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THE SPACE WESTERN & THE SPACE NAVY...
This is a rant aimed primarily at science fiction. Pretty much, I wouldn't doubt that at least 90% of science fiction that is created usually features some type of naval attribute. And the other 10% probably has some type of western attribute. And normally a combination of the two.
Star Trek is one of two big science fiction franchises, Star Trek rivals Star Wars. Star Trek is basically a space western, hince "Space, the final frontier". And the naval attribute is having usually a Horatio Hornblower- like captain, exploring the stars and encountering different species and making new discoveries. Star Trek has since inspired most science fiction of the last 40 years, that's a given.
But, when you approach space travel and colonization in a realistic fashion. You have to realize that at the moment and probably for a while. Humanity is stranded in their home solar system and doesn't look to leave it any time soon. So I think that in the future the final frontier will be our solar system.
I highly doubt that there will ever be any Horatio Hornblower-like fellas running around the solar system. I see space without any analogies to the old navies of the last few centuries. I see space with a more western analogy, I see frontier towns having to be self-sufficent, having to fend for themselves and the nearest help is so far away that they'd need their own security.
I see ships lead by Commanders like in NASA, not Captains like in the Navy. I don't understand how today NASA's primary cache of astronauts come from the Air Force and then in your average science fiction story it is lead by a Naval Captain. How does this work out? I guess I don't understand the transition from Air Force to Navy very well. I also guess this is because I believe space isn't an ocean.
I see space dominated by rocket ships of many types. I see rocket ships from old 50s esque science fiction stories. I see passenger liners traveling across the solar system like airplanes do of today. I see tourist attractions, like on the moon an Apollo 11 memorial or on one of Jupiter's moons a monument to Galileo.
I also see the Earth, I see it as a urban slum, imagine Coruscant from Star Wars and imagine that the garbage dispoal workers went on strike for a month. I imagine Earth very gungy, dirty and just down right ugly. Maybe this is why space colonization worked out so well, people wanted to leave the crap hole we call Earth. I also imagine that the sky at day-time would look ultra ugly, imagine an dark overcast day and then at the horizon imagine a thick band of brown smog and haze. Ugly indeed.
I also see the world uniting in a organization that succeeds the United Nations. But I see certain regions of the world in terrible conditions. I see North and South America slightly advanced and rich. I see Europe as clean and advanced just a tad better than the Americas. I see Africa in far better shape, but behind in space, which may cause problems. I see Asia probably following my definition of Earth. I see the Middle East in turmoil and in choas, because I see us getting off of oil in the next century.
I see the inner solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Luna, Mars and its moons being the most heavily developed. I see the asteroid belt as a mining hub for minerals and materials. I see the outer solar system: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and their moons following the space western defintion. But all in all, I see the solar system ingrained with wealth and adventure.
I know this may seem like I'm putting the future down and rambling on idiotic prophecy. But no, I am just stating that if trends carry on into the future, it may or will turn out this way. But that is no reason that we shouldn't look up and hope for a better future for us and children to come for their grand children just maybe be the future Commanders of ships...
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But I still don't understand how we go from an Air Force to the Navy all of a sudden? I know why a Navy would probably be useful, but space travel should be based on NASA ranks and positions is all I'm saying... at NASA they usually place a Colonel (Air Force most likely) in command of a space shuttle and call him/her "Commander" is what I meant...
Well, you could place solar power stations on Mercury and you could mine for materials to send to Venus to help terraform it. Saturn, Uranus and Neptune will be our primary cache if we ever wanted fushion powered fuel industry using Helium-3, just to note...
Well, in keeping with the whole Navy cliche, I'd say the fastest way to travel the solar system would be to use the idea of Solar sails, I remember watching on TV a program that said a solar sail can take a day to travel through the entire solar system... |
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(1) Why navy instead of air force...
Primarily because space vehicles will require large crews. Air force units tend to be rather small, despite everything. A captain is effectively a monarch on his/her own vessel, and needs a rather large number of people - specialists - to keep the vessel (spaceship) "afloat". It goes along with your contention that communities need to be self-contained as much as possible. Western towns, once established, need someone to keep order, make community decisions,and a ship is very similar. Actually, Hornblower (and others of that ilk) are very much like mayors of towns, rather than sheriffs/marshalls. Commanders, btw, are more navy than air force - the size of the vessel was more often the relevant factor in determining rank, although many were called "captain". Even lieutenants were often in command of ships,and called "captain".
(2) Solar system development: Mercury's too close to the sun for much development; Venus is too hot at least for a few more millennia. Earth and Moon are the logical nodes formost things. Mars has a fair amount of possibility, especially as a base for asteroid belt mining. Jupiter's moons are a great place for jumping outwards,and hence likely to be the "shipyards" for both intersystem and extrasystem development - the methane on Jupiter is a great source of hydrogen. The farther-out planets are just a bit too far away to be truly useful (unless there's a quicker/more economical fuel source)
Earth,though, is liable to send out people to live on space stations - the gravity well is too "deep" for regular space voyages,even within the solar system, except for shuttle-like craft,although Clarke's carbon filament wire connectors to geosyncronous space cities are entirely feasible - then we go up and down in "elevators".
(3) Earth and pollution..
We're beginning to realise that we need to do more with less. Makes for more work with less energy, and that, translates (eventually - there is a path to it) to less pollution, and cleaner places, right across the board.
Good scenario painting! |
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| yes, i do... |
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you have talked a bit about this at school...
you really think its going to go down like this huh.. |
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