[RickJ]

Obama says "we've been there" in his declination to support further Moon missions...

Yet he says he's eager to support trying to land someone on an asteroid.

I'm not any smarter than Barak Hussein is, but dang ... doesn't he have any decent advisors?

... or just does he just ignore them? :(

[smoothy]

BoBo has watched far too many "Star Trek" episodes.

The Warp drive isn't due to be invented any time soon, and that's the only POSSIBLE way we could ever do what he claims we will do after firing all the engineers that would be needed for such a major undertaking.

We all know his advisors are liars and tax cheats... we can expand that to dumb taxcheating liars.

Perhaps he thinks his homeboys in the Chicago projects will dream up a solution during a crack induced stupor.


They do know Star Trek is NOT on the science channel... its science fiction... don't they?

[tomder55]

There seems to be genuine disagreement between those who want to go back to the moon as an intermediate step towards going to Mars ;and those who think we can bypass the moon on the way.

I'm of the opinion that the development of the heavy lift booster should continue ,and that a colony should be established by the lunar poles .

Water has been found there and that can be used to create hydrogen fuel for further exploration in the solar system .
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/1...asa/index.html

The truth is that he would like to get rid of NASA ;and I think he would've except for the fact that his Democrat delegation in Congress reminded him that Johnson cleverly spread NASA around as the ultimate pork ,and many districts have a stake in the perpetuation of the agency .

But the President really doesn't have a vision of the future in space ,so he had some cubicle dwelling flunkies draw up his list of goals .

His vision for ISS that the US primarily built ? Well we'll given them a 1960s capsule to dock there in case they need a quick exit ;but he won't extend the Shuttle missions until the next generation of low earth capable boosters are developed . In the meantime we will pay $55.8 million to the Ruskies per astronaut to hitch a ride on a soyuz fire cracker .

He then asked private companies to develop a future launcher I'm OK with that... it is already being done by Elon Musk of Space X and Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson .But in the meantime it seems silly that we shouldn't continue the
shuttle missions until such a time that the next generation is ready to fly. The problems with the heat tiles appear to have been solved

Space exploration beyond the already developed still needs to be pursued .
Nasa has done wonderful things with robotics ,but except the Hubble ,it has not really done much to inspire the imaginations of children to pursue a careet in physics and the sciences . I don't think landing on an asteroid qualifies as a generation inspiring event.

Landing on an asteroid?. sounds like Zero has been watching too many Bruce Willis movies .

[Catsmine]

Somebody tell JBeaucaire to get a job with Virgin Galactic, quick.

It may actually be a good idea to put space into private hands. We might be able to count on something lasting past November then.

[cdad]

Warp drive has already been invented its just in baby shoes at this time.

As far as NASA's redirection he is missing the boat completely. By undertaking moon missions and the possible settlement of the moon is how you can get to the asteriods and back. NASA already had plans and paperwork in place to harvest sunlight and beam it back here for "nonpoluting" energy. Also it will take a NASA to jump start everything before private enterprise can be involved. There is too much risk otherwise. Its just plain ignorance to turn a blind eye like that on a successful program and a dark day for not only the U.S. but the planet.

[smoothy]

I've spent a LOT of time... at Goddard Flight Center. I know a few people there quite well. And yeah... I know where the center dealling with the Hubbel is at and have been in it numerous times over the years.

Nasa won't get over the "Brain Drain" Obama will impose on them.

You can't retask burger Flippers and Parking garage attendants to do what NASA needs.

And Chicago project dwelling drug dealers and welfare recipients certainly aren't a more worthy recipient of tax dollars.

Snoop Dogg isn't going to create a Shuttle replacement... as much as he might envision flying in one during a stoner hallucination.

[paraclete]

BO has turned out to be smarter than the average bear, he has broken the government monopoly on space. The move to get space into private hands has excellent potential and therefore massive investment might be premature but it is a good recover measure. Branson has already shown there is the will in private enterprise to be part of the initiative. BO knows the US can't afford space for the next 10 years but setting the goal on Mars he knows that investment in R&D will continue because he has dared to say what the average person is thinking "we have been there before" the moon just doesn't capture the imagination in the way Mars does. A little later it will be convenient to discover how an intermediate base might be useful

It is swred politics to cut the program that won't get political support anyway

[smoothy]

Far more likely its going to kill it altogether. Nothing shrewd in stupidity... and I know far more about the Space program than he is capable of grasping. And no, NASA isn't chasing after me either. Nobodys even seen if he's taken a physics class much less passed it. All his records are still national secrets for some reason.

Just not enough private money LEFT for private investment after the big tax hikes hit next year.

Assuming people even get back to work that soon, which is also highly unlikely with the massive tax hikes draining corporate resources that might have gone to new hires or expansion.

[tomder55]

So far Branson is close to getting suborbital ;about as far as Alan Shepard got... and Branson's enterprise is not exactly on solid financial footing .

I am in favor of the privatization of some of the stuff NASA does.I would like to see cargo and passengers to ISS travel on private vehicles ;and I think space tourism is a fine idea. Hope to go one of these days .

But space exploration is for the grownups .

[paraclete]

Far more likely its going to kill it alltogether. Nothing shrewd in stupidity....and I know far more about the Space program than he is capible of grasping. And no, NASA isn't chasing after me either. Nobodys even seen if he's taken a physics class much less passed it. All his records are still national secrets for some reason.

Just not enough private money LEFT for private investment after the big tax hikes hit next year.

Assuming people even get back to work that soon, which is also highly unlikely with the massive tax hikes draining corporate resources that might have gone to new hires or expansion.

I think you have just agreed with me that the US can't afford space at the moment, If there is no private money, there certainly isn't any public money. Sometimes it is politically expedient to state the obvious, it does't fit the yankee gung ho attitude, and, "yes we can" went out the window. NASA would have been better off getting the aircraft industry to adapt some of their bigger craft to a new vehicle it would have demonstrated more imagination than a capsule on top of a rocket

[smoothy]

I think you have just agreed with me that the US can't afford space at the moment, If there is no private money, there certainly isn't any public money. Sometimes it is politically expedient to state the obvious, it does't fit the yankee gung ho attitude, and, "yes we can" went out the window. NASA would have been better off getting the aircraft industry to adapt some of their bigger craft to a new vehicle it would have demonstrated more imagination than a capsule on top of a rocket

Not the way I read it... Government investment in the space program has spawned many advances. I do not believe we would recognise the world today without them.

NASA is a FAR better investment than bailing out financial corporations based on their political contributions... And those who gave more to the republicans... were told to take a hike... while those who gave more to the Democrats got massive bailout money. Nothing based on merit in who got what.

[cdad]

What scares me most about having a brain drain at NASA and them going to private enterprise is that at least while at NASA if it were 100 scientists then they all could openly speak to one another where in the private sector if they are divided then that pool will be drained by silence. There may be many many ideas that won't see the light of day because it isn't "profitable" enough. I hope NASA manages to stay afloat and continue to be a leader amongst our brightest minds.

[paraclete]

What scares me most about having a brain drain at NASA and them going to private enterprise is that atleast while at NASA if it were 100 scientists then they all could openly speak to one another where in the private sector if they are divided then that pool will be drained by silence. There may be many many ideas that wont see the light of day because it isnt "profitable" enough. I hope NASA manages to stay afloat and continue to be a leader amongst our brightest minds.

They didn't suggest there isn't a role for NASA just that there is no money for a repeat performance. Ultimately the enterprises that government invent they privatise. The chinese will go to the moon and there will be advances from that and they will commercialise them. Science is about incremental improvement and it doesn't often take risks so closeting scientists where they can only measure their performance by reference to each other is not a good thing. We don't need more million dollar screwdrivers

[tomder55]

The chinese will go to the moon and there will be advances from that and they will commercialise them.

They go to the moon with stolen and /or technology obtained through shady methods. There is absolutely nothing innovative in what the Chinese will do.

[tomder55]

History tells us that Queen Isabella told Columbus there just wasn't the money available to finance exploration...

[excon]

Hello:

Well, if I didn't know better, I'd say there's a bunch of right wingers on this thread who think government is pretty good and want spend some of your tax dollars on it.

Sure sounds that way to me. But, what do I know?

excon

[cdad]

They didn't suggest there isn't a role for NASA just that there is no money for a repeat performance. Ultimately the enterprises that government invent they privatise. The chinese will go to the moon and there will be advances from that and they will commercialise them. Science is about incremental improvement and it doesn't often take risks so closeting scientists where they can only measure their performance by reference to each other is not a good thing. We don't need more million dollar screwdrivers

I have to disagree about your assessment of science. They do take risks. And that is how goals are achieved and how equations are proved. Theory is just that until it can be repeated. Even when they were creating the atomic bomb they really didn't know what was going to happen. The proving grounds of discovery are the risks taken to get there.

[smoothy]

Hello:

Well, if I didn't know better, I'd say there's a bunch of right wingers on this thread who think government is pretty good and want spend some of your tax dollars on it.

Sure sounds that way to me. But, what do I know?

excon

NASA is a far better use of my tax money than supporting "Tyron" and his twelve kids by twelve different women living in public housing... who are all too lazy to get a job.

You ARE aware that The Apollo missions are directly responsible for semiconductors... and everything that made possible since.

[paraclete]

History tells us that Queen Isabella told Columbus there just wasn't the money available to finance exploration...

Yeah and look what that got us tobacco and the clap. In hindsight it might have been better to have listened

[paraclete]

NASA is a far better use of my tax money than supporting "Tyron" and his twelve kids by twelve different women living in public housing...who are all too lazy to get a job.

You ARE aware that The Apollo missions are directly responsible for semiconductors....and everything that made possible since.

Tell me again cause I'm dump, exactly what benefit has that been to us