Posted on 09/08/2004 4:09:11 PM PDT by Mikey_1962
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With NASA's broken Genesis capsule stuck in the Utah desert and its shuttle assembly building battered by a hurricane at Cape Canaveral, the U.S. space agency defended its budget and mission on Wednesday.
NASA chief Sean O'Keefe talked hopefully at a Senate hearing about returning the three-ship shuttle fleet to flight, more than 18 months after the fatal disintegration of space shuttle Columbia.
But he was also badgered by questions about maintenance at the main launch facility in Florida, its budget problems and the agency's long-term goal of returning humans to the Moon and eventually to Mars.
"The idea of just going to Mars doesn't frankly excite a lot of people in my state," said Sen. Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican. "They don't care whether there's water up there or not; they'd rather have asphalt on the roads."
Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat and former astronaut, was outraged that NASA's iconic Vehicle Assembly Building -- where space shuttles are readied for launch at Cape Canaveral -- lost more than 1,000 exterior panels during the recent ravages of Hurricane Frances.
He said some of the damage was "illustrative" of the space agency's penchant for trying to execute ambitious programs with an inadequate budget.
"NASA, to try to do everything it wants to do, takes away from ... maintenance of facilities," Nelson told a hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. "And in the corrosive salt air of an ocean launch site, you're going to have degradation of facilities, and I think we're beginning to see that."
RETURN TO SHUTTLE FLIGHT
Nelson and others at the hearing noted NASA's litany of problems in the months since the Columbia's fiery break-up over Texas on Feb. 1, 2003. All seven astronauts aboard were killed.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Just kidding!!!
NASA can't even buy a break.
Was anyone else waiting to see if little green men opened the hatch and waved at those men in black?
Please include original titles.
Thanks.
OHHH you ARE evil, drive through Michigan and you will ask the same question
When is someone going to put O'Keefe out of NASA's misery and fire him.
Soooooory, Lo Siento, es tut mir leid, nescio tructa sum, didn't know there were rules... but then again, there are rules for EVERYTHING!!
Great risks brings great rewards. Especially when you are doing something for the very first time the risks can be great. There are TWO rovers functioning on Mars far past their design lifetimes. Cassini took years to reach Saturn and is currently sending back data. Exploration is worth it. Yes it costs blood and money. It has always been the case and always will be. And there forever will be brave souls willing to take those risks.
I will never forget the words of wisdom given to me by a grizzled Air Force scientist, "I have found that the optimum FAILURE rate for experiments is 15%. If I strive for a lower risk mission, it DOUBLES the cost. I love sounding rockets; no one notices if they fail." The moral of this story is that its OK to fail on a low cost mission. You can then afford to fund a lot more missions.
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