Recent content by Ken Fabian

Thanks for the opportunities the forum gave me to present and discuss my thoughts on space related - and other - subjects and issues.

Yes, in space it is not so much about how high or how far but about how fast; differences in speed are very large and take a lot of rocket power and fuel to overcome.

I am not keen on the continuing use of Earth's atmosphere as a way to dispose of space junk if it can be avoided, especially as the amount of it keep growing. I had also wondered if putting a shut down ISS into a higher, more stable orbit could leave useful materials for future space industries...

It sounds quite reasonable that in the process of drawing matter in that the extreme compressing of matter will throw out energy and some of that material outwards, at greater than escape velocity. I just don't think the suggestion this would happen is describing anything outside current...

@michaelreader - NASA is populated with space optimists and politicians are strongly influenced by - and seek to influence with - appearances. And may be space optimists themselves. Why 2037? That is probably an estimate some chosen committee or study group came up with for the soonest a...

What is the goal? Sending crewed missions to Mars in order to prove we can send astronauts to Mars doesn't do it for me but it isn't up to me. For show, to demonstrate technological superiority (our aerospace tech is better than yours) or (unrealistically optimistic) a multi-nation effort...

As most astrophysicists expected, no supernova this March. But we do still have a red supergiant which is kinda cool.

@arturo.v.dominguez@gmail. Beyond Near Earth space for Earth based customers - apart from communications and Earth observation (without astronauts) - nothing in space pays it's own way. If those applications were required to pay for the development costs of the rocketry they require even that...

Sorry, I am not impressed by Wright brothers comparisons; air travel developed because there was strong existing demand and willingness to pay for faster transport and the costs of doing it were not prohibitive. Engines and materials and theoretical knowledge were improving rapidly, for other...

It hasn't killed human curiosity about space so far. Apart from the one exception - Apollo moon missions - it has all been done remotely with machines and the results are widely anticipated and watched. The satisfaction from exploration has always been primarily from the people who didn't go...

I don't think finding life somewhere besides Earth is considered preposterous - not by me. Liquid water does seem to be a minimum requirement for life as we know it and several places in the solar system have it but more than water alone is needed; those locations within the solar system are...

Yes, but that could be more about what we mean by 'exploration'. I don't think humans actually do exploration in space by going there, we do it by sending fly-by's, orbiters, probes, rovers and we use high resolution photography and other instruments that go beyond the limitations of human...

@promytius - I think much the same. Except I don't think the winds will be a problem - air too thin. Bacteria seem very unlikely and only seem possible where liquid water exists - and viruses rely on other living cells to reproduce. Most life requires other life, an ecosystem. Finding evidence...

It is no easy thing to do surveys that are inclusive and representative of community wide opinions, without getting biased sampling. I am not interested in doing random (and not very well conceived) surveys by anonymous posters. I do have thoughts and opinions about what we do in space...

Is this a private project? Who are you and what is it for? You do know you will get a skewed result by asking Space.com forum readers? There are a lot more optimistic space dreamers and enthusiasts here (and at most science forums) than is normal. I am in the minority here for my pessimistic...