# The Great Ongoing Space Exploration Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** science-math\ **Created:** [November 16, 2020, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703 "2020-11-16T12:18:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 114
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2025, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2263 "2025-10-26T13:19:28Z")
I truly believe that [Fusion Power](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusion_power) is the solution. It’s not science fiction. It’s just not the here and now. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2025, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2264 "2025-11-04T03:55:25Z")
Twenty years from now. And _always_ twenty years from now. But if it was invented tomorrow, it would be an amazing achievement, and possibly transformative for modern society. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2025, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2265 "2025-11-04T14:50:17Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > But the industry wouldn’t be viable if the solar panel factory itself had to run 100% on solar power. Somewhat off topic, but I’ve always been sceptical of the value of ethanol as a fuel, since the producers apparently use hydrocarbon fuels to run their plant. It would be more convincing if they ‘ate their own dogfood’, as the saying goes… ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2266 "2025-11-05T00:44:07Z")
The problem is that it would take more than 1 gallon of ethanol to make 1 gallon of ethanol. It requires a higher energy density fuel to make. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2267 "2025-11-05T01:15:29Z")
It does however send a lot of taxpayer dollars to certain red congressional districts. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2268 "2025-11-05T13:06:00Z")
Yup, always thought it was a pork scheme. Sorry for the hijack folks… back to the topic now! ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2269 "2025-11-13T23:00:27Z")
> **[Blue Origin launches huge rocket carrying twin NASA spacecraft to Mars](https://apnews.com/article/blue-origin-mars-nasa-new-glenn-bezos-4e3e6c380b8294b557618a6fea92282b)** > > Blue Origin has launched its huge New Glenn rocket with a pair of NASA spacecraft destined for Mars. They recovered the booster too. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2270 "2025-11-13T23:06:12Z")
What’s the story behind their having to be launched now and wait for the next transfer window to Mars? ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2271 "2025-11-13T23:21:21Z")
Not the original plan. I guess the decision was made to try an unusual trajectory > **[Here’s how orbital dynamics wizardry helped save NASA’s next Mars mission](https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/11/heres-how-orbital-dynamics-wizardry-helped-save-nasas-next-mars-mission/)** > > Blue Origin is getting ready to launch its second New Glenn rocket. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2272 "2025-11-13T23:42:22Z")
Is it that costly to keep finished space probes in storage on Earth, that that would have been a potential deal breaker? ---
**Author:** ![Calder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Calder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calder)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2273 "2025-11-18T22:32:01Z")
Too lazy to do the math, but in my experience, when basic physics\engineering principles are being ignored in space travel, the most common explanation is politics. So my guess is that if we waited for the next window, it would mean the probes wouldn’t arrive until Trump is out of office. (Hence, why they are being rushed through now.) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2274 "2025-11-19T04:09:44Z")
> [@Calder](#): > > So my guess is that if we waited for the next window, it would mean the probes wouldn’t arrive until Trump is out of office. My understanding is that this L-2 holding loop is just waiting for that same window. So while it may be politics, I’m going to guess that they’re afraid the project may be cancelled if they wait while on the ground. It’s a little bit harder to cancel once launched. They may also have gotten a discount on launch price, since it was only the second launch of New Glenn. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2275 "2025-11-19T17:05:46Z")
It is rather a stroke of genius to get the lion’s share of work over and done with, lifting the mission most of the way out of Earth’s gravity well. Some people have even speculated that this parking maneuver might be a more common thing in the future in order to avoid having launch capacity strained by comparatively brief launch windows. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2276 "2025-11-20T22:23:26Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > It’s a little bit harder to cancel once launched. Nonsense. It can be abandoned on station. When it finally loses stability, it can go wherever the hell it wants. With enough apathy and stupidity, you can cancel any spacecraft program. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2277 "2025-11-21T05:20:38Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Nonsense. It can be abandoned on station. I was thinking more in terms of publicity here on Earth. I’m not saying they couldn’t be cancelled before getting to Mars, but there’d be more blowback if it’s already been launched. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2278 "2025-11-21T12:10:43Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > blowback Huh? I think there won’ be no steenkin’ blowback. The general public does not care one iota about space exploration, nor about NASA’s or other entities’ space boondoggles. It’s totally out of sight, out of mind. IMO YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2279 "2025-11-21T16:49:35Z")
Launching it now means that no one can argue for saving on the cost of launching it. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2280 "2025-11-21T17:01:34Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The general public does not care one iota about space exploration, nor about NASA’s or other entities’ space boondoggles. Why are we ‘wasting all that money’ on this geek space stuff when there are so many starving children? Is the usual formulation. Missing the point on so many levels, of course. You can’t eat money… and research almost always pays off manyfold in the future in ways that nobody would have predicted. But trying to explain this to Joe Knucklehead… sigh… ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2281 "2025-11-21T17:15:18Z")
I’m gonna suggest that Joe Knucklehead does not care about the space probe or the waste. The whole thing is simply out of sight. If somebody stuck a microphone in his face and asked him, “Is space exploration worth the money?”, they’d probably get an answer like “Probably not, no, I think it’s all a waste.” But if instead Joe was asked, “What’re the top 5 wasteful things government does you can think of?”, anything space-related would almost certainly not make his list. He could probably ramble off 20 things, some of which are imaginary, before “space stuff” entered his mind. If it ever did. That’s the thought I have behind my comment that “blowback” from a space boondoggle is simply non-existent. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2282 "2025-11-21T21:36:07Z")
Starship explodes this morning. No fireball, reportedly from gas pressure testing. > **[SpaceX's upgraded Starship suffers explosion during testing | TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/21/spacexs-upgraded-starship-suffers-explosion-during-testing/)** > > It may not have been a massive fireball, but SpaceX now has more work to do before it can kick off this next-generation version of Starship. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703.md?page=113) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703.md?page=115)