NASA Funds Sci-Fi Technology

Michael Huang writes "Wired News profiles the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC), the $4 million-a-year agency most famous for Bradley Edwards' study of the space elevator. Lesser known studies include weather control, shape-shifting space suits and antimatter-powered probes to Alpha Centauri. Remember, 'if it's not risky, it's not going to get funded'."

Sounds familiar

[Carnildo]

Gee. Sounds like Heinlein's "Long Range Foundation".

I hope they keep their funding...

[James A. O. Joyce]

When I skimmed the article summary I was going to write a comment complaining th at NASA should be investing in "proven technologeis". After all, it's the "proven technologeis" that help us about our daily lifes and help us fulfilll ourselves: space elevators don't enter into it, right? Besides, NASA needs to bring in some green and they can only do that by making proprietry software and crafts.

But then I realised something important; no matter how important it is for NASA to make money, we still have to spend money to make money. Even if spending money on space lifts causes taxes to get nothced up by a few dollars, it will all be worth it in a few decades because we will all benefit from the advanced cabling tech. Besides, every dollar that's spent on this is another dolll ar that isn't spent on military applications or other less savoury things [slashdot.org].

Still, judging by their website [usra.edu], I'm a little suspicious of what they're up to! ;-) I guess their just busy working on something cool like transforming space suits, heh. Keep up the good articals, simoniger. (The shape-shifting space suits are almost certainly more useful than the shape-shifting trainers I saw linkked on Fark, anyway.)

Re:I hope they keep their funding...

[theM_xl]

Aye, if everyone only invests in "proven techonologies" we can forget about progress... Sure, we'll probably refine things, but some new ones would be nice. We can't rely on the guys in basements to do everything... Somebody has to do the hard science that at least on the surface offers little. If the NASA is the one to do it, more power -and funding- to them.

Space Elevator is not sci-fi

[Nerd With Nalgene]

My dad has worked with Brad Edwards on the Space Elevator extensively, and I can tell you from experience that it is not wacky science fiction. It is a six billion dollar investment that isn't likely to appear anytime soon. However, it is almost certain to happen within the next thirty to forty years. While it is nice that the government can handle that kind of long-range vision occasionally, if they are the only ones providing investment into technologies like this one then they will end up controlling those technologies. What would really be nice is if the private sector could see into the future too and fund some of this kind of stuff without NASA's help.

Science fiction inevitably becomes fact...

[Humorously_Inept]

It's too bad that a defenseless program like this is just the sort that would be hacked apart if some hackney news agency decided to do an expose on the $4m it gets. I'm sure John Stossel could paint horns on it.

Even outlandish ideas deserve study. This isn't "duh" stuff like the speed at which ketchup comes out of the bottle, etc. I think it's important to keep an eye out on the horizon and if a couple bucks is enough motivation, then go for it!

Corny as it may be?

[Killjoy_NL]

I'd like to see more research into replicator technology (maybe we will get there after enough nano-research?)
If we get replicators, we can solve a lot of problems at once:

- Food, nobody would have to grow hungry again
- Money, nobody would need it ever again
- Fuel, no more dependancies on oil
- Nuclear waste/pollution, easy to clean that up now
- Living forever, refreshing the building blocks of our bodies
- etc.

The only problem I can see here (and I'm sure there are more) is nano-warfare. As in "Let's make a nanobot that can kill all people with a certain DNA profile", that's the only thing I'm afraid of.

I think it will take a long time before we finally have that technology, but I'm afraid I won't live to see that (and I'm still hoping to have about 70 years ahead of me to live to the ripe old age of 95)

Hurricane shifters......

[j3ll0]

The one thing that I like about the idea for shifting the hurricane is that when there wasn't a hurricane to be shifted, you could redirect all that energy onto a bank of photovoltaic cells.

Of course...the one thing I don't like about the idea is that us humans don't have a whole lot of success in anticipating the consequences of fucking around with nature :)

Re:I hope they keep their funding...

[Nerd With Nalgene]

Actually, that's more than a little optimistic. Theoretically, having a single space elevator might drop the price for lifting material to geosync to under a thousand dollars a kilogram. That's still a big improvement over tens of thousands, but it doesn't mean you'll be sending up your kids' science projects anytime soon.

Robert A Heinlein

[LittleLebowskiUrbanA]

Reminds me of this novel [fantasticfiction.co.uk] where there's an organzation that won't finance something unless it's crazy and has no chance of succeeding. I believe its motto was Bread cast upon water multplies sevenfold. In the novel the organization finances a novel way of communicating between Earth and starships.

NIAC

[dmouw25]

I recently attended one of their conferences as a one of the student presenters. This is not a waste of money. Their grants come in two phases with the first one about $60,000 and the second phase much more. The amount they give is miniscule compared to potential rewards. As far as the space elevator, before I went to the conference I thought it was a joke as well, but it is a very viable concept. In response to the guy who made the comment about protecting it from planes, this will be constructed in the ocean and it would be very easy for a year round no fly zone. Also, if I remember correctly, the location was choosen because this area is storm free year round, but I am not sure on this point.

Re:Space Elevator is not sci-fi

[demachina]

Lets see, the U.S. spends six billion dollars in less than a month on the circus in Iraq which isn't producing any useful result. The U.S. has spent 6 or 7 times this on the F-22 and its still barely in limited production. Estimates very but the F-22 will run $200-$300 million a pop. Kind of shows you how screwed up our priorities are.

I really doubt the major powers will let a private company own a space elevator. It will so dramatically alter the balance of power I wager the U.S., E.U., Russia, China, Japan and India in particular will vie for control of it as soon as the technology arrives to make it look viable. It will be interesting to see if it becomes the object of a new space race which will be the BEST way to insure that it actually gets built. You have to wonder if the world will pull together and build one or will fight like cats and dogs and we end up with 3 or 4.

Don't recall if it has to be based at the equator. If it does when it becomes viable it will be interesting to see the major powers vie for control of the best spots for the base on the equator.