Have you ever heard this Cooper guy speak?? Is he still alive? Have any of you ever heard or seen someone actually speak on this subject??
No, just have read quotes from him and a few other astronauts here and there. He is by far the most outspoken and he doesn't seem to be doing it for any monetary or political gain, so I really don't know what to think about it...one important thing NASA looks for in astronauts is a level head. He has an impressive bio: NAME: Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr. (Colonel, USAF, Ret.) NASA Astronaut (former) EDUCATION: Attended primary and secondary schools in Shawnee, Oklahoma and Murray, Kentucky; received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) in 1956; recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Science degree from Oklahoma City University in 1967. ORGANIZATIONS: The Society of Experimental Test Pilots, The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, The American Astronautical Society, The Blue Lodge Masons, The York Rite Masons, The Scottish Rite Masons, The Royal Order of Jesters, The Sojourners, The Rotary Club, The Daedalians, The Confederate Air Force, The Boy Scouts of America, The Girl Scouts of America. SPECIAL HONORS: The Air Force Legion of Merit, The Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross, The Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross Cluster, The NASA Exceptional Service Medal, The NASA Distinguished Service Medal, USAF Command Astronaut Wings... NASA EXPERIENCE: Colonel Cooper was selected as a Mercury astronaut in April 1959. On May 15-16, 1963, he piloted the "Faith 7" spacecraft on a 22-orbit mission which concluded the operational phase of Project Mercury. During the 34 hours and 20 minutes of flight, Faith 7 attained an apogee of 166 statue miles and a speed of 17,546 miles per hour and traveled 546,167 statue miles. Cooper served as command pilot of the 8-day 120-revolution Gemini 5 mission which began on August 21, 1965. It was on this flight that he and pilot Charles Conrad established a new space endurance record by traveling a distance of 3,312,993 miles in an elapsed time of 190 hours and 56 minutes. Cooper also became the first man to make a second orbital flight and thus won for the United States the lead in man-hours in space by accumulating a total of 225 hours and 15 minutes. He served as backup command pilot for Gemini 12 and as backup commander for Apollo X. Colonel Cooper has logged 222 hours in space. He retired from the Air Force and NASA in 1970. http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/cooper-lg.html This might deserve a thread along with some other famous conspiracy theories.
For the record, some of the astronauts were pretty "out there" kind of guys. For the most part they were pilots, not necessarily great scientific thinkers, and some of them have gone on to be downright wierd. Case in point is Apollo 14 pilot Edgar Mitchell. You can visit his website (where he actually responds quite a bit to quetions on his BBS) at http://www.edmitchellapollo14.com/. Here's a excerpt from his bio:
Either he was talking about superstring theory or had just dropped a hit of LSD. I agree there will always be flakes no matter how "professional" the career (think Enron). I'm sure there is some information on Cooper out there that will discredit him as well, I really don't know much about him other than a few headline quotes he has made. I bet Cooper was disappointed with getting the back-up commander roll for Apollo X. That would be tough to swallow being so close to going to the Moon (all the training etc.), but not really having a chance to make the trip.
Does that kind of spiritual experience make them freaks??? I've read account after account of these men being awed by what they saw out there. I know that some of the Apollo missions featured Bible studies on the moon...there were all sorts of statements about the Divine. I'm thinking the event shakes your perspective a bit...or reawakens a sense of spirituality. I hesitate to call them freaks for that. That would make me one too.
If I saw an Earthrise-- standing on the Moon, I know I would be forever changed to core. There is really nothing I can think of that even comes close to comparing to that experience.
Indeed. One of the things I liked so much about Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey", so far ahead of it's time in the use of special effects, was his evocation of awe during the visit to the Monolith on the Moon. I can only imagine what an actual visit there must be like. My 12 year old's dream is to be a scientist with the Space Program. I used to think I would live long enough to make a trip to a space station and/or a Lunar colony, but I hope my children and their kids get to do that and much more. I can only be satisfied with my love of science fiction, which I've enjoyed these many years.
Good luck to your kid/s and future grandkids. Hopefully by the time we are old and gray there will be semi-affordable private companies that can give us a taste of space with a sub-orbital flight.
Although surrounded by high levels of secrecy, China's first manned mission is widely expected to lift off before the end of this year. In early January, scientists announced the successful testing of the fourth in a series of capsules designed to carry up to three astronauts into space. China sets sights on Moon mission The first mission to the moon could lift off within two-and-a-half years, scientists say. BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Chinese space scientists, already believed to be preparing for the country's first manned space mission later this year, are setting their sights on the moon. Plans have been submitted for an initial series of unmanned moon satellites and probes, paving the way for later manned missions, state-owned media reported Monday. If approved by the government, the first mission could take off within the next two-and-a-half years scientists say. The planned program, named Chang'e after a Chinese legend about a fairy who flies to the moon, would begin with a lunar orbiter mapping the surface of the moon, Luan Enjie, director of the China National Space Administration, told a conference over the weekend. The three dimensional imaging and other data gathered by that mission would then go into two subsequent phases of the project involving actual lunar landings of unmanned probes and robotic vehicles. Some of those landings would be used to collect samples of lunar soil and rock that would be returned to the Earth for study, Luan was quoted as saying. He said the program would be completed by 2010, after which scientists would be closer to planning for a manned mission to the moon. The only other country to have put astronauts on the moon was the United States, which ended its Apollo series of manned missions in 1972. Announcing the lunar mission, Ouyang Ziyuan, the chief scientist heading up the project, said China should not drag its feet in getting the moon program off the ground. The project is particularly important for China's scientific community given that Earth's nearest neighbor probably holds the key to humanity's future subsistence and development, he was quoted as saying. Chinese astronauts The Chang'e program could pave the way for Chinese astronauts heading to the moon. Although surrounded by high levels of secrecy, China's first manned mission is widely expected to lift off before the end of this year. In early January, scientists announced the successful testing of the fourth in a series of capsules designed to carry up to three astronauts into space. About 14 men, all of them elite flyers from the Chinese air force, are thought to have received training for space flight. However, their identities, along with the timing of launches and other mission details, have been kept as closely guarded secrets. A successful manned mission would make China only the third country after Russia and the United States capable of putting humans into space. China has been investing hundreds of millions of dollars in its space program, which has close connections with the country's military. The communist leadership in Beijing regards the space effort as a key indicator of China's rapid development and a focus for national pride. However critics say the program is a waste of money in a country where hundreds of millions of people live below the poverty line, without access to modern health care and education.
I thought i'd give this thread a bump, this is a fairly significant event in human history. A successful mission will certainly push China farther along in its quest to become a super power. Will they succeed or are they pushing this mission to fast to join a two member space club that is more about prestige than about advancing technology? 100 day countdown to China's first astronaut NewScientist.com news service China is on course to become only the third nation ever to place a human in space, following press reports that the first crewed flight will take place in 100 days. A government source told the state-controlled news service Wen Wei Po that the launch would take place within this timeframe. No official date for launch has been set. There has already been some speculation that China's National Space Administration may target 1 October, the date on which the People's Republic of China was founded. But independent space analyst James Oberg says this date is unlikely to be fixed. "They appear to be quite responsible in flying only when they are ready and it shows," he says. Secret crew So far, China has successfully launched four uncrewed Shenzhou spacecraft. The last of these blasted off in January 2003 and was fitted with human life support systems. The size of the crew planned for the first flight remains a secret, as does their identity. Fourteen potential astronauts, known as Yuhangyans, have undergone training at Beijing Aerospace City. Placing a human in space would be a matter of great national prestige for China, as only Russia and the US have managed the feat. Oberg says China's space programme has made significant use of the experiences of the Russian and US programmes. He suggests up to three astronauts could be aboard Shenzhou V, which could stay in orbit for up to six days. "But that's the major unknown," he told New Scientist. Moon missions- China counts down to manned space flight According to Wen Wei Po report, the launch of Shenzhou V will take place during the day, in contrast to previous missions. Extremely low night-time temperatures have forced previous missions to be delayed. The capsule will be launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, on the edge of the Gobi Desert, in north-western Gansu. China is also pushing ahead with ambitious plans to send uncrewed craft to explore the Moon. China plans to put a probe in orbit around the Moon in 2005, followed by a simple lander in 2010 and, finally, a vehicle capable of returning samples to Earth in 2020. Ye Shuhua, from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, revealed new details of the orbital mission at the International Astronomical Union meeting in Sydney on Monday. Ye said the orbiter would have cameras, gamma and X-ray spectrometers, laser range finders and high-energy particle detectors.
We can in no uncertain terms, cede the Moon or low-Earth orbit to the Chinese. With their large, restless and well-educated population, the Chinese will be our greatest rivals in the years to come. Being that they take a long-term view of issues, they have building for over the last twenty years to someday replace us at the top of the heap of nations.
The Chinese seem to have a strong plan with goals mapped out in increments that are very obtainable. By simply setting their sites on the big goal -the moon- instead of loitering around in low earth orbit they will save themselves a great deal of money and time. Obviously it will take them decades to match our capabilities in space, but from the planning stages until the mission is completed 10-20 years will have passed. This time frame will put them on course to be serious contenders with the US if we fail to set our sites beyond the ISS and high dollar shuttle missions. Its pretty amazing to think that only two nations have sent humans into space independently. Hopefully China will be in space a hundred days from now helping to spark a renewed interest in US moon exploration.
General Jack D. Ripper: Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk... ice cream. Ice cream, Mandrake, children's ice cream. Group Captain Lionel Mandrake: Lord, Jack. Ripper: You know when fluoridation first began? Mandrake: Aye, no, no. I don't Jack. Ripper: Nineteen hundred and forty-six. Nineteen forty-six Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? Its incredibly obvious isn't it. A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works. Mandrake: Uh, Jack, Jack, listen, tell me, tell me, Jack. When did you first...become...well, develop this theory? Ripper: Well, I, uh...I...I...first became aware of it, Mandrake, during the physical act of love. Mandrake: Hmm. Ripper: Yes, a uh, a profound sense of fatigue...a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I...I was able to interpret these feelings correctly. Loss of essence. Mandrake: Hmm. Ripper: I can assure you that it has not recurred, Mandrake. Women uh...women sense my power and they seek the life essence. I do not avoid women, Mandrake. Mandrake: No. Ripper: But I...I do deny them my essence.
I thought H3 would be three atoms of hydrogen. Helium would be He3. It will behoove us not to miss the boat on space exploration by continuing to let NASA's budget erode year after year. I have been sickened by some of the coverage of the shuttle accident and the subsequent calls for the shuttle to be scrapped and the space program to be curtailed. There are thousands of reasons that we need to be in space and there is no reason for us to allow China to be the first nation to set up a permanent outpost on the moon. I have already been a bit pi$$ed that the space station has been scaled back from its original plan to have a science lab, crew habitation module for 7 occupants, and a lifeboat to get them all home. That plan would have allowed us to do important zero-g research, expand the group of astronauts with EVA experience, and generally use the station as a launching point for other missions (to the moon and Mars). Currently, we only have 2 people up there (mostly because we aren't flying shuttles) and it takes 2.5 people working full time to keep the darn thing in the air. Even with the 3 people we had up before the accident, there was virtually no scientific research (the biggest reason for having the station in the first place) being done because it was all they could do to just complete necessary maintenance. I am a fiscal conservative, but I believe that this is a necessary program for the US and, ultimately, the world.
