What has the space station achieved?

[RSS News]

Ten years have passed since the International Space Station was put into orbit? Has it been value for money?

(Feed provided by BBC News | Have your Say (http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/talking_point/default.stm))

[Revy]

Well humanity should go out into space anyway. It's good that it's international. This should hopefully set up a precedent toward cooperation in space and an international space program. Of course, right now it looks like we're on the onset of World War III so that's not gonna work out.:(

[PostAnarchy]

Well humanity should go out into space anyway. It's good that it's international. This should hopelessly set up a precedent toward cooperation in space and an international space program. Of course, right now it looks like we're on the onset of World War III so that's not gonna work out.:(

Agreed

[zimmerwald1915]

Well humanity should go out into space anyway. It's good that it's international. This should hopelessly set up a precedent toward cooperation in space and an international space program. Of course, right now it looks like we're on the onset of World War III so that's not gonna work out.:(
It looks nothing like we're on the onset of world war three. The working class hasn't [nearly] universally fallen in line behind the bourgeoisie in its march to war, and as such, the bourgeoisie hasn't been able to construct sound imperialist blocs around momentarily shared imperial interests. We could and do easily have multiple simultaneous bilateral wars, but a coherant worldwide imperialist conflict isn't in the cards at the moment.

[Q]

Has it been worth its money? Who is to say? Maybe inventions made in the ISS a few years ago will benefit all of humanity within the decade. We have much to thank from space exploration, from cell phones to medicines.

I know for one that the few hundred billion dollars that have been spent in the ISS are much more worth it than the 3 trillion dollar Iraq war or the trillions dollars of bail out of this casino capitalism.

[Revy]

It looks nothing like we're on the onset of world war three. The working class hasn't [nearly] universally fallen in line behind the bourgeoisie in its march to war, and as such, the bourgeoisie hasn't been able to construct sound imperialist blocs around momentarily shared imperial interests. We could and do easily have multiple simultaneous bilateral wars, but a coherant worldwide imperialist conflict isn't in the cards at the moment.

By the way, I meant hopefully not hopelessly, damn typos.

I wasn't saying at this moment but in the near future. In Biden's acceptance speech as VP nominee at the Democratic National Convention, he explicitly named the emergence of Russia, China and India as superpowers as something that the new administration would fight, directly echoing the same kind of rhetoric from McCain (Obama has done this on numerous occasions as well).

Russia, China, and India are also countries with space programs. India recently launched a lunar mission.

[mikelepore]

The main thing the ISS does that can't be done in a sealed "biosphere" on earth is determining the health effects of living without gravity, which they want to know before beginning interplanetary travel.

[zimmerwald1915]

By the way, I meant hopefully not hopelessly, damn typos.
Happens to everyone, no worries.


I wasn't saying at this moment but in the near future. In Biden's acceptance speech as VP nominee at the Democratic National Convention, he explicitly named the emergence of Russia, China and India as superpowers as something that the new administration would fight, directly echoing the same kind of rhetoric from McCain (Obama has done this on numerous occasions as well).
It doesn't really matter who Biden, or anybody else, identifies as a major imperialist rival to the United States. A world imperialist war presupposes a historic defeat of the world working class to such an extent that it is prepared to follow the bourgeoisie into battle en masse, nationalist slogans on its lips. It presupposes that the bourgeoisie is prepared for imperialist war. The bourgeoisie objectively needs imperialist war at all times. That doesn't mean that the subjective conditions (working class subservience, alignment of co-interested imperialist states, concerted planning, buildup, and other preparation) have been prepared by it at all times. Until these subjective conditions have been fulfilled, not even the most bellicose bourgeois will be able to bring about a world imperialist war by sheer willpower.


Russia, China, and India are also countries with space programs. India recently launched a lunar mission.
Good for them. It doesn't fulfill any of the subjective conditions for a world imperialist war.

[PostAnarchy]

The main thing the ISS does that can't be done in a sealed "biosphere" on earth is determining the health effects of living without gravity, which they want to know before beginning interplanetary travel.

good point. :)