuclear power will be required for any manned undertaking beyond Earth orbit (including a return to the Moon)..." Power, not propulsion.

I don't think I quite made my point, which was that if Prometheus is a nuclear-electric system, we get a two-fer: power for propulsion AND power for, well, everything else.

[ I said "Space nuclear power will be required for any manned undertaking beyond Earth orbit (including a return to the Moon)..." Power, not propulsion.]

Sorry, but that's wrong too. Please explain why "space nuclear power" will be required for a reutrn to the Moon. I can't thing of a good explanation myself.

I'm not at all opposed to space power or space propulsion systems asa general pproposition. For that matter, I favor terrestrial nuclear power plants to produce electricity.

What I strongly object to are sub-genuises who dream up weird, unnecessary requirements and stipulations for space expeditions such as manned trips to the Moon.

It's not required for "trips to the Moon," but it's the best way to provide power for doing anything interesting on the Moon, that involves stays of over two weeks. Those long lunar nights are hell on solar cells.

Solar power is the obvious alternative to nuclear for short-duration manned missions to the lunar surface -- that is, those missions of short enough duration to be carried out entirely within the local lunar day. Such as we saw with Apollo.

Which means my categorical statement ("any manned undertaking") went too far. So be it -- one doesn't, in fact, *require* nuclear power to return to the Moon.

("Sub-geniuses"? I fail to see what Dobbs has to do with any of this. Or was that meant to imply something else?)

Here's another tidbit that's off topic but inneresting: they're bringing back Brilliant Pebbles.

Being a re-usable launch system fanfatic, I'll ask: why not also revive developemnt of the [formerly] MD Delta Clipper to launch these orbitng interceptors?

http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/news/channel_aerospacedaily_story.jsp?id=news/mda01223.xml

Aerospace Daily Jan 22, 2003


MDA plans satellite launches for boost-phase tests

By Marc Selinger



The Missile Defense Agency plans to launch several satellites near the end of the decade to develop a space-based interceptor test bed that could shoot down missiles in their boost phase, according to MDA.

A competition for a concept design will take place in fiscal 2004, following a briefing for industry in December 2003, an MDA official said Jan. 21.

MDA hopes to launch three to five satellites in FY '08-09 to begin on-orbit tests. After that, it envisions launching more capable satellites in "small quantities" every two to three years, the official said.

The agency's intentions represent the Defense Department's latest attempt to jump start an idea that has been studied for decades but encountered political, technological and financial obstacles along the way.

MDA's current plans do not call for moving beyond the test bed capability, but they are subject to change. In December, the Bush Administration announced it will deploy ground-based and sea-based midcourse anti-missile systems

...

Sorry, that's "fanatic" and "development."

Trying to return to the Moon using only solar energy is possible, but hardly cost effective, especially in the short run -- and I suspect any such return will of necessity be done the cheaper ways.

The Moon's more benign than Mars: no wind to blow dust, but the Apollo experience was that it gets everywhere anyway, if you're not just sitting still in one spot. Remember how fast Pathfinder's photovoltaics degraded on Mars?

And even Apollo used nuclear power, in the form of RTG's.