David :
I think you are right, but not as the prime reason, more like a
political " bonus."
There is a train of thought in the Democratic Party which is
anti-Space.
I think that is the driver behind BHO's decision. But while they
are at it,
may as well hit Texas in the groin for revenge.
Plenty of astronauts upset with the plan. Best "new" argument
--new to me
but surely its been around for some time--
"We have invested close to 30 years in creation of the
International
Space Station, adding everything up including advance planning.
After this year we won't even be able to get astronauts up to it
and will
need to pay the Russians $ 50 million per astronaut to get there.
Maybe 5 years from now the station will be primarily Russian
and maybe also Chinese."
The astronauts also said what I said a few days ago, what dimwit
came up
with the idea of throwing away all of the infrastructure /
experience of the manned
Space program, which would take a decade to put together again
when we need it ?
Then , unless I heard wrong, BHO is reported to have said,
"we've done the Moon,
let us be "transformational" and send astronauts to an
asteroid." WTH ?
Its like he is utterly illiterate about Space and the value of a
lunar base
for any and almost all future manned missions.
We now know where there is water on the Moon, and basically
where
there are exploitable minerals which can be used to manufacture
various
necessities for Space flight. It might take 20 years to get a
base up and
running, but under the new ( sick joke of a ) plan, the time
horizon
has been extended to a minimum of 30 years.
We are dealing with the 2010 version of flat -earthers. or
anti-Copernicans.
All the while a trillion here and a trillion there for debt
service , for bank
bailouts with no requirement for banks to reciprocate the gvt's
largesse
with decent terms for loans to homeowners, etc, and that kind of
garbage
is High Priority. ? ? ?
NASA, whatever its flaws, is an investment in the future and in
real progress
in high tech. But none of that counts, or, more accurately,
doesn't count
all that much since other stuff is FAR more important. This
makes me
almost literally sick.
GWB, for all his flaws, approximately 4, 893 of them, just to
tally
the worst ones, did, at least, have the foresight and
imagination to
launch the Constellation program to create a new generation of
heavy lift rockets and the like. Now, in the name of "do more
with less,"
forget about that, and underwrite small scale commercial
development.
OK. That is a decent enough idea, worth a spare billion or so.
But at the cost of junking the serious projects ? We have 747s
and
all successor aircraft because we had the B 47 and B 52 first.
Sure, I'm all for the new light commercial Space craft. That is
all for the good. But to actually get serious payload into orbit
?
But, hey, who needs serious payload if you hate the military and
regard Space as frivolous ? Where is Scoop Jackson when
we need him most ? I think I'm gonna puke.
Billy
==============================================
In a message dated 4/15/2010 9:02:39 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
[email protected] writes:
29th and 7th are Houston
area, of course. NASA proper is in the 22nd though I believe. It's held
by a Republican.
So NASA must be punished. Texas in general must be punished for not
voting for The One.
David
"Anyone
who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people
do is a swine."--P.
J. O’Rourke
On 4/15/2010 2:47 PM, [email protected] wrote:
Green, a
Democrat, represents the 29th Congressional District of Texas;
Culberson, a Republican, represents the 7th District.
Americans in Space: A Dream of the Past?
By U.S. Reps. GENE GREEN and JOHN CULBERSON
April 14, 2010
It was a starry summer night some 41 years ago when a small,
odd-looking vehicle landed in the Tranquilitatis Basin on the face of
the moon. Approximately 250,000 miles from Earth the Eagle had landed,
and with it the hopes and dreams of the human race were carried to new
heights.
Today the
United States manned space program lies in deep peril as our ability to
reach destinations such as the moon, Mars and beyond continues to slip
to indefinite timetables. If Congress accepts the president's budget
proposal on NASA's Constellation program  a program that enjoys
bipartisan support  Constellation will be eliminated from the
federal budget, effectively ending the era of American leadership in
space. The manned space program has preserved our leadership in space
exploration for nearly five decades. It has also sparked the
technological and scientific advancements that have kept America
competitive in the global economy. Canceling the manned space program
puts our security and prosperity at risk.
The
arguments for maintaining the Constellation program are simple. First,
it will cost at least $2.5 billion just to shut down Constellation
within NASA, and this figure does not include the unknown cost to
contractors. It is senseless to cancel a tested and proven system in
hopes that a nonexistent industry will emerge and someday achieve the
same feat of carrying humans to space. Second, the Russians are
charging us more than $50 million per seat to access low-earth orbit, a
bill that taxpayers will have to foot for our own astronauts as well as
provide crew access for our European and Japanese allies to whom we are
obligated by International Space Station partnership agreements.
Finally, with no replacement to the shuttle and the subsequent Russian
monopoly on human access to space, there will be nothing to stop the
Russians from raising our costs when it comes time for our countries to
renegotiate the rate they will charge us.
Apollo
Astronaut Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, recently
remarked, “History demonstrates that the evolution of technology
is subject to a need  a challenge, a crisis or a combination
thereof, such as Apollo, WWII, or energy independence. First comes the
mission, then comes the development of technology to accomplish the
established goals.†Without a mission and a destination, the
technology will not develop and the billions of tax dollars we have
invested in the program will die on the proverbial vine.
Constellation
is our only hope to close the current five-year gap in U.S. access to
space, and closing the gap is the key to capturing the passion, support
and enthusiasm of the next generation the same way President Kennedy's
space race captured ours. NASA's manned space program has created a
class of citizen heroes unlike any the world has known. Only in America
can children of no means grow up to be the Columbuses and the Magellans
of our time, funded not by the gold and gems of monarchs, but by a
democracy committed to the daring and unending pursuit of knowledge.
This
unique aspect of our history is now in danger of becoming a footnote.
Shutting down Constellation sends the dangerous and irresponsible
message to our children and grandchildren that education and progress
no longer matter. As members of Congress, Texans, and most importantly
fathers, we urge the president to consider the effect this decision
will have on future generations.
_______________________________________________
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