--- David Masten <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Before I continue on my comments, I wish to stress
> that ERPS has no
> official position on NASA, Congress, or anything
> else resembling
> politics. All of my comments below are my personal
> opinion.
>
> On Mon, 2003-08-25 at 20:26, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> > Before leaving for its August vacation, the House
> passed an
> > appropriations bill that kills NASA's Pluto flyby
> mission.
>
> With a budget deficit so huge, thank goodness my
> great grandchildren
> aren't being robbed for this.
Also keep in mind: the main cost of the mission, and
practically all missions like this, is merely in
launching the pieces into Earth orbit. Should ERPS
succeed in its mission, missions like this will be
able to happen for much cheaper. Which has little
benefits like not having to haggle as much ("$1
million for a once-in-many-lifetimes science
opportunity? Please, this is Congress. Line item
approved. Now let's talk about something that's
actually going to make a difference in the budget."),
and being able to put more things up (blunt example:
how many more times would it cost to send a probe with
enough fuel that it needed no assist from Jupiter;
compare that to the magnitude of cost savings we hope
to achieve).
Going through NASA's standard budget appropriations
cycle has gotten us, well, the present state of the
space industry. That's one reason why some of us are
not going that way.
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