The only concrete reason for sending people the Moon is to help build the Comet and Asteroid Protection System.

Jeff, when is “impact” or “NEOs” going to get a story category over at spacetoday.net?

I will simply state the above based on what I know, which is nothing that any of you have ever seen. You can take it that way, chuck it, or try to check out the facts for yourselves.

Musk is pulling some interesting moves. The Texas launch site is round 1.

Round 2 will be the (hinted at) factory for building the next step in the SpaceX rocket family in Texas as well -7+ meter cores, 650Klb Lox/Methane engines.

My guess is that they are aiming for a single stick that will have a lower LEO load than FH, but much greater Escape/GTO load. Which are really what big rockets are for.

In a cross-feed, heavy configuration, such a rocket would out do SLS.

The politics of it? We are talking after the next election. With the Texas site well under way, he will have the Texas congressional and Senatorial delegations onside. California (Falcon plant)…. COTS contract into round 2. Dragon rider probably demo’d. At that point announcing a rocket that would challenge SLS wouldn’t be the killer it would be today. Watching Shelby go all LOM and self destruct will be worth it, though.

Hmmm. Let’s allow a President of the United States to respond:

“Many years ago the great British explorer, George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it, and he said, “Because it is there.” Well, space is there, and we are going to climb it. And the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And therefore, as we set sail, we ask God’s blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has wver embarked.”

— excerpt, President John F. Kennedy;s speech on space delivered at Rice University in Texas, September 12, 1962.

http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/USG-15-r29.aspx

http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPOF-040-001.aspx

You’d do well to read and/or watch the entire speech. Gregori.

Let me know when we see savages and wild beasts on the Moon or Mars. They could teach us something.

But it was BUILT for APOLLO, Ron. as were the mobile launch platforms/crawlers. And meant to be built upon. Dissing Apollo won’t get you far as a space advocate for your commercial LEO position. So keep it up. .

Must be something in the air where you’re at.

Oh well.

What do we want with this vast, worthless area? This region of savages and wild beasts, of deserts of shifting sands and whirlwinds of dust, of cactus and prairie dogs? To what use could we ever hope to put these great deserts, or those endless mountain ranges, impenetrable and covered to their very base with eternal snow? What can we ever hope to do with the western coast, a coast of three thousand miles, rock-bound, cheerless, uninviting, and not a harbor on it? What use have we for this country?

Daniel Webster, on the Louisiana Purchase(*)

I can hear you now, saying “But that was different!”. No, it wasn’t. The only difference is a matter of timing.

(*) On googling, I discovered that there is no direct evidence that Webster actually spoke these words, although they are frequently attributed to him. But certainly others were saying similar things. And Webster may well have agreed with the sentiment.

I believe it is the same for me BUT considering some of their positions elsewhere I would have a very hard time supporting them just for space which is a minuscule area of importance to what we need today in the US.

“I think everyone would agree that Newt is sincere in his beliefs when he talks about things like a $10 billion prize for a lunar colony. We may not agree with the idea, but he has no political upside in it. He proposes it because he believes in it.”

We definitely saw the downside of it. I will for sure grant him that. But it goes to show as well that he may (is?) not be reliable at all as a politician.

“Dana has pushed commercial space legislation for many years. To my knowledge, none of the NewSpace companies are in his district — in fact, his service in Congress long pre-dates the NASA commercial space program. It’s what he believes — unlike most of his colleagues, who believe in nothing except for what it takes to get re-elected.”

You know what they say right? “Among the blind, the one eyed man is king”