Posted on 02/08/2010 2:04:31 AM PST by djf
Exactly
Force the “Black Budget” space program out into the open and show us the real space program that WE paid for but has been kept hidden from us.
When the shuttle was being developed it was touted as a “space going DC3”. It turned out to be a space going Hindenburg - a piece of brittle technology that tends to kill large numbers of people who operate it.
We really need a replacement for it. Unfortunately our leaders have driven our nation’s economy over a cliff and about the only major thing they can find to cut is the shuttle’s replacement (which was no great shakes itself).
The problem started in 1968 with a man named Walter Mondale who used the witch hunt in the wake of the Apollo pad fire to build his political career. The left wing of the democratic party joined in and Nixon caved, canceling the last four Apollo missions - to “save money”. Since that time factionalism, the great enemy of republics, has made it impossible to put any program together that lasted more that one administration. The sad truth is, America no longer has the social cohesion necessary to achieve great goals. And if history is any guide, this country probably never have will again.
Why cancel it? Because it was a good idea but poorly executed. The reusable space craft was supposed to save money, but the cost per pound to orbit is still way too high.
We should have a two-level system: one man-rated craft for lifting astronauts into orbit, and one heavy lifter craft. Boost the cargo into orbit and then boost the astronauts separately and they can rendezvous with the cargo for any missions that require human intervention. It makes no sense to use a man-rated craft for lifting cargo.
The present NASA boondogglers should have read more Heinlein.
There are no words to describe how ridiculously ignorant you are about that....
So Obama can send 900 MILLION to the arabs?
We will be dependant on russia?
Because it was a gutless, stupid, pointless program intended to cover up the fact that we no longer had the will or the skills necessary for interplanetary manned exploration?
The Presidents core constituency thinks money spent on science is a waste...not their kind of ‘program’. No appreciation for the country their children will inherit. Cutting edge science at NASA is doomed...we’ll have to follow in the footsteps of India, China and Russia.
Just tell the looney left that NASA can prove there is NO GOD by using science in space!
They will do a 180 on this within a week.
Yes. But you can’t really blame NASA for that — they’ve been trying to get something in place for years. Blame Congress and a succession of presidents. Bush, at least, had the foresight to start the replacement program, which Obama now looks to be scrapping.
Sure I can.
Had they a handful of better ideas they’d have caught someones ear.
Guess social issues are more important/
I guess maybe you've never been close enough to something like that to fully appreciate the extent to which Congress, lobbyists, and the WH can mess up even the best program.
Myths of NASA: Inventions They Never Invented
http://blog.mises.org/archives/005594.asp
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