Now, don't take this as some anti-NASA topic, which I am sure some douche bag around here will. Anyhow, my thing is this. When I was a kid we used to watch the launches, the landings , etc.. on TV with excitement, now they aren't even televised. Let's face it some great things have been discovered due to funding of the NASA program, but I personally have no idea what the heck they are doing up there anymore. They need to get the people behind it a little better, I am sure they are doing some great scientific work, but **** most people didn't even know there was a shuttle up there. They need to do a little marketing, some PR to get the people behind them again.



Also, it might be time to build a new shuttle, we have been using that same design for 15 years or better, time to develop something a little stronger maybe, maybe start looking at getting out a little further, let's face it we haven't even been as far out as the moon since the Apollo missions with a manned space craft.



So I say let's get the kids saying "they want to be an astronaut" when they grow up instead of a pro football player, let's get the family gathered around the idiot box for launches and rejoicing as to their safe return.

Excellent point. Ive always been fascinated with space, and i agree, they do a poor job of marketing the space program to the american people. Id like to see a moon base built!! =)

I agree with you on that one...aren't there a bunch of private companies trying to come up with alternative space ships? I always see new designs and such on the Discovery Channel, but are they being built?



In Tallahassee they're near completing a huge "Challenger Learning Center," including an Imax theatre. That should spark some of our kids' imaginations around here.

Yeah those are good Ideas.. I wouldn't know what the hell is going on with Nasa if I didn't ocassionly read the popular science or popular mechanics magazines.. It would be better for them to be publically mentioned here and there cause the people would feel a bit more charitable towards them.. The public would show lots of interest and kids would definately find role models and daydream about space exploration..

It seems as if they try to fund Nasa by putting a price on any info about them.. If you wanna read about the shuttles or get info on something you have to go out and buy a magazine or a book.. it is not widely available anymore..

we were also noticing hat the astronauts were all old, 40+, and the shuttle is like 30, wtf is up with that.



mike

Goes back to what I mentioned earlier, there are no up and coming generations wanting to be astronauts, they all wanna be football players and **** like that.

It pays better.



Even though I am not exactly a supporter of the space program, I had been wondering why it's not publicized more. If I knew more about it and the research they were doing, I might see it in a more positive light.

yah, i only knew about this mission because they kept mentioning the isreali guy



mike

y the **** do we even have a space program?????? https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...DIR#>/wink.png

so we can feed the russians



mike

they live in a space station, we pack the shuttle full of tang and ice cream....



mike

mmmm...tang

They get ice cream?

yah the astronaut ice cream



mike

They better not get beercicles.

lmao, thats classified information



mike

Oops! Call the NSA!! Spillage!!!

Uh how bout Tangwiches?

Nope. they're on the list too...

how do you manage that one?

two slices of bread and some tang..

If you throw it on a grill it's FrenchTangToast.

tang-tastic!



mike

Pootie tang..

so seriously, what would it take to get people intrested in space?



mike

Free tang and cookies..



People are wierd.. They are interested in stuff for a lil bit then they slowly lose that interest.. We would need to know of all kinds of developments and test and stuff that is going on.. Remeber when they were doing the mars lander stuff, but nothing happened.. People want results and want to be updated.. if not they just forget about it..

yah, i guess thats a good point, like they wont know why the shuttle blew up until nobody cares about it



mike

Yeah, basically.. then there are the peple that bitch about space travel cause "it is coming out of our pockets".. That sucks.. They don't realize that much of the technology that they use today is due to the research and development gained from space travel.. Yeah results have been very slow in the past few years but maybe there will be breakthroughs soon, and without a space program we wouldn't ever move on..

i think it would take the media to make it look like something exciting. lokk at what everyone wants to be a ******* rapper, singer, sports player. at least the majority of kids now a days wanna be the next mother ******* AMERICAN IDOL. put some money into the space program, promote the universe and ur set. a majority of the kids will wanna be like buzz light year all over again.

i think it would take the media to make it look like something exciting. lokk at what everyone wants to be a ******* rapper, singer, sports player. at least the majority of kids now a days wanna be the next mother ******* AMERICAN IDOL. put some money into the space program, promote the universe and ur set. a majority of the kids will wanna be like buzz light year all over again. [/quote]

Yeah, kids now are becoming very narrow minded because of the media.. We need the major broadcasters to put out some cool shows about that stuff again.. Anyone remeber Bill Nye the Science Guy.. That show was cool.. But since it isn't as profitable as some other bulllshit shows then they will not give it priority..

Damn corporate bullshit..

that show sucked

It was good to watch in 6th grade.. the point is that kids would become more interested in these things.. but since all they see on tv is Sport starts and thier Bling Bling they want that too and they ignoreall the other things they used to like...

I do agree that nasa should make more of an effort to get the public interested... but I don't see what the government has to do with it... I think the goverment does more than it should already. Tourists in space is probably a great idea for funding and generating public interest. If there was more competition for space vehicles the prices would come down significantly also for the things nasa needs to operate, it would be nice if some companies popped up offering vacations in space, provided they were safe, I believe the technology is already there to make it possible. VA Linux probably burned through enough venture capital to get such a company on it's feet :rant:

I thought NASA had already tried selling tix into space for $1 mill a piece or something...

Seriously though, I think it would take another cold war/arms race to get the REAL funding that only the federal government can give.



People in general are less patient than back then, maybe? When you hear about a launch on the news, nothing comes of it until months later after everyone forgets (maybe it's just me)

group buy on space shuttles!



mike

DO you accept payments in dirt?

well, they talk about life on other planets and **** like that and that is very interesting. people are interested in that kind of stuff. IE aliens, asteroids fields, comets. ya feel me. (i would like to visit the moon, but i would not like to live there) <~~anyone with kids should know that song. there was a movie back in the 80's, i think called space camp. do they still have places like that where u get a hands on feel for becoming an astronuat? feel the g-force, sit in a shuttle and learn what they do.. take the kids to the space museum, i know when i visited washington dc, i got really into every museum that was there and wanted something to do all in that field.



but the basics of this topic are, kids grow up to be what they wanna be. of course no one is gonna say, i wanna be a crack head but we all know that happens. i believe that happens because there was no influence in helping the kid see what else is really out there, than the quick and easy high.



ryan

no but perhaps, you should check out this thread here



mike