What is limiting space travel as of right now?

[Da Skinna]

Question. Answer.

Is it technology? Political will? Lack of cohesion? What is holding us back right now?

[Winter]

Travel to where? Long term space travel to planets outside of Mars or places closer to home like Mars and the moon?

The answer to the first is technology; if it takes more than a year to get there chances are you aren't going to be able to keep the astronaughts healthy for that long, so you'd need a faster engine and better vehicles.

The answer to the second is general disinterest from citizens. Back in the 60's we had to be the first to the moon because we were fighting the Soviets, we were motivated and didn't mind the extra cost. Now people want to focus on more (forgive me) down to earth issues. It's really hard to get excited about life on some distant rock when you are being kicked out of your home and trying to fill up your tank.

We'll get there eventually, but in my opinion it won't mean as much as when we landed on the moon.

[Quink.NL]

The answer to the first is technology; if it takes more than a year to get there chances are you aren't going to be able to keep the astronaughts healthy for that long, so you'd need a faster engine and better vehicles.

It's not about engines. In space, a vehicle travels on the energy obtained from orbiting. To go to moon, you need a few rotations around the Earth, and you'll be swung to the moon. To Mars, it's a few swings here, then around the moon and then onto Mars.

It's not like you travel in a straight line from A to B, engines are only used to move into or out of orbit, and to adjust a little bit during flight.

Now as to the question: It's money. Plus the fact there are more pressing matters at home.

[Tiwaz]

It's not about engines. In space, a vehicle travels on the energy obtained from orbiting. To go to moon, you need a few rotations around the Earth, and you'll be swung to the moon. To Mars, it's a few swings here, then around the moon and then onto Mars.

It's not like you travel in a straight line from A to B, engines are only used to move into or out of orbit, and to adjust a little bit during flight.

Now as to the question: It's money. Plus the fact there are more pressing matters at home.

Engines require fuel. Slingshot can only give you so much speed, everything else has to be achieved using engine thrust.

Fuel burns to create thrust, but fuel weight and thus requires more thrust to provide energy which in turn requires more fuel.

Problem is packing enough fuel in vehicle for accelerations and decelerations while maintaining useful payload. Energy is less of an issue on planetary bodies, since they have lots of room and limitations. Space vehicles have to carry everything they have. Causing these weight/fuel/thrust problems.

[Da Skinna]

Thank God for global warming.

Whip our asses into shape. That is if nuclear war doesn't kill us.

[Viking Prince]

Short answer: MONEY

Longer short answer: A means to make money in space.

[Gelgoog]

well its mainly technology then money. first we need to develop a cheap way to get into space, from there things can develop quite rapidly. this is why there are strong reasons to colonize the moon for research and construction.

[Viking Prince]

well its mainly technology then money. first we need to develop a cheap way to get into space, from there things can develop quite rapidly. this is why there are strong reasons to colonize the moon for research and construction.

Technology is a function of money: money to educate, money to research, and potential financial gain from the investment in education and research.

This assumes that there is a tech solution (I believe so) and a productivity reason to be in space in the first place (again, I believe there is, but just to state the obvious).

The real question is not what is limiting space travel, but how much money it will take? And as someone said -- priorities. Payoffs can be big -- eliminate world hunger, poverty, war, and what ever else. But the short term allocation of funds towards these goals limits the funds for longterm research that may take a century or more to succeed.

[Da Skinna]

Money?

Or priorities?

We need a stronger UN.

[czePowerslave]

Money?

Or priorities?

We need a stronger UN.

FUnny go for it I give you a vote.
Technology in first place. We´re missing all those sci-fi things from the ships like shields, artificial gravity, fotons and stuff!

[~Tiberius~]

It is really a matter of priority. We have limited funds and must attend to other issues like for example, Iraq war. The world as a whole is pretty much in the same boat, except more nations are joining the space development community upon seeing the potential benefits as their economies improve along with stability and to cure the sense of feeling left behind by NASA.

[roy34543]

I know people will disagree with me but.
Some say that NASA is. It keeps outbidding private companies and makes various sattelites and launches for far less. While this is not neccasarily a killer for space travel it means that innovation is lessened because there is little space for competition.

[roy34543]

What we need is to let it become a buissness by itself... at least for now. Because frankly the fastest way would be well.. Warfare. And noone wants that.

[czePowerslave]

What we need is to let it become a buissness by itself... at least for now. Because frankly the fastest way would be well.. Warfare. And noone wants that.

Fastens the research thats for sure. We need only to develop some better engines

[Tiwaz]

And life support. And radiation protection. And recycling.

And pray that business does not go for cutting corners to make more/faster profit.

[czePowerslave]

And life support. And radiation protection. And recycling.

And pray that business does not go for cutting corners to make more/faster profit.

What we all seem to forget - gravity on the desired planet.

[Captain Arrrgh!]

We should try landing on the moon first, before anything else.....

[jankren]

Humanity havent found the mass relays built by the Reapers.

[czePowerslave]

Humanity havent found the mass relays built by the Reapers.

By whom?

[Red_Praetoria]

By whom?

Mass Effect heh.

When you have family members that work with NASA you learn about whats going on sometimes. NASA is planning to launch a manned rocket into space (I forget when sometime during december or the following spring I think) called the ARES I, all this is going to do is orbit the Earth. The point of it is to test out the rocket and get the new presidency interested enough in the rocket to not cut NASA funding. If this all works out then eventually NASA is planning on sending a bigger rocket called the ARES V that will then take man back to the moon. So basically our technology and funding are not up to par for long space travel. All this new rocket stuff does seem to point out that we may be getting closer though.