Obama May Cancel Space Shuttle Replacement

FoxNews.com ^ | Monday, December 01, 2008 | Brian Berger

[Joiseydude]

WASHINGTON — U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's NASA transition team is asking U.S. space agency officials to quantify how much money could be saved by canceling the Ares 1 rocket and scaling back the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle next year.

Obama pledged during his campaign to inject an additional $2 billion into NASA aimed in part at narrowing the gap between the space shuttle's retirement and the introduction of a successor system.

While NASA Administrator Mike Griffin and his senior managers are adamant that Ares and Orion are the right vehicles to fill that role, Obama did not endorse either system by name during his campaign.

[Joiseydude]

If that omission was enough to raise doubts about the incoming administration's commitment to a rocket some believe will prove much tougher to field than NASA is ready to admit, the five-page list of questions Obama's NASA transition team sent to the agency Nov. 24 probably will not make Ares supporters feel any better.

The questionnaire, "NASA Presidential Transition Team Requests for Information," asks agency officials to provide the latest information on Ares 1, Orion and the planned Ares 5 heavy-lift cargo launcher, and to calculate the near-term close-out costs and longer-term savings associated with canceling those programs.

[kc8ukw]

One thing I’ve never understood is why conservatives are more supportive of space exploration than liberals. In fact, I think conservatives are even more likely to support government funding of a space program than liberals.

[Onelifetogive]

I could see eliminating NASA and asking for private companies to bid on taking passengers to and from the Space Station.

And I live in Alabama, one of the states that gets a ton of NASA money.

[Tarpon]

Who needs technology when we have the gubbermint funded pothole brigades. Before long America will look just like home sweet hut-home, Kenya.

Obama is a doofus when it comes to thinking. What does the little squirrel monkey think drives technology development, pothole repair?

[TheWasteLand]

One thing I’ve never understood is why conservatives are more supportive of space exploration than liberals.

We're looking for a place to get away from the liberals.

[TheOgre]

Wouldn’t that piss off the die-hard liberal fanatics. The federal government privatizing more government programs.

[RightWhale]

Pres Bush was doing fine until he announced his Moon, Mars, and Beyond program. That very day.

[mnehring]

Because of how close NASA is tied in with our national defense. They put our spy satellites into orbit and their exploration research often is closely related to defense research (eg, researching long term power cells for a Mars mission are converted to military use..) IE, it is a great cover for military research expenditures.

[Canedawg]

“We’re looking for a place to get away from the liberals.”

Thanks, I laughed out loud at that!

(I think libs prefer to spend the money on social programs)

[I see my hands]

"I’ve never understood is why conservatives are more supportive of space exploration than liberals"

Because NASA is a de facto military organization.

[CE2949BB]

Take away: if you’re interested in space and want to work in the industry, learn Chinese, Hindi or Russian — because the US is giving up.

Maybe a new crop of rich guys will try even harder to privatize space, but I’m not optimistic.

[Sharrukin]

Conservatives believe in the future and liberals are part of a death cult.

[4rcane]

lets go for the space elevator instead. This would cut cost down way better than space shuttles

[DBrow]

This plan was originally on his website under “education”. As November approached, he took it off.

So this is nothing new, pay for education reform by killing space projects.

Elsewhere in his education package he said the space race and cold war were won by the USA having superior education! I had thought that engineering had something to do with it but I guess I was wrong and The One is right, again!

[GonzoGOP]

Everything depends on if Aries is replaced. The stick has big problems with vibration and the “Pogo” effect of the solid fuel motor. It also can barely lift the crew module so one of the two needs to be redesigned anyway. In addition it is already way over budget and massively behind schedule. Aries V is in even worse shape and in this economy it is unlikely that Aries V will ever fly.

If the plan is to dump the Pogo Stick and Aries V and build Direct 2.0 or invest adapting commercial launchers (Atlas V or Falcon 9 heavy) then GO OBAMA. And I never thought I would say that.

Unfortunately the more likely plan is to scrap the space program to throw more money into the endless hole that is the liberal socialist utopia. Why reach for the stars when you can smoke crack in the gutter.

[Boiling Pots]

The Space Shuttle is bad money after bad money. It’s definitely part of the National Money Hole.

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/in_the_know_should_the_government

[SERKIT]

It creates jobs on Urf, and provides research for improved life here. Many medical adances were a spin-off of the 1960's space technology. That's only one example.

Instead of creating jobs to improve life, they want to expand the welfare state and look like they care.

[sono]

JFK vowed to go to the moon. Obama basically tells the moon to go to hell. Perhaps, he’ll outsource this work to India or China. Not the Hope and Change I’m looking for.

[Red_Devil 232]

Libs are afraid we will use our love for space and the exploration of it and finally leave this planet.

No one left to pay their way.

[Williams]

Many reasons. Obama and liberals want to cripple us in space and take away any military advantage there. Also, liberals want to garner votes from poor people with social programs, they can care less about the nation’;s long term technological progress.