How come NASA is sending up undergrad research projects and projects
from a 6th grade class?
Not to take away anything from science inclined undergrads, but I
would expect more sophisticated scientific inquiries from the
graduate divisions of Universities, the faculty and from scientists
at commercial firms.
Is there so much slack in the system that P.R. science flights have
to be booked to fill the slots?
Undergrads Ready For Launch
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/climate-03y.html
TangoMan
> How come NASA is sending up undergrad research projects and projects
> from a 6th grade class?
>
> Is there no better science that can be conducted?
NASA is a screwed up mess.
A little over a year ago (pre Columbia) I heard the head of NSF plead
for a reinvigorated space program to interest the youth of America in
science careers. Rita didn't seem to know that young people are now
regarding space as a dead end.
>
> Not to take away anything from science inclined undergrads, but I
> would expect more sophisticated scientific inquiries from the
> graduate divisions of Universities, the faculty and from scientists
> at commercial firms.
By the time you've gotten through the system, you're not interested in
space.
>
> Is there so much slack in the system that P.R. science flights have
> to be booked to fill the slots?
Yes.
I agree this this is sad.
Now perhaps people will understand a bit better why I've become so much
of a revolutionary.
All the best,
Chuck Divine
The USA is quite diverse. To say that young people here are not interested in space anymore is obviously an opinion. It conflicts with my experience, but all I can offer are antidotes. I am going on a speaking tour next week to speak at several universities on space. Young people are interested in lots of things, though many, as has always been the case, are not interested in having any type of an industrial career. Some want to be ministers, other lawyers, others physicians, etc. But I teach a course on Colonizing Space at the University of North Florida. A few students come here just because of that course, and still others are very interested in space. Some of these get jobs with NASA, and aerospace companies. Negative "summary statements" such as that young people are not interested in space anymore are not only not useful, but are in addition most likely not true. But, I can also not say what the statistics are.
Before becoming an academic, I worked as an engineer on the Atlas rocket and as a research scientist in electronics. One could get fired for letting others outside those companies know what we were working on, or how it was going. So I suggest that companies with what they think are good ideas for making money in space will not discuss those ideas here. You can take the lack of such discussion as the lack of good ideas if you wish, but I think it is not a very enlightened view. I would take any discussion of an idea to make money in space here as the lack of any realistic prospect for those discussing it of making money with that idea in space. Not that these discussions are not worth while. We do need free forums for the development of ideas, but once a good idea surfaces, do not expect it to be discussed further here.
Sincerely, Jay Huebner