Semi-OT: We will go to Stars.

[geoschmo]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
If your manufacturing plant breaks down, you break out the wrenches and hammers and dig into your pile of spare parts. Then you make replacements for the spare parts and everything is ok again.

If you were talking about a trip to Jupiter, or even Pluto I can agree. But there is a point of diminishing returns here somewhere where you simply can't take enough stuff to cover all the likely things that will need repairing and replacing. And a finite length of time that these machines we build will be repairable. Your spare parts won't Last indefinetly, even just sitting on the shelf. Lot's of complex things with many moving parts required. And we aren't talking just years here, but centuries. Not just the moving parts either. Computers and other electronics will constantly need replacing.

Unless we come up with some sort of replicator technology like Star Trek maybe. Or I suppose if we had nano-bots scurrying over the entire ship basically rebuilding it from the atom up as we go the ship could Last indefinetly.

[dogscoff]

Lot's of complex things with many moving parts required. And we aren't talking just years here, but centuries. Not just the moving parts either. Computers and other electronics will constantly need replacing.

Nah, it could be done. Just because your average modern family car is carefully designed to fall apart 2 days after the warranty runs out doesnn't mean we are incapable of building things that Last longer.

I remember seeing a program about the railways in India- they had this enormous steam engine running. It had been in service for over a hundred years...

Now obviously a spaceship is more complicated than a steam engine, but with proper, solid, simple-as-possible design and manufacture, a healthy supply of spares and engineering talent I'm sure we could (eventually) build a spaceship capable of a century's travel.