Well, in fairness... are you claiming to be the majority of readers on Slashdot? Because that would be pretty bold of you.
Certainly other people have heard of them. I've heard of them. At least one other poster seems to have heard of them. Google has heard of them. So one guy says he's never heard of them and they don't exist? How do I get that job?
To reiterate the rather crude point of the AC... we don't care what you had for lunch either. That you don't know who they are is, as a metric of their
I went to an L5 meeting when I was in high school. I was a big science geek, space nerd and Joseph Lagrange (the L in L5 - I'd taught myself how to calculate a few years before hearing of L5 society) was my hero. I took the bus across two towns to attend this meeting with a guest speaker from Caltech.
It was a major letdown in my young life. Instead of talking about things like orbital mechanics and how to make the economics work, the meeting consisted of kooks and was centered around making fun of people who didn't know the space shuttle couldn't land on the moon and a short speech from a woman who was writing a sci-fi book about sex in space. The best term that I've heard about those people is space nutters. I went because I wanted to learn and do something, but only learned that space is a cargo cult to many.
To the AC above: If the majority of readers haven't heard about them either, then "who gives a fuck about L5?" Seriously, if this L5 society is worth at least even a little, they should be known as much as Space X, given that they've existed for so long.
If you haven't heard of them, I'd say, well, so what? There are probably tens of millions of things you haven't heard of, some important, some not. That's a statement about you.
I never knew the reason they were considered kooks, but my dad (G.K. O'Neill) did indeed dislike the L5 society, for what it's worth (probably nothing, to \.ers). Wasn't crazy about the Planetary Society either, not surprisingly. "Is the surface of a planet really the right place for an expanding technological civilization?" Obviously his answer was 'no.'
I really hope to see space-based solar power become useful, if the technology pans out. It was a big part of his dreams for colonization, and we need a bet
I was born three years earlier than this project and that's the first time I ever hear about it.
The L5 Society [wikipedia.org] is well known among space colonization kooks (SCKs). As a SCK, I first learned about the L5 Society in the 1980s. They do good work, advocating practical projects. Putting O'Neill Cylinders [wikipedia.org] at the Lagrangian points is a much more sensible goal than trying to put a human colony on Mars.
L1 and L2 are not stable. A slight perturbation can push you out of orbit, and energy must be continuously expended to stay in position. L4 and L5 are stable. After a slight perturbation, a space station would settle back into the original orbit.
They both have a lower delta-v budget than L5.
Sure, but a bit extra delta-v is no big deal once you are "in space". The hard part is getting out of the atmosphere and into orbit. You need expensive chemical rockets for that. But once in orbit, you can take your time, and use cheap ion thrusters to move to your final position.
L5? (Score:2)
I was born three years earlier than this project and that's the first time I ever hear about it.
Re: (Score:-1)
Who gives a fuck if you've heard of it or not?
Re: (Score:2)
To the AC above: If the majority of readers haven't heard about them either, then "who gives a fuck about L5?"
Seriously, if this L5 society is worth at least even a little, they should be known as much as Space X, given that they've existed for so long.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, in fairness ... are you claiming to be the majority of readers on Slashdot? Because that would be pretty bold of you.
Certainly other people have heard of them. I've heard of them. At least one other poster seems to have heard of them. Google has heard of them. So one guy says he's never heard of them and they don't exist? How do I get that job?
To reiterate the rather crude point of the AC ... we don't care what you had for lunch either. That you don't know who they are is, as a metric of their
Re: (Score:2)
I said if the majority of readers haven't heard about them either...
Slashdot is running so many (paid) stories on nobodies these days, the real stories get buried under a metric ton of crap.
Re:L5? (Score:4, Informative)
It was a major letdown in my young life. Instead of talking about things like orbital mechanics and how to make the economics work, the meeting consisted of kooks and was centered around making fun of people who didn't know the space shuttle couldn't land on the moon and a short speech from a woman who was writing a sci-fi book about sex in space. The best term that I've heard about those people is space nutters. I went because I wanted to learn and do something, but only learned that space is a cargo cult to many.
L5 is now the NSS [Re:L5?] (Score:2)
To the AC above: If the majority of readers haven't heard about them either, then "who gives a fuck about L5?" Seriously, if this L5 society is worth at least even a little, they should be known as much as Space X, given that they've existed for so long.
The L5 society merged with the National Space Institute [space.com] back in 1987 to form the National Space Society [nss.org] ("NSS") NSS is still around.
If you haven't heard of them, I'd say, well, so what? There are probably tens of millions of things you haven't heard of, some important, some not. That's a statement about you.
History of the L5 society here: http://www.nss.org/settlement/... [nss.org]
Re:L5 Society (Score:0)
I never knew the reason they were considered kooks, but my dad (G.K. O'Neill) did indeed dislike the L5 society, for what it's worth (probably nothing, to \.ers). Wasn't crazy about the Planetary Society either, not surprisingly. "Is the surface of a planet really the right place for an expanding technological civilization?" Obviously his answer was 'no.'
I really hope to see space-based solar power become useful, if the technology pans out. It was a big part of his dreams for colonization, and we need a bet
Re:L5? (Score:4, Informative)
I was born three years earlier than this project and that's the first time I ever hear about it.
The L5 Society [wikipedia.org] is well known among space colonization kooks (SCKs). As a SCK, I first learned about the L5 Society in the 1980s. They do good work, advocating practical projects. Putting O'Neill Cylinders [wikipedia.org] at the Lagrangian points is a much more sensible goal than trying to put a human colony on Mars.
Re: (Score:2)
Why not L1 or L2? They both have a lower delta-v budget than L5. Is there some particular advantage to L5 that makes it a better choice?
Re: L5? (Score:0)
L4 and L5 are stable orbits. L1-3 are unstable, and it's easy to disturb the orbit of something parked there.
Re:L5? (Score:4, Informative)
Why not L1 or L2?
L1 and L2 are not stable. A slight perturbation can push you out of orbit, and energy must be continuously expended to stay in position. L4 and L5 are stable. After a slight perturbation, a space station would settle back into the original orbit.
They both have a lower delta-v budget than L5.
Sure, but a bit extra delta-v is no big deal once you are "in space". The hard part is getting out of the atmosphere and into orbit. You need expensive chemical rockets for that. But once in orbit, you can take your time, and use cheap ion thrusters to move to your final position.
Re: (Score:0)
It's because all it is is a mailing list for Space Nutters to share prayers and religious fervor with fellow congregationists.