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Crucially, not during his term (or his life, but that's irrelevant).

by ambicapter 1y ago

leoc 1y ago
Also at the cost of a really stupendous amount of money.
- adventured 1y ago
  ~$260 billion in today's dollar for the whole Apollo program. Cut out what we don't need to figure out in the present. Maybe a $100-$150 billion cost spread over five years. Trivial sum against a $40 trillion economy. If the only thing we needed to get back to the moon was $30 billion per year in expenditures for five years, Congress would sign off on that instantly. I think the US is lacking the organization, culture, and on-a-mission mentality today, not money. I believe the money is the easiest part of the equation, the rest can't be faked or supplied at the click of a button. The US is no longer a serious nation hell-bent on accomplishing great/difficult things. Congress knows if they supply the $30 billion per year, what we'll get in the end is a broken program that won't achieve the set aims, and it'll just take 15 years at $40 billion per year instead, without a single Moon landing. They know full well how dysfunctional the US is, everybody is just acting when the cameras are on.
felipeerias 1y ago
The moon landing would have probably happened during JFK’s second term, if he hadn’t been assassinated and if the Apollo 1 tragedy hadn’t set the project back significantly.
- ambicapter 1y ago
  I don't think his assassination had anything to do with Apollo 1, so I take it it probably would've still happened even if he were alive. Similarly, I don't think his assassination set back the project (ChatGPT says it probably reinforced support for the program, if anything, fwiw). So, I imagine if he hadn't been assassinated, they probably would've landed on the moon around the same time, which would be after a possible 2nd term (unless he lost re-election and then won again).
  - ambicapter 1y ago
    Can't edit but when I said > so I take it it probably would've still happened I'm talking about the Apollo 1 fire.
Symmetry 1y ago
I wouldn't have counted on the new administration continuing to go to bat for the funding needed for Kennedy's vision without Kennedy's martyrdom.

Crucially, not during his term (or his life, but that's irrelevant).

leoc 1y ago

Also at the cost of a really stupendous amount of money.

adventured 1y ago
~$260 billion in today's dollar for the whole Apollo program. Cut out what we don't need to figure out in the present. Maybe a $100-$150 billion cost spread over five years. Trivial sum against a $40 trillion economy. If the only thing we needed to get back to the moon was $30 billion per year in expenditures for five years, Congress would sign off on that instantly. I think the US is lacking the organization, culture, and on-a-mission mentality today, not money. I believe the money is the easiest part of the equation, the rest can't be faked or supplied at the click of a button. The US is no longer a serious nation hell-bent on accomplishing great/difficult things. Congress knows if they supply the $30 billion per year, what we'll get in the end is a broken program that won't achieve the set aims, and it'll just take 15 years at $40 billion per year instead, without a single Moon landing. They know full well how dysfunctional the US is, everybody is just acting when the cameras are on.

felipeerias 1y ago

The moon landing would have probably happened during JFK’s second term, if he hadn’t been assassinated and if the Apollo 1 tragedy hadn’t set the project back significantly.

ambicapter 1y ago
I don't think his assassination had anything to do with Apollo 1, so I take it it probably would've still happened even if he were alive. Similarly, I don't think his assassination set back the project (ChatGPT says it probably reinforced support for the program, if anything, fwiw). So, I imagine if he hadn't been assassinated, they probably would've landed on the moon around the same time, which would be after a possible 2nd term (unless he lost re-election and then won again).
- ambicapter 1y ago
  Can't edit but when I said > so I take it it probably would've still happened I'm talking about the Apollo 1 fire.

Symmetry 1y ago

I wouldn't have counted on the new administration continuing to go to bat for the funding needed for Kennedy's vision without Kennedy's martyrdom.