Discussion Intrest in Space

ryan

That guy
Joined
Feb 23, 2008
Messages
1,605
Reaction score
4
Points
0
Location
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
I may of done this before but i'm not exactly sure if i have and with all the newer members rolling in.
I'm asking what makes everyone intrest in space, is their some specific that your intrested in, or do you like the entire space concept.

As a sidenote aswell what can space nuts do to get people again intrested in space. Will intrest increase when or if man starts going back to the moon or will that be a sort of been there done that sort of thing.
Will Mars spark it for people?

Ryan.
 

statickid

CatDog from Deimos
Donator
Joined
Nov 23, 2008
Messages
1,683
Reaction score
4
Points
38
I don't know why I am so interested in space. For some reason I would like nothing more than to take a one-way journey into space and live somewhere else either on a space craft or on another planet.

I am not unhappy or dissatisfied with my life in any way here; in fact, I feel very happy.

I am mesmerized by the beauty and grandeur of the Earth and appreciate it. However I would like very much to leave Earth and travel in space.

Less dramatically, I wouldn't mind being able to travel in space as well as visit home.

*********************************************

After about 2 minutes of contemplation and to answer you question, I think the main drive of it is that I somehow feel trapped or unable to see all there is to see while confined to the Earth.
 
Last edited:

Wally

Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
190
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Cluj-Napoca
The hardest question to answer when asked why loving something/someone is: Why?

I don't know why I love space. I just do, always was.
 

Rtyh-12

New member
Joined
Sep 12, 2010
Messages
918
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Kraken Mare
I think that for me it's because I got a space book when I was little. I think that's when I got addicted!:thumbup:
 

Wally

Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
190
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Cluj-Napoca
What space book?
Oriana Fallaci's If the Sun Dies had a huge impact on me, but I was loving space already when reading the book. She just channeled me to manned space exploration.
 
Last edited:

Sky Captain

New member
Joined
Jan 29, 2009
Messages
945
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Hmm... my interest in space probably started with scifi movies and tv shows.
 

Xyon

Puts the Fun in Dysfunctional
Administrator
Moderator
Orbiter Contributor
Addon Developer
Webmaster
GFX Staff
Beta Tester
Joined
Aug 9, 2009
Messages
6,922
Reaction score
789
Points
203
Location
10.0.0.1
Website
www.orbiter-radio.co.uk
Preferred Pronouns
she/her
I like space because it's very easy to become filled with delusions of our grandeur down on Earth, with thoughts like how we're the centre of the universe and very important in the grand scheme of the cosmos. Venturing out into the void, to me, has concreted our insignificance, and I think it's important to be aware of it.

I have never seen more beautiful images of our home than the ones taken from LEO and Apollo craft, nor have I yet been as captivated by a story of human achievement than the advances and developments which were made in Apollo's time to keep a human safe in a totally inhospitable environment, and such technology which continues to develop and be used today. The fact that we have a space station in orbit, a little fair haven amid the storm in the void, where human beings live comfortably in an artificial construct created in a region of existence entirely untenable for normal habitation - circling the globe at 5 miles per second, with no atmosphere outside thick enough to breathe, and the external temperature lower than any natural temperature on Earth... I think that kind of achievement is fantastic, and it's why space has always held a kind of beauty to me.
 

jedidia

shoemaker without legs
Addon Developer
Joined
Mar 19, 2008
Messages
10,842
Reaction score
2,105
Points
203
Location
between the planets
Having very little access to TV as a kid, and even less access to computer games (hey, games wheren't translated to german back then, you didn't find them in the stores, and there was no internet around to download them either. No good perspectives for a nine years old to get his hands on anything that would run on a 086), I really don't quite know where my fascination comes from... I've been dreaming of the stars as long as I can remember, and it was long before I had the chance to see much on TV. Lego probably factored a bit into the equation, I always liked the space sets most, but there was a certain interest to begin with already, or I wouldn't have liked them that much. I also got my hands on any micky mouse that had a story set in space. My mother was rather restrictive on my comic and movie consumption, and there was a dire lack of good SF-comics any way you turn it.

Going along (and indeed periodicaly interchanging places) with fantasy, I guess it's mostly because of some romantic dellusions I hold and always held about space: There be dragons there!
I always had phases where I was supremely interested in space, that would switch to an extreme interest in fantasy for a few months, back to space, back to fantasy (with an occasional stop at pirates or deep sea exploration). I guess I'm just an adventurer wanna-be...
 
Last edited:

ryan

That guy
Joined
Feb 23, 2008
Messages
1,605
Reaction score
4
Points
0
Location
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
For me personally it was the movie Apollo 13 the most dangerous thing about spaceflight enticed me somehow. And i'm still keeping an option open for when i join the army that i might even apply for flight school then so on and so on.
 

Nazban

Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2010
Messages
249
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Waterloo
For me actually it started with Star wars, then went on to other science fiction.
Aftersome time i slowly drifted to the real applications and the real stuff. Never really thought about an exact time i got interested, it just slowly happened :p
 

T.Neo

SA 2010 Soccermaniac
Addon Developer
Joined
Jun 22, 2008
Messages
6,368
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Y'know, sometimes I get a bit annoyed when people go on about our total, utter insignificance in the universe.

Our planet is certainly tiny, on scales of mass and dimension, in a visible universe that measures billions of light years and contains sextillions of stars.

But the fact is, there is no planet like this one, there is no life like there is here, and there is no history, and no culture, like ours.

That doesn't mean that those kinds of things cannot exist elsewhere- not at all. But they are things that are unique to Earth; nowhere else will you find the feather of a bird, or the dynamic history of Eurasia, or the colourful decoration-fulled consumeristic gift giving holiday that is Christmas.

Yes, there are millions of cubic light years between the Milky Way and Andromeda, but they don't contain any of that. Yes, Sirius A masses 672 000 times the Earth, but it doesn't contain any of that either.

Nevertheless, it is vital to look outside of the Earth, if we are to attempt to fully understand it; our place in the universe, makes us both physically tiny, and very special at the same time.

Why am I interested in space? Well, that is an extension of my interest in the natural world in general... indeed, the Earth itself makes up a very small part of it.

Why am I interested in spaceflight? Because it's cool, that's why. Because accelerating 7 people and a 100 ton-plus vehicle faster than a rifle bullet and then landing them back on a runway like an airplane is just awesome.

A car might have 100 kilowatts under the hood. But that is absolutely nothing, compared to the STS Orbiter's 15 200 000 kilowatts... ;)
 

DanM

Поехали!
Joined
May 23, 2010
Messages
1,131
Reaction score
1
Points
38
Location
Chicago
I've always had a general interest in space, astronomy, and spaceflight. Just, in fourth grade I got a book about Space at my school library, and my interest was greatly accelerated. Then I found orbiter, and so on. I sort of lost interest when I was in sixth grade. It all came back this summer, I think it was because I got back into orbiter because I was very very bored and had nothing to do.

It basically led me to completely rethink my life plans. I was probably gonna do something related to biology, but now I'm probably gonna major in aerospace engineering. I was going to join the USAF, but the US military is very very strict about asthma, but that's all another story.
 

Tekdino

Addon Developer
Addon Developer
Joined
Apr 23, 2008
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
0
13 years ago in school. We had a space week or something and one very excited teacher made an influence to almost everyone on the class. We were playing space related things etc. Since that I've been always having a great interest in astronomy. Especially the solar system probing and manned flights.
 

fireballs619

Occam's Taser
Donator
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
788
Reaction score
4
Points
33
I've always had a general interest in space, astronomy, and spaceflight. Just, in fourth grade I got a book about Space at my school library, and my interest was greatly accelerated. Then I found orbiter, and so on. I sort of lost interest when I was in sixth grade. It all came back this summer, I think it was because I got back into orbiter because I was very very bored and had nothing to do.

It basically led me to completely rethink my life plans. I was probably gonna do something related to biology, but now I'm probably gonna major in aerospace engineering. I was going to join the USAF, but the US military is very very strict about asthma, but that's all another story.

Dude are we like brothers? I mean, you're from chicago, was gonna do something else but then wanted to go into aerospace engineering, you have asthma, AND you got into space from reading a book.

Which brings me to the point...
I became interested in space from reading 'The Kaleidoscope' by Ray Bradbury, in which astronauts burn up in the atmosphere. The descriptions in this story stuck with me for some reason, and I've basically like space since then.

Why space flight? The way I see it, we all die, and there are very few people who are remembered more than a generation after their death. The few that are are usually explorers; Leif Ericson, Christopher Columbus, Lewis and Clark, Sir Edmund Hillary, Armstrong, Aldrin (yes, I know they aren't ALL dead). Space is the last real frontier, so helping with it's exploration in any way, however small, might earn me a place in the pantheon of those heroes. And that would be an honor :tiphat:.
 

Aeadar

Lurker Representitive
Donator
Joined
Apr 30, 2009
Messages
456
Reaction score
3
Points
18
Dating myself here but...

Watching the launch of Friendship 7 on television at age six and knowing, even then, that this was something I'd be interested in always.





:hailprobe:
 

DanM

Поехали!
Joined
May 23, 2010
Messages
1,131
Reaction score
1
Points
38
Location
Chicago
Dude are we like brothers? I mean, you're from chicago, was gonna do something else but then wanted to go into aerospace engineering, you have asthma, AND you got into space from reading a book.

Um, wow :lol:
 

Izack

Non sequitur
Addon Developer
Joined
Feb 4, 2010
Messages
6,665
Reaction score
13
Points
113
Location
The Wilderness, N.B.
T.Neo, thanks for mentioning that about insignificance and whatnot. I was getting geared up to make my own little spiel until I read that. :tiphat:
I'd also like to append that IMO it is not a matter of size=importance at all. There is no point in comparing an object to space, because space is just the place where all objects exist. Galileo taught us we couldn't do that centuries ago! It's worse than comparing apples and oranges. It's calling apples and oranges essentially the same thing because of similar mass, and then comparing both of them to the air in the classroom.

Agreed on the awesome factor, as well. They tried to get me interested in cars as a kid, but I was always baffled at people bragging about having so many hundreds of horsepower, when I read about aircraft from 70 years ago with thousands, and later, rockets with millions. There's no denying it: aerospace engineering is badass. I'd like nothing more than to be a part of it.

As for my interest in space, I've always been interested in the 'bigger picture' and how things relate to it, and well, the picture doesn't get much bigger than outer space. :lol:

P.S. Unless, of course, it's Graham's Picture. ;)
 

Ark

New member
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Messages
2,200
Reaction score
0
Points
0
They tried to get me interested in cars as a kid, but I was always baffled at people bragging about having so many hundreds of horsepower,

There's something wrong with that? Something wrong with taking pride in vehicles you put together yourself? There's nothing stupid, insignificant, or petty about making more hydraulic, chemical, mechanical, and electrical parts than any other device the average person will ever own and making them capable of propelling a 4-wheeled vehicle down a 1/4 mile of road in 10-12 seconds.

So nice of you to look down on the the mechanically inclined members of the 99.9999999999999998% of humanity that doesn't possess the mathematical skills and ample supplies of daddy's money necessary for a full education and career in the aerospace industry.
 

Izack

Non sequitur
Addon Developer
Joined
Feb 4, 2010
Messages
6,665
Reaction score
13
Points
113
Location
The Wilderness, N.B.
I didn't mean to offend, and I certainly didn't mean to look down on anybody. I don't own a rocket plane either. Hell, I don't even technically own a car.

That was a poor choice of words on my part. My only point was that looking only at the numbers, there is no comparison between the power of a car engine and a rocket.

Also, I said nothing about building the vehicle yourself. Anyone who can put together something as complex as an automobile has my respect.

But if you say "My [insert store-bought car name here] has 350HP. Just imagine how much power that is!" I won't be able to help imagining it next to a solid rocket motor test stand.

My apologies if I was offensive.
 
Top