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GeneralRe: Alien civilizations destroyed themselves through progress, study claims Pin
David O'Neil23-Dec-20 12:49
professionalDavid O'Neil23-Dec-20 12:49 
GeneralRe: Alien civilizations destroyed themselves through progress, study claims Pin
jeron123-Dec-20 13:22
jeron123-Dec-20 13:22 
GeneralRe: Alien civilizations destroyed themselves through progress, study claims Pin
Joe Woodbury23-Dec-20 16:58
professionalJoe Woodbury23-Dec-20 16:58 
GeneralRe: Alien civilizations destroyed themselves through progress, study claims Pin
Nelek23-Dec-20 23:22
protectorNelek23-Dec-20 23:22 
GeneralRe: Alien civilizations destroyed themselves through progress, study claims Pin
jeron124-Dec-20 4:59
jeron124-Dec-20 4:59 
GeneralRe: Alien civilizations destroyed themselves through progress, study claims Pin
Daniel Pfeffer24-Dec-20 0:20
professionalDaniel Pfeffer24-Dec-20 0:20 
RantRe: Alien civilizations destroyed themselves through progress, study claims Pin
Gary R. Wheeler26-Dec-20 10:01
Gary R. Wheeler26-Dec-20 10:01 
GeneralRe: Alien civilizations destroyed themselves through progress, study claims Pin
Daniel Pfeffer26-Dec-20 21:11
professionalDaniel Pfeffer26-Dec-20 21:11 
IMO, your view of William Proxmire is only partially correct.

NASA proved to be very good at extravaganzas such as sending a total of 12 men to the moon (it would have been 20, if Apollo 13 had succeeded and Apollos 18-20 hadn't been cancelled). It has proven to be very good at unmanned pure science missions. Where it has failed utterly is in the use of space for commercial purposes - the only commercial use of space has been for weather and communication satellites, which do not need an organization such as NASA for their launch and support.

NASA's plans in the '70s and early '80s were mostly more of the same - a (planned) extravaganza such as sending men to Mars, a space station (SkyLab) with no real purpose, etc. Even one of NASA's successes - the Viking landers - was tied into the Bicentennial celebrations (Viking 1 was supposed to land on 4-Jul-1976).

If we compare and contrast to the history of aircraft, we find that while lighter-than-air aircraft were invented in the 18th century, it took a new technology and almost 200 years for aircraft to become commercially useful. Tethered balloons were used in the US Civil War as observation posts, but that was almost the only use made of them. At no time were significant government funds involved in the development of commercial aircraft.

We are now seeing the beginning of the real use of space, where people go to space for economically viable reasons rather than military reasons or national pride. SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, etc., while money-losers at present, may one day be remembered as the true beginning of the Space Age.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.

NewsSoftware development, analytics, and Facebook proficiency listed as most in-demand skills Pin
Kent Sharkey23-Dec-20 10:46
staffKent Sharkey23-Dec-20 10:46 
GeneralRe: Software development, analytics, and Facebook proficiency listed as most in-demand skills Pin
Nelek23-Dec-20 12:44
protectorNelek23-Dec-20 12:44 
NewsUno Platform 3.4 – Maturing the supported control set Pin
Kent Sharkey23-Dec-20 10:46
staffKent Sharkey23-Dec-20 10:46 
NewsMicrosoft: Why Windows Server will continue to be delivered on-premises Pin
Kent Sharkey23-Dec-20 10:31
staffKent Sharkey23-Dec-20 10:31 
NewsDeepMind's latest AI can master games without being told their rules Pin
Kent Sharkey23-Dec-20 8:01
staffKent Sharkey23-Dec-20 8:01 
GeneralRe: DeepMind's latest AI can master games without being told their rules Pin
Nelek23-Dec-20 8:04
protectorNelek23-Dec-20 8:04 
GeneralRe: DeepMind's latest AI can master games without being told their rules Pin
Kent Sharkey23-Dec-20 8:13
staffKent Sharkey23-Dec-20 8:13 
GeneralRe: DeepMind's latest AI can master games without being told their rules Pin
Nelek23-Dec-20 12:41
protectorNelek23-Dec-20 12:41 
NewsMicrosoft: Don't delete Windows 10 root certificate expiring this month Pin
Kent Sharkey23-Dec-20 8:01
staffKent Sharkey23-Dec-20 8:01 
GeneralRe: Microsoft: Don't delete Windows 10 root certificate expiring this month Pin
Nelek23-Dec-20 8:05
protectorNelek23-Dec-20 8:05 
NewsFacebook explains why millions of users are losing access to key features Pin
abmv23-Dec-20 6:57
professionalabmv23-Dec-20 6:57 
GeneralRe: Facebook explains why millions of users are losing access to key features Pin
Nelek23-Dec-20 7:27
protectorNelek23-Dec-20 7:27 
GeneralRe: Facebook explains why millions of users are losing access to key features Pin
Greg Utas23-Dec-20 12:06
professionalGreg Utas23-Dec-20 12:06 
GeneralRe: Facebook explains why millions of users are losing access to key features Pin
Rick York23-Dec-20 7:53
mveRick York23-Dec-20 7:53 
GeneralRe: Facebook explains why millions of users are losing access to key features Pin
den2k8823-Dec-20 11:33
professionalden2k8823-Dec-20 11:33 
NewsFacebook ‘Secretly’ Tracks Your iPhone Location—This Is How To Stop It Pin
abmv22-Dec-20 21:55
professionalabmv22-Dec-20 21:55 
GeneralRe: Facebook ‘Secretly’ Tracks Your iPhone Location—This Is How To Stop It Pin
Nelek22-Dec-20 22:53
protectorNelek22-Dec-20 22:53 

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