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| Bullshit. |
I recently watched a video in which two American space enthusiasts once again predicted a glorious future full of moon bases and space stations, 2001 style.
They reminded me of the same energy space enthusiasts had during the Apollo launches all those decades ago, appearing on TV and eagerly conjuring up moon bases and gigantic space stations, egged on by fantastical NASA paintings. And what happened? Cancelled to save money and in part, help with military funding for a war. Sound familiar?
Likewise the current pipe dreams I doubt are going to happen. While NASA may launch a few more stupendously expensive rockets, private enterprise has yet to break out of low Earth orbit (and may never do so despite promises made by increasingly erratic Ketamine fueled billionaires). China may get a small outpost established for a time, but like pundits in the Phoney War expecting a negotiated peace rather than WW2, grognard space enthusiasts - though they may be surrounded by assorted space bling, are also in a state of denial.
The golden age of space exploration is over. We've had it. Unless a Hail Mary pass arrives to solve the world's energy, environmental and political problems, the future isn't going to be the Star Trek beloved of nerds; instead it's a long decline with interlocking crises arriving in growing strength and frequency, shrinking and then buckling the world's economies. Even the United States, though the average American seems unable to comprehend it.
It's going to be a rough future, and moon bases will be the least of anyone's priorities.
