Spacecraft and Margot's Holocaust

I will be off visiting "Campustown" for the week-end, so expect no posts. I know that this is positively crushing news, but personal obligations come first.
Any-way, the first order of business to-day is not related to the usual Orwellian or Apocalyptic content of this blog. Instead, it's actually an interesting bit of news regarding the space programme.
NASA has put forth specifications for the shuttle replacement, known as the Crew Exploration Vehicle. It's designed to be little more than a space-taxi, which will ferry six crewmen into orbit. This will be part of a modular system designed to fulfill the President's plan for manned space exploration of the moon and Mars.
Boeing's proposal was submitted first. This is extremely modular, and (as the kids say) very "retro". Images from the excellent Projectconstellation.us site.
Here's their Crew Module:



Being a modular design, parts can be put together to form a platform capable of greater mission. Here's the crew module coupled with a trans-lunar insertion stage for a moon mission slated in the 2015 time frame:



And here's the design for the Mars Mission, with (moving from top to bottom) two resource modules, the crew command module, systems module (cooling, power &c.), inflatable habitation module, fuel tanks, and motor.

There are other configurations envisioned for launch and space stations (in lunar orbit!). Take a gander at the aforementioned Projectconstellation.us site to see them all.
The other proposal is Lockheed-Martin's. It's pretty similar to the military's 1960s-era X-20 Dyna-Soar. It's a small, multipurpose lifting body, not quite like the capsule concept of Boeing's. Here's an image from the fine Popular Mechanics article.




I am in favour of a combination of both. I don't like the idea of a return to capsules, as it obviates the need for space infrastructure. One-shot missions might be neat and they might accomplish goals quickly and cheaply, but it doesn't build an infrastructure in space for continued exploration.
The Lockheed concept would make a fine shuttle vehicle to and from future space stations. The modular Boeing concept would work well for the various missions that man is bound to try.
One thing I would like to see studied more is nuclear propulsion. There's been too much paranoia about it, and meaningful debate has been stifled. The fact is, spacecraft are an ideal medium for nuclear power, especially on long-duration missions. It also eliminates the need for an oxidiser, because the heat of the fission process is sufficient for combustion needs. More stable fuels might be used , since combustion is not essential with nuclear power. Lithium is easier to store and is safer than hydrogen, but is only marginally less effective as a propellant in a nuclear craft.
Another great development I might have covered before but will drag up again is the recent discovery that Hydrogen Sulfide gas induces a state of hibernation in mammals that normally don't. This would be of tremendous import on extreme duration missions, because food, air, and other supplies could be dispensed with for the journey to and from the target.
This opens up the possibility of extreme-range nuclear-powered missions guided by certain hyper-intelligent yet malicious computers. Score!
And, if my regular postings didn't provide reason enough for humanity to leave Earth, this might help. Vice-President of the European Commission Margot Wallstrom, who is my least favourite Swede, is continuing to exemplify the clumsy progression of the modern totalitarian state. In order to counter accusations of the EU's aloof nature, Margot didn't set about reforming the system, but instead set up her wondrous blog, setting new records for trite posting that are rarely exceeded outside of old-fashioned E/N sites.
Anyway, Margot had a major faux pas recently when she declared that, if the EU constitution was not approved, Europe would risk a new holocaust. She also had the good taste to say this in an old Jewish Ghetto to a crowd full of survivors on V-E day.
She claimed that "nationalism" was the cause of World War II, and that only a "pooling of national sovereignty" could stop it from happening again. Of course, Fascism was a multi-national ideology that embraced nationalism as a matter of course, but that doesn't matter to Margot, who has the tough job of selling the hard-to-swallow EU constitution. As one British MP pointed out, this was a "monstrous re-writing of history". Indeed. The EU has been big on this as a of late. Recently, Margot and her fellow commissioners released a statement that claimed the best way to honour the fallen of World War II was to vote "Yes!" on the new EU Constitution. The EU Parliament has also called for a single, authoritative interpretation of history, moderated (of course) by themselves.
Anyone who has a plan for humanity that involves most everyone else sacrificing things that might be dear to them must convince everyone else that any alternative is worse. There are few worse scenarios than the Second World War. This war killed off a significant percentage of the world's population and profoundly changed the world. If you want an ultimate scare tactic, there are few that are more effective than a sequel to World War II. Plus, it allows the intrepid few to denigrate their opposition by comparing them to Nazis. As we've all learned from internet message boards, comparisons with Nazis are the most effective forms of argumentation.
Going to lose your business under the new EU constitution? Not particularly enthused about the harmonisation of your taxes with places like Sweden and France? Well, you've got to suck it up, because if you don't, Hitler will pop his head out of the earth and start rampaging through Europe again! It's either-or, there is no in between. The slightest defence of national sovereignty is actually crypto-fascism. The Euro-Sceptics are just waiting for a chance to dust off their armbands. Vote for us, or else!
We need to start expanding off of this planet before the stupidity of people like Margot Wallstrom makes our lives so miserable that they aren't worth living. Mars promises a good start, as to the many moons of Saturn (many of them are covered in ice). It'd be nice to get away from this rat race, and perhaps the enormity of the project will induce some humility to our shameless human race.