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Mars in 18 months Well, we'd have to wait 2 years for a launch window, but I agree that the US will stop dicking around with zero-g studies when we get scared

Mars in 18 months Well, we'd have to wait 2 years for a launch window, but I agree that the US will stop dicking around with zero-g studies when we get scared that China might beat us there. NASA is probably too risk-averse with human life, and China is too risk-accepting. They once wiped out an entire peasant village in a rocket failure (and tried to cover it up). EDIT: I had to watch that video to the very end to get to the 18 month mark. Geeze.

3JPLW 14y ago
> They once wiped out an entire peasant village in a rocket failure (and tried to cover it up). Wow, I had never heard of anything about this. Wikipedia seems to be very risk averse to stating much more than the official record of 6 deaths and 57 injuries[0], and I couldn't find a good text source in my quick search. This metafilter discussion is good, though, with many links to videos and other sources[1]. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelsat_708 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelsat_708 [1]: http://www.metafilter.com/90280/The-worst-spacerelated-disaster-happened-in-Xichang-China-in-1996 http://www.metafilter.com/90280/The-worst-spacerelated-disas...