Do we have the Tech to send a Probe to Alpha Centauri?

[SeerSGB]

jeff lebowski said:
Yeah, course corrections from Earth wouldn't be practical.

It would make more sense to invent AI for the probe so it would make decisions when it came across problems or the unexpected.

Yeah, cause as Star Trek and sci-fi in general has shown us, interstellar probes and crafts with AI never come back to bite humanity in the ass


I'd say if we find a Earth-Type world, or close to Earth type, confirmed in the Centauri system, we'd see scientist pissing themselves to come up with a get a ship out there lickity-split. Wouldn't surprise me if a lot of new technology suddenly popped up practically overnight.

 

[Brent]

I know that technology is being held back on us, but I don't think they are 20 or 50 years more advanced, maybe like 5-10 at the most.

 

[TerriO]

Does anyone have any actual proof to put forth that tech is being held back on us, or are we just talking in the realms of what some might call "conspiracy theories"?

 

[Brent]

I've read (and I have no links right now) that tech is held back for economic reasons. The idea being that if we were to have the absolute latest tech at all times it would damage the encomomy somehow, IIRC.

There are also probably political reasons involved, but mostly it is about the big companies leaking stuff out at their own pace so that they can squeeze every bit of money out of us. If they flooded the market with new stuff they wouldn't be able to control our pocket books.

 

[SeerSGB]

Brent said:
I know that technology is being held back on us, but I don't think they are 20 or 50 years more advanced, maybe like 5-10 at the most.

Yeah, no one's got a FTL drive hidden in a storehouse in Nevada. Put there are probably refinements in existing tech or even new tech that hasn't been put in the pipeline for whatever reason, be it political or practicality, or even just cost effectiveness and reliability.

And even without new or improved tech in play, a Earth-type world would be too tempting not to take a crack at. Even if it seemed crazy.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

Without reading through the thread, I'd say our fastest probes would be way too slow to do this in a realistic manner.

 

[-Brett-]

We probably have the tech to send something there. Problem is it would take decades, or even centuries and there's probably no way to get it, or even a readable signal sent by it, back to Earth.

Doing it would cost trillions and we'd learn nothing, so why bother?

 

[Dayton3]

There is a big difference between having the technology and being able to use that technology to launch an actual mission.

We've had the technology to go to Mars and back since 1973 but we have't done it yet.

 

[Brent]

^ money holds us back

you are exactly right, we have the technology to be living in colonies on the moon and having Mars manned missions, but we don't have the monies to do it cost effectively, if money were no object we'd be so much more advanced than we are now

 

[Lindley]

broberfett said:The private program has the good stuff and is probably 50 years advanced beyond what we see(70s garbage).

Yeah, the secret program has massive battle-cruisers with alien hyperdrives that make regular jaunts to the Pegasus galaxy.

 

[Tim]

broberfett said:
Here is just one story about the space bomber. This is public knowledge. We don't see the secret stuff.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3077821/

All this 6-year-old article shows is that the Pentagon has been contemplating some sort of space-based bomber since about 1997 or so. I fail to see how this buttresses your argument that there is a secretive program with decades-advanced technology.

 

[Christopher]

broberfett said:
It goes to the question of whether our space program is using sub standard garbage while better things are concealed from us. If we have better tech than 1970s shuttles then getting anywhere in space would be a little different.

That still has babkes to do with the question of sending a probe to Alpha Centauri. It's apples and oranges. The kind of tech that would be involved in piloted Earth-orbital craft for military applications is totally different from the tech involved in sending an unmanned probe or probes across a distance a hundred billion times greater. So nothing you've said has been remotely relevant to this topic. If you wanted to have a discussion of secret orbital tech, you should've started a separate thread rather than hijacking this one.

 

[Professor Moriarty]

Brent said:
I've read (and I have no links right now)...

Whoops, you lost me. Come back when you have some hard evidence.

 

[TerriO]

Brent said:
I've read (and I have no links right now) that tech is held back for economic reasons. The idea being that if we were to have the absolute latest tech at all times it would damage the encomomy somehow, IIRC.

There are also probably political reasons involved, but mostly it is about the big companies leaking stuff out at their own pace so that they can squeeze every bit of money out of us. If they flooded the market with new stuff they wouldn't be able to control our pocket books.

You do realize that sounds like something straight out of Men in Black, right?

 

[Christopher]

Does anyone want to talk about Alpha Centauri? It's a beautiful place, you oughtta see it...

 

[FordSVT]

TerriOneirodynia said:
Does anyone have any actual proof to put forth that tech is being held back on us, or are we just talking in the realms of what some might call "conspiracy theories"?

Well, to a certain degree, it's a 100% certainty. There are a number of black projects going on at any time that feature highly experimental, top secret technology you won't find in Radio Shack or even in a peer-reviewed paper.

I'm not saying we've got UFOs and fusion drives and faster than light capability that's being hidden, but the US government and it's contractors do have a certain level of technology ahead of what's publicly known. I'd agree with the person who said maybe a 5-10 year advantage in some areas. But not all, there's plenty of cutting edge technology being developed in the public forum.

 

[Noname Given]

And what would the probe tell us? Assuming we could accelerate it to 1/3 C; who would it break speed down to something that could be useful once it arrives in the 'neighborhood. Also; given it takes 8.6 years to do a round of commnication, how could/would we program it to find planets or other objects of interest.

Sorry, but shooting a probe to Alpha Centauri just to say "we did it" isn't a very good reason. Unless we could find a way to get a probe there in a reasonable time (10 - 20 years); and then be able to try and find out about the Alpha Centauri star system once it arrives (meaning it would need some amazing AI guidence capability); it just doesn't seem a very useful scientific endeavour.

 

[Brent]

FordSVT said:

TerriOneirodynia said:
Does anyone have any actual proof to put forth that tech is being held back on us, or are we just talking in the realms of what some might call "conspiracy theories"?

Well, to a certain degree, it's a 100% certainty. There are a number of black projects going on at any time that feature highly experimental, top secret technology you won't find in Radio Shack or even in a peer-reviewed paper.

I'm not saying we've got UFOs and fusion drives and faster than light capability that's being hidden, but the US government and it's contractors do have a certain level of technology ahead of what's publicly known. I'd agree with the person who said maybe a 5-10 year advantage in some areas. But not all, there's plenty of cutting edge technology being developed in the public forum.

Thank you, that's part of what I meant as well.

 

[Zachary Smith]

Alpha Centauri this. Alpha Centarui THAT!. I'm weary to th gills of hearing that name. The back of my hand to that loathsome, despicable cinder in space. If I never hear of it again, it will be MUCH too soon!

Give me the verdant green hills of Mother EARTH. SWEET mother Earth . . . Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home . . .

 

[Trekker4747]

Zachary Smith said:
Alpha Centauri this. Alpha Centarui THAT!. I'm weary to th gills of hearing that name. The back of my hand to that loathsome, despicable cinder in space. If I never hear of it again, it will be MUCH too soon!

Give me the verdant green hills of Mother EARTH. SWEET mother Earth . . . Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home . . .

Trekker, gets it.

Anyway.

Sure! We have the tech. We've had the tech for the better part of the last 60 years. You're only talking about an object that can move through space and has the ability to maintain power somehow for the trip.

The problem is Alpha Centauri is FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR... FAR away.

Our fastest probes have been in space for three decades and have JUST NOW left our own solar system which isn't even a single light year across (well it is beyond the Oort Cloud.)

So, sure we can get a probe there but it'll take lifetimes to get there and once it's there communication between it has nearly a 4-year gap.