@the5thColumnist @ShadSterling @504DR @chris_hayes @mike Even though the original space race had nothing to do with science, there was a ton of technology spinoffs from the effort. And I assume there is value in maintaining an orbital space station (maybe?). Beyond that, I agree, manned spaceflight is about vanity, hubris, & ego. It's a colossal waste of resources. I'm all for robotic exploration of the solar system, planetary geoscience, navigation, & critical communications missions, however.

@elaterite @the5thColumnist @504DR @chris_hayes @mike the recent commercial manned ~spaceflight is mostly about conspicuous consumption, but a civilizational capacity for living in space can support much more. The science in freefall we can do in the ISS is a start. The ecosystem knowledge we’d need to make an orbital habitat that doesn’t need constant resupply would have applications in almost everything.

@504DR @elaterite @the5thColumnist @chris_hayes @mike there’s no meaningful time limit on learning to live in space. Not even as a race with destroying lifesupport ecosystems on Earth; if we can’t muster the political will to stop doing that, we also won’t be able to sustain lifesupport ecosystems in a pod. It’s not the amount of resources that limit us, it’s the deciding to let reckless destructive people control them

@ShadSterling @504DR @the5thColumnist @chris_hayes @mike Indeed. The money hording class is certainly our biggest problem.