US concerned NASA will be overtaken by China’s space program::undefined
Gee whiz, maybe we should have been properly funding our space program all of these years instead of wasting it on making the military industrial complex filthy fucking rich?
US concerned NASA will be overtaken by China's space program
Submitted 8 months ago by L4s@lemmy.world [bot] to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 8 months ago
bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
Especially stupid considering last time they gave the space program appropriate funding, it led to a lot of advancements that the military industrial complex could use.
Windex007@lemmy.world 8 months ago
You make it sound like the military advancements were an unexpected byproduct, as opposed to the real goal.
FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Nonsense, surely their shortsightedness will pay off in the long run!
ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 8 months ago
People behind the scenes are siphoning NASA space research money and turning it into space profit instead. The growth of private space companies starting in the US is no coincidence. Blame oligarchs for steering the country into a dead end.
Jarix@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Hate on spacex and its competitors as much as you want, im not saying you dont have cause.
But defunding NASA caused this. Those billionaires looked and said holy shit, the entire nasa budget is only that much? And they arent building rockets anymore? I can literally fund my own space program? Ide be crazy not to
FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Don’t worry, I do.
grue@lemmy.world 8 months ago
To be fair, it’s not as if those things are mutually-exclusive. For example, you know how the Hubble Space Telescope is this extremely unique and nigh-irreplaceable scientific instrument that cost a pretty big fraction of NASA’s entire budget?
Well, it turns out we actually have dozens of the damn things; it’s just that we couldn’t be bothered to actually point more than one of them away from Earth instead of towards it.
FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 8 months ago
They certainly don’t have to be, but there is a well established pattern of the US government getting waaay too chummy with corporations to the point that it can undermine what’s best for the people in pursuit of corporate interests.
TheFriar@lemm.ee 8 months ago
US: continually decides to not fund scientific exploration of space
Also US: GUYS! BE AFRAID! ANOTHER COUNTRY DID DECIDE TO SPEND MONEY ON IT! NOW WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO IF…UM…WELL, I GUESS IF THEY TAKE OVER SPACE…? Or…wait, what are we concerned about? Ah, fuck it. Cut NASA’s budget again. We got genocide to fund and taxes to cut for the wealthy.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Same with Republicans and the border.
“Do something about the border!”
“Ok, we need funds. Please give them to us.”
“No! Do something about the border!”
“We can’t because you won’t give us the money.”
“Too bad! Do something about the border!”
Nudding@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Didn’t Biden agree with those idiots that the border is the most important issue of the day?
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Huh. I wonder if funding NASA better might help, Republicans?
CooperRedArmyDog@lemmy.ml 8 months ago
They are likely going to fund it less and give more and more of its mission over to space force and private companies is my guess
intensely_human@lemm.ee 8 months ago
That would also work.
The only thing that won’t work for space is the thing we’re doing now:
- Maintaining a vice-like government control
- Using that government authority to choose not to move forward
Progress only stops under a narrow set of conditions that need to be actively implemented by the government. Progress is actually natural, and progress stopping requires enormous centralized effort to interfere with people getting things done.
FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world 8 months ago
If we fold it into the space force and say it’s for targeting woke weirdos…we’ll get a billion dollars through congress by tomorrow
rottingleaf@lemmy.zip 8 months ago
Call it “search for extraterrestrial woke intelligence” and they’ll melt.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 8 months ago
We could just say the “anti-woke” part and not even bother with the space force part and that would probably work.
The woke boogieman is the biggest thing to scare them in years.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Instead, I think we should defund China.
rapturous GOP applause and cheering
AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Switch the funding for the MIC and NASA for one year. We’ll have fusion power cracked in 5.
lemmus@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Choosing Musk and SpaceX for Artemis is likely NASAs biggest mistake.
ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 8 months ago
It was always part of Musk’s plan to cripple NASA funding and pump that money into SpaceX.
MrSpArkle@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
If you look at the Artemis mission and think starship is the weakest part of the plan, you are simply not being objective.
PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
At least for ISS, the choice is either Musk or Putin.
I don’t know which one is worse, especially considering Musk is aiding Putin via Starlink in Ukraine.
Ukraine claims Russian forces using Musk’s Starlink in occupied areas
But as someone who works in the industry, it is a bleak outlook. NASA absolutely needs more funding for its human spaceflight exploration, Earth Science, robotic exploration, and astronomy/astrophysics.
ikidd@lemmy.world 8 months ago
SpaceX has launched more successful missions this year than every other space agency put together.
Fuck Musk and all that, but if you’re posting this bullshit, you have Musk derangement syndrome.
gaifux@lemmy.world 8 months ago
NASA is a fraud. Musk is just the latest goofy face of govt black projects. Keyfabe
uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 months ago
One can only hope.
The last time that happened, we explored the moon and developed the space shuttle program. We got microchips and memory foam.
Ideological rivals encourage congress throwing money into big science. Apollo returned $14 on the dollar. It’s a good investment.
aew360@lemm.ee 8 months ago
This is a good thing. Competition with the USSR made NASA what it is.
FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Only if the US actually competes.
unphazed@lemmy.world 8 months ago
“Can you give me one bill…”
NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 8 months ago
Have they considered renaming it X and firing all their expert staff to make NASA more profitable?
SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
SpaceX is already a thing. What is it with Elon Musk and the letter X?
Gazumi@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Who would have imagined that decades of funding cuts and pressure to rely upon Musk would allow another nation to take the lead? (Sarcasm)
flop_leash_973@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I’m sure throwing more money and contracts at Musk and SpaceX is going to help solve the problem any day now. /s
mlg@lemmy.world 8 months ago
So they had no issue relying on Russia to service the ISS ever since they shutdown the space shuttle, but now they’re afraid of China… doing space science faster?
Ignoring the fact that this is not even a real concern, maybe don’t spend morbillions on free munitions for Israel or Lockheed’s next stupid idea.
They defunded NASA so hard that they started hallucinating about going back to the moon with 15% of the Apollo budget.
PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
At the time, Russia wasn’t as……problematic. We had been working with Russia as an International Partner since the very early days of ISS and even during Shuttle/Mir.
Obviously they did become problematic, but we didn’t have other options until SpaceX. Now that’s….obviously got its own issues, but Russia is vastly different than China when it comes to space. Russia needs the money, China already has it.
N00dle@lemmy.world 8 months ago
The fact that NASA had to rely on Roscosmos in the first place is shameful. It highlights long standing issues facing the space program. I think some of these problems trace back to the cost of the ISS. It’s been hard to convey the importance and investment into the future the station provides.
For China their station provides proof of concept that they can achieve similar results one day both to themselves and the world watching.
N00dle@lemmy.world 8 months ago
The amount of money spent on Apollo was insane. A reduced budget should have been sufficient. It’s just been weighted down by shit cost-plus contracts and the abomination that is SLS.
The fear of China here is that they are basically single handedly their closest competitor. They’re the only other nation thats managed a Mars Rover landing, building space station, and have their own plans for Moon and Mars with taikonauts( astronaut equivalent) on the ground in the future.
Rinna@lemm.ee 8 months ago
Dang maybe we should take a fraction of the trillions we spend on the military to fund scientific research, and potentially health and education.
lud@lemm.ee 8 months ago
Yes, race harder please.
NutWrench@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Anyone concerned that the US will be “overtaken” by anything coming out of China right now needs to go read about what’s been happening in China for the last 5 years.
TheRealKuni@lemmy.world 8 months ago
What do you mean?
NutWrench@lemmy.world 8 months ago
If you watch anything other than chinadaily (the CCPs propaganda channel) you’d know exactly what I mean.
TakiMinase@slrpnk.net 8 months ago
Export all your technology and jobs to cheaper labour to make more profit. Now you will slowly become bankrupt, as no one can afford the enshitification products and services.
ripcord@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Enshittification doesn’t just mean “things get worse”
Filthmontane@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Looking at their space station, I think China already has overtaken NASA.
SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
Their station has like three modules (with plans to add 3 more) and capacity for 3 people. The ISS has at least 16 modules (maybe over 30 depending on what you count as a module) and capacity for over a dozen people.
Like many things from authoritarian countries, it looks nice but isn’t even close in terms of capabilities.
Filthmontane@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Authoritarianism is not equal to capabilities. In fact, the Soviet space program was significantly more capable for a very long time
zarathustra0@lemmy.world 8 months ago
FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world 8 months ago
We all live on this rock. Floating through space.
Anyone who doesn’t want to spend more time looking out is someone with something in their closet you don’t want to look in.
Ad Aspera Ad Astra
rottingleaf@lemmy.zip 8 months ago
“To thorns, to stars”?..
orrk@lemmy.world 8 months ago
well, I think he meant: Per aspera ad astra
just remember that almost all older languages had fewer nouns and verbs, so “thorns” here is referring to difficulty and obstruction
so more meaningfully translated, this old Latin saying is closer to “through great treachery is the path to the stars”
FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Ad Astra Per Aspera
Going for the Starfleet quote, sorry my Latin is lacking
RobotToaster@mander.xyz 8 months ago
NASA and all it’s bureaucracy was overtaken by private corps years ago.
phoneymouse@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Privatization was NASA’s strategy. They actually oversee the distribution of funds to private companies. Space X is paid out of NASA’s budget.
pekos@futurology.today 8 months ago
So this is the power of diversity
Fudoshin@feddit.uk 8 months ago
What? Your comment doesn’t even make sense!
FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 8 months ago
This is the power of not funding your space program.
irmoz@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Are you trying to say NASA hires “too many women, LGBTs and brown people”, and that this is holding them back?
Is there something about straight, white cis males that makes them better at rocket science?
pekos@futurology.today 8 months ago
I don’t believe in racial science and “superiority”, however I refer to hiring based on only merit and not just for the sake of fulfilling a diversity quota.
TakiMinase@slrpnk.net 8 months ago
Well, Braun was a Nazi…
doctorcrimson@lemmy.today 8 months ago
They must have made some huge advances since the last time I checked in on them because they haven’t exactly been considered sophisticated in the art of rocketry for a couple centuries now. They first had a person in space in 2003 and they’re still using the same Shenzou line of rockets since that time.
Argonne@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Yeah you missed the part where they have a fucking space station and a growing private sector of reusable launch vehicles that are copying SpaceX.
doctorcrimson@lemmy.today 8 months ago
We’re impressed by a space station? What is this, 1976?
I’ll admit it’s an improvement over their situation before the early 80s where 88.7% of people in China were below the poverty line.
Honytawk@lemmy.zip 8 months ago
Don’t worry guys, the US Space Force will make sure they are prevented from entering space.
rab@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
While US youth are rotting their brains via china’s tiktok, Chinese youth are actually learning about science and other useful skills. Of course this is going to happen
veeesix@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
If they were truly concerned, they’d start giving it the funding it deserves.
WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 8 months ago
They’ve tried everything except actually funding NASA, and they’re all outta ideas.
DigitalTraveler42@lemmy.world 8 months ago
But hey we tried giving a shit load of money to a billionaire space nazi instead!
pineapplelover@lemm.ee 8 months ago
Maybe we should give money to fund education and research instead of banning books and attacking each other.
FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 8 months ago
That goes double for our educational system
pekos@futurology.today 8 months ago
demesisx@infosec.pub 8 months ago
I came here to say exactly this.
Perhaps a space race with China would rekindle the motivation for our money grubbing demagogues to actually fund it.
orclev@lemmy.world 8 months ago
No, it won’t. They’ll just relocate to China, or maybe a super yacht out in international waters. They’ll continue milking every last cent out of the US until it’s a dead dried up husk of a nation and then they’ll just move to the next one. Their supporters are too stupid to realize where the end of the path they’ve been told to walk is going to take them, and they’d rather blame anyone else but themselves for all the problems they face. So no, a space race with China won’t fix shit.
Morcyphr@lemmy.one 8 months ago
Yeah, but Israel /s
ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 8 months ago
So expect a big increase in private space missions