4 ms·

At 50:00 Elon agrees that Trump's "Space Force" is a good idea.

loceng 8y ago
Trump isn't the first person to talk about having a military presence in space, that was pretty much the main reason for the budget going into NASA early on. And, well, aside from the bias Elon would have where he's developing what will likely become the most successful for-profit space business in history - which I'm sure he's aware of that bias, it definitely is a good idea to be prepared to defend against bad actors who may use space as an attack vector; safety and security is clearly a concern of Elon's especially when it comes to the potential that AI has for devastating humanity.
- almost_usual 8y ago
  >that was pretty much the main reason for the budget going into NASA early on Sputnik inspired NACA to transition to NASA out of fear. >And, well, aside from the bias Elon would have where he's developing what will likely become the most successful for-profit space business in history - which I'm sure he's aware of that bias, it definitely is a good idea to be prepared to defend against bad actors who may use space as an attack vector; safety and security is clearly a concern of Elon's especially when it comes to the potential that AI has for devastating humanity. Elon thinks it's a good idea because he likes subsidies. A "Space Invasion" doesn't make sense. A "Space Army" doesn't make sense. "Coastal Defense" doesn't make sense. ICBM missiles changed the entire meaning of war and defense.
  - loceng 8y ago
    Having the ability to quickly knockout a potential bad actor's communication satellites etc certainly makes sense. Having the ability to launch satellites into space 10x faster and a larger quantity could be an advantage, if it came to that - whether launching unknown space-to-surface weapons or for countering attack vectors a bad actor has or is launching into space. Re: Subsidies - As I said, Elon obviously has a bias, and the government isn't shy of subsidizing many industries and infrastructure. Likewise, if I or you want to use anecdotes as argument points, why not just saw war and fear doesn't make sense - so we shouldn't do anything proactively in the name of defense/protection?
- ryanmercer 8y ago
  >Trump isn't the first person to talk about having a military presence in space The U.S. even researched (and in some cases developed prototype) weapons for space, not just SDI/Star Wars stuff either. Stuff out of the Future Weapons Office, some of which can be found in the declassified "The Meanderings of a Weapon Oriented Mind When Applied in a Vacuum Such as on the Moon" like 'a spin stabilized micro gun', 'spin/fin stabilized sausage gun', 'sausage gun #2', 'directed gas weapon for close in fighting', 'spring propelled spherical projectile', 'gas cartidge gun', 'gas operated needle gun'. The Soviets even sent conventional firearms into space like the triple-barreled TP-82, 2 barrels in 28 gauge and a rifled barrel in 5.45x39mm, although this was more for survival upon re-entry in remote Russia. HOWEVER they did develop a prototype laser pistol in the 80's that used a pyrotechnic flashbulb for disabling optical sensors on spacecraft, basically let a cosmonaut out for an EVA, get within 20 meters of the sensor and fire.

Trump isn't the first person to talk about having a military presence in space, that was pretty much the main reason for the budget going into NASA early on. And, well, aside from the bias Elon would have where he's developing what will likely become the most successful for-profit space business in history - which I'm sure he's aware of that bias, it definitely is a good idea to be prepared to defend against bad actors who may use space as an attack vector; safety and security is clearly a concern of Elon's especially when it comes to the potential that AI has for devastating humanity.

almost_usual 8y ago
>that was pretty much the main reason for the budget going into NASA early on Sputnik inspired NACA to transition to NASA out of fear. >And, well, aside from the bias Elon would have where he's developing what will likely become the most successful for-profit space business in history - which I'm sure he's aware of that bias, it definitely is a good idea to be prepared to defend against bad actors who may use space as an attack vector; safety and security is clearly a concern of Elon's especially when it comes to the potential that AI has for devastating humanity. Elon thinks it's a good idea because he likes subsidies. A "Space Invasion" doesn't make sense. A "Space Army" doesn't make sense. "Coastal Defense" doesn't make sense. ICBM missiles changed the entire meaning of war and defense.
- loceng 8y ago
  Having the ability to quickly knockout a potential bad actor's communication satellites etc certainly makes sense. Having the ability to launch satellites into space 10x faster and a larger quantity could be an advantage, if it came to that - whether launching unknown space-to-surface weapons or for countering attack vectors a bad actor has or is launching into space. Re: Subsidies - As I said, Elon obviously has a bias, and the government isn't shy of subsidizing many industries and infrastructure. Likewise, if I or you want to use anecdotes as argument points, why not just saw war and fear doesn't make sense - so we shouldn't do anything proactively in the name of defense/protection?
ryanmercer 8y ago
>Trump isn't the first person to talk about having a military presence in space The U.S. even researched (and in some cases developed prototype) weapons for space, not just SDI/Star Wars stuff either. Stuff out of the Future Weapons Office, some of which can be found in the declassified "The Meanderings of a Weapon Oriented Mind When Applied in a Vacuum Such as on the Moon" like 'a spin stabilized micro gun', 'spin/fin stabilized sausage gun', 'sausage gun #2', 'directed gas weapon for close in fighting', 'spring propelled spherical projectile', 'gas cartidge gun', 'gas operated needle gun'. The Soviets even sent conventional firearms into space like the triple-barreled TP-82, 2 barrels in 28 gauge and a rifled barrel in 5.45x39mm, although this was more for survival upon re-entry in remote Russia. HOWEVER they did develop a prototype laser pistol in the 80's that used a pyrotechnic flashbulb for disabling optical sensors on spacecraft, basically let a cosmonaut out for an EVA, get within 20 meters of the sensor and fire.