The end of an era

[free_electron]

Took this a few moments ago as it flew almost straight over me. Next stop : museum ...

[M. András]

hmm the outer heatshield seen better days thats for sure, i wonder what will the nasa do without shuttles

[Zad]

I know I'm biased, but I do think that Endeavour should have come to the UK, as the US has several Concordes. I guess nobody put in a good enough package for it, which is understandable. (Whitby is the true home of all ships called Endeavour)

[Pentium100]

Some time ago, the US was in a race against the USSR and actually won, the first human on the moon was American. Now American astronauts go to space on Russian spaceships that are still called "Union".

[bullet308]

Well, between NASAs inhouse projects and what SpaceX and their competitors are doing, the US space program overall looks pretty good from where I sit.

While recognizing its shortcomings, I was a big shuttle fan, but it is well past time we move on to the Next Thing, whatever that may be.

[perfect_disturbance]

Yeah a lot of people have been complaining about the state of affairs at NASA lately.  But when some other county autonomously lowers a car sized science laboratory onto the face of another planet with a rocket crane.  Then I'll worry that we're falling behind.  From my point of view what NASA pulled off with the MSL is in its own way more impressive than the space shuttle.

[EEVblog]

Yeah a lot of people have been complaining about the state of affairs at NASA lately.  But when some other county autonomously lowers car sized science laboratory onto the face of another planet with a rocket crane.  Then I'll worry that were falling behind.  From my point of view what NASA pulled off with the MSL is in its own way more impressive than the space shuttle.

I'd agree with that. What they were doing with the Space Shuttle was 1960's tech with a smattering of 1980's tech thrown in.
I'd rate the MSL as the single biggest leap in space engineering since Apollo.
Dave.

[notsob]

And they are still using big fire crackers to put them into orbit, Scotty where are you!

[poptones]

Mmm, I think it's rather quaint to even look at it as a government thing. Are there privately funded space programs outside the US? I've not heard of a privately held Chinese corporation putting a capsule in space.

I don't know where we're going next, but I do wish they would get on with it. Whether it's a moon base or landing on an asteroid or starting a colony on Mars, I'd like to see it while I still have the mental facilities to be properly amazed. When I was a kid the year 2000 seemed like an eternity away, but now it's starting to sink in that I'll likely see eternity before I see 2050.

[VonKlitzing]

Yeah a lot of people have been complaining about the state of affairs at NASA lately.  But when some other county autonomously lowers a car sized science laboratory onto the face of another planet with a rocket crane.  Then I'll worry that we're falling behind.  From my point of view what NASA pulled off with the MSL is in its own way more impressive than the space shuttle.

I'd be impressed with NASA even if they only accomplished half of what they have done given the general apathy shown towards space exploration by the average American/government official (not taking a shoot at the Yanks, it's as bad everywhere else).

Paring the budget down to the bone of mankinds greatest adventure just to sooth the myopia of some yayhoo in Buttcrack USA is tragic IMO. If as a species we spent a fraction of what we do finding new and interesting ways to blow each other to pieces on space/science we'd all be eating moon food on our way to a nice holiday on Mars by now.   

[EEVblog]

As Neil Tyson likes to point out. The first bank bail-out (one of many) cost the taxpayer more than the entire 50 year operating budget of NASA (including the moon landings etc)

Dave.

[poptones]

http://youtu.be/A_II0H7X5O4

http://youtu.be/H_p92dECEpQ

[bullet308]

The bank bailout was utterly disgusting, and equally necessary. The consequences of not doing so would have been catastrophic beyond most people's ability to imagine.

[VonKlitzing]

The bank bailout was utterly disgusting, and equally necessary. The consequences of not doing so would have been catastrophic beyond most people's ability to imagine.

Yep, stuffing a fistful more worms in the can and giving it the mighty boot down the road has really paid dividends for some whilst everyone else has been staring a full blown depression in the face (no matter what arbitrary measurement the economists use to deny it).

If too big to fail was allowed to fail then perhaps we might have scared some sense into the sociopathic See You Next Tuesdays on Wall Street and we may, just may have a financial market that is fit for purpose. One that is used for price discovery, trade and investment in worthwhile enterprises, not pyramid schemes, get rich if you fail ventures or algorithmic wash trades used to manipulate the market/rip off customers, the use of which have accelerated since 2007/8.

Instead of TARP they should have invested in rope and lampposts, it would have made for a much more engaging and longlasting lesson.

[SeanB]

That it is over is sad. A nice thing is that this was built all over the world. The fabric underlay for those tiles was actually made in South Africa, probably because Beier had the machinery and the QC to deliver it in the 1970's, political posturing and all.

The only reason that they are only in the USA is because of ITAR, the brilliant legislation that means that all the US space talent is now working for the Chinese or the EU, as they have a ten ton per ton on the pad paperwork pile.

[Bored@Work]

The bank bailout was utterly disgusting, and equally necessary. The consequences of not doing so would have been catastrophic beyond most people's ability to imagine.

I would have failed a few banks, and a few certain rotten EU countries. I would have used the money from the bank and country bailouts to

(a) bail out the little people, i.e. those with their life savings and pensions lost by the controlled crash would be fully reimbursed, while showing the greedy investors the middle finger.

(b) build a bunch of new prisons in locations to hot for farming, and making them the new homes of A LOT of  of those criminals involved in running the big scam.

What governments all around the world, including mine, instead did, was sucking the bankers and fellow governments to please them any way they wanted, and then even thanking them for being allowed to suck them.

And all this is not over. I think we are in the eye of the tornado, and ultimately all the money we shoved up the banker's and rotten country's asses will not prevent the disaster. Only that then, when the disaster strikes, we will no longer have any money to help, so it will hit everyone even harder.

[G7PSK]

The banks had to be supported to the limit that all the average Joe's on the street did not loose their life savings but the people at the top should have forfeited every last penny they had and been put out on the street and never allowed to work in banking again.

[M. András]

i support the rope and lamp post idea how many of the american banks wernt bankrupt and the owners and the board left with millions of dollar as a last payment? hanging half of the corrupt politicians and bank directors+mega corporation boards would have teach a lesson not to remove the 30th skin from the people. and back to the topic i wonder when they will do something huge in the technological race i read some journalist post about they bring out again the hyperdrive idea such as they could lower its energy consuption

[EEVblog]

The bank bailout was utterly disgusting, and equally necessary. The consequences of not doing so would have been catastrophic beyond most people's ability to imagine.

That's what they wanted you to think! And everyone fell for it hook, line and sinker, with all the JP Morgan people who run your federal reserve and government running the show for their buddies.
Well, actually, most didn't fall for it the first time and the congress smelled a huge rat and rejected it. Then the secret backroom threats came and they eventually caved in.
None of it went into actually what it should have, which was doing what banks are supposed to do, lend money to people and businesses to help the economy. It just into buying them all for luxury boats while your banking system continued to collapse.
As a result, you had the 2nd bailout, and now the QE3 coming up.
Your country will now be screwed because you got sucked in by the big boys club and didn't let a few more bank fail as they damn well should have. You will pay dearly for it. Good luck.

Dave.

[EEVblog]

The banks had to be supported to the limit that all the average Joe's on the street did not loose their life savings but the people at the top should have forfeited every last penny they had and bee put out on the street and never allowed to work in banking again.

But of course no one went to jail, or even lost their trading license, because that's not the way the game is played at the high end of town.
Just like no one got fired, impeached, demoted, or even investigated for 9/11.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/02/04/business/20090205-bailout-totals-graphic.html
America is screwed, it cannot financially survive this.
Not to mention the entire derivities market worth how many tens of trillions of dollars which is worthless.
They whole system will collapse again, I give it about 12 months.
But once again, no one will cop the blame.

Dave.

[poptones]

It started decades ago, lawmakers just keep unregulating things. And yet the same thiefs get re-elected.

http://www.campaignwatch.org/more1.htm

The problem isn't greedy bankers or corrupt politicians, it's the idiots who keep voting for them over and over.

[BravoV]

What governments all around the world, including mine, instead did, was sucking the bankers and fellow governments to please them any way they wanted, and then even thanking them for being allowed to suck them.

Your "elected" governments owned by those bankers, and they are the real government, c'mon wake up. 

America is screwed, it cannot financially survive this.
Not to mention the entire derivities market worth how many tens of trillions of dollars which is worthless.
They whole system will collapse again, I give it about 12 months.
But once again, no one will cop the blame.

Dave.

This should be easy, as usual, blame everything on China and those damn Chinese. 

[jucole]

They whole system will collapse again, I give it about 12 months.

Nah - that could never happen!,  because you can't lend what you don't have, right?    I mean if you did, it would just be criminal fraud.  ;-)

[bullet308]

That the system has serious problems is not to be denied. However whatever the systems problems, the big problem with the bailout (which I still argue was essential) was not with the bailout. The problem is with the follow-through, in that the too-big-to-fail banks have not been broken up and that the provisions of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933 that prevented a repeat of the Great Depression for over 80 years, that were a direct contributor in the greatest increase in public financial well being in all of history, and that have been systematically rolled back over the past thirty years have not been reinstated. That the Wall Street plutocrats have leveraged their political power to prevent same is self-evident.

There are indications that a change is afoot, though. The Republican party has spent the past forty years playing a game that the Democrats in the south had mastered for the previous century: convincing poor white people that they have more in common with rich white people than they do poor black people, which is demonstrably not true. They do this by leveraging a number of hotbutton social issues like immigration to manipulate them. Well, thats a neat trick, but the people that are buying it are old and dying off, and as one Republican senator recently said in a fit of candor, "The demographics race we’re losing badly. We’re not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term.”

<boom> Game Over. History is demographics and will not be denied.

[G7PSK]

Here in the UK the banks are using the "quantitative easing" money for oil speculation rather than investing in industry as they are supposed to this will come to a sticky end when the industry that they are screwing with inflated oil prices go bust as they cannot pay for fuel and materials due to the banks not lending money and speculating in oil. Not long ago a single hedge fund bought all the oil on the high seas in one day, no one and no entity should be allowed such power.