Posted on 05/15/2011 10:11:37 PM PDT by smokingfrog
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Representative Gabrielle Giffords arrived in Florida for the this morning’s planned launch of the space shuttle Endeavour that will be commanded by her husband, Mark Kelly.
A posting on the congresswoman’s Facebook page said she flew in on a NASA jet yesterday afternoon and got a quick fly-by of Endeavour at the pad. The Democrat from Arizona arrived with the family of Endeavour pilot Gregory Johnson.
The shuttle was being fueled last night, and the weather looks good for Endeavour’s 8:56 a.m. launch. An April launch try was delayed because of electrical problems.
Giffords suffered a head wound in a mass shooting in January but is making a remarkable recovery. Doctors have cleared her to travel to see the launch.
NASA was so ready to get the flight off the ground that it moved the protective scaffolding around the shuttle 15 minutes earlier than planned.
There was only a 30 percent chance of a weather delay, mostly because of crosswinds.
The conditions were far different from last month’s futile launch attempt. The protective cover wasn’t removed for five hours because of storms, and the launch was scrubbed because of an electrical problem.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
I hope they get it off the ground tomorrow and have a safe trip.
It appears it won’t be as much of a circus this time.
I hope they get it off the ground tomorrow and have a safe trip.
Safe trip yes, but I would rather they cancel the trip all together and put the money they were to spend on this trip on the National Debt. I just can’t believe how many people love to be on the government dole. Yep even many here are loving this sacred welfare program. If only we could take our debt seriously. Nobody is serious about getting the debt down even conservatives on Free Republic and if patriots at Free Republic are not serious about debt reduction than we are DOOMED!
NASA even with it’s imperfections is some of the best bang for the buck America spends. In the big picture it’s chump change. You could cancel it uttelry and it wouldnt even ptu a dent in our national debt!
What would you pay for the universe?
Neil deGrasse Tyson at UB: What NASA Means to America’s Future
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQhNZENMG1o
Yes. The chief clown won't be there.
NASA even with it’s imperfections is some of the best bang for the buck America spends. In the big picture it’s chump change. You could cancel it uttelry and it wouldnt even ptu a dent in our national debt!
People could say that for every pet project. You wouldn’t even put a dent in the national debt is also said over and over. Well if we continue to pay for wants and not needs than we will always have a debt and eventually go bankrupt. We could afford to cancel all of these launches for ten years and bring them back when we can afford them. People do that with cable and other wants all the time. I guess folks with 25K in debt could say that 100 dollars a month wouldn’t put a dent into their personal debt too but responsible people cancel the cable anyway. We as a whole conservatives and liberals are NOT responsible.
Many politicians agree with you. Back in the 60’s and 70’s, they dreaded NASA success, because it meant they would need to provide more funding. Apparently, money that goes to NASA isn’t good at buying votes.
NASA is one of the few things government does, that makes sense. Or did at one time. Compared to what government blows daily, NASA funding is all but insignificant.
Is the village idiot going to be there like last time which will require locking down the place like a prison and not letting any NASA employs see the launch from outside?
It is generally true that every pet project is defended this way. However we know, even as individuals, that if we want to achieve success with some limited resources we need to decide on a small number of goals and put all our effort into them. Only then we will be successful.
So the question is, what is a worthy goal for the country like the USA? What will make it better than all other countries? There are several options, and here are some of them:
The money is limited, and the time is also limited (considering that the politicians are spending like drunken sailors.) So what will it be, spending money on things that don't matter and don't do any good to anyone and that money will be ultimately stolen, or perhaps we should spend money on something that does put the country ahead of the pack? If you don't have a manned outpost on the Moon by 2025 then Chinese will do it. It will be a major demonstration of their technology and capability. The USA, as it stands, may only hope of having something by that time that China has today (and what USSR had in 1970's.)
Traditionally (at least in the 20th century) the USA was a leader in science and technology. This is what makes a country a superpower - not the acreage of your corn fields. That helps too, but it doesn't make a country a leader; it only makes it a good supplier. Nothing that can be defined as a form of navel-gazing will help you to become a leader.
He won’t be there to jinx things this time.
The nations that lead on the frontiers, end up dictating the course of human history. We can’t turn our back on that or postpone that.
That is worth half a penny on the federal discretionary spending dollar.
We should be spending more on the frontier.
This nation was built on frontiers. It’s in this nations blood. It is a prime example of American exceptionalism.
Those flags on the moon, those shuttles roaring into space, it’s core to our nature.
In a pre-flight interview, Endeavour pilot Greg Johnson talked about the risks of spaceflight and why it’s worthwhile:
“I think the risk is well worth it because we are an exploring country. We are a leading-edge technology country, and I take my parenting very seriously and I talk to my kids about being the lead dog, and if you’re the lead dog, everybody else is looking at the tail end of the lead dog. You want to be the lead dog, not the guys behind. And we’ve been the lead dog, and the reason we’ve been the lead dog is because we take those risks, we push technology and exploration forward, and the space program is a perfect example of that, and the technologies and the capabilities that we get from the space program, and the economies ~~ I mean, the economic impact is a little bit intangible, but if you really go back and look at all the various spin-offs and things that we’ve gotten from the space program and how it’s impacted our country and our world, space is that next frontier that we need to explore.
“And so I think it’s extremely important to be involved with space and I think that we don’t spend enough; I think we should spend much more on our space program than we do these days, but I know times are tight, so any risk to me personally, I think it’s well worth it.”
It may be a core to our nature, but a $14.5T debt isn`t.
We`re not the same nation that won the race to the moon. After the last Shuttle mission ends, the best we`ll be doing for manned missions is hitching rides with the Russians to the ISS. Hardly the stuff of “frontiers.”
It`s probably the limit of our capability anyway. America is a nation in decline that can`t even protect its southern border. Mars can wait.
Yup. Guilty.
A robust space program is vital to the national defense of the United States.
I wish her well but somehow I think the taxpayers are picking up the tab for this PR stunt #2.
First rule of being a hack is, “Never spend your own money because you are doing the Lord’s work. So you deserve everything free because you aren’t paid enough for all the good you do”
I don’t complain about the expenditure on NASA but I do complain about NASA footing the bill for this Congress woman’s feel good flights.
Did you watch that video I posted?
He talked about America fading, backing off from exploration is one of the reasons why.
Our future is a better one with American’s in space then without it.
It’s investment in our future, so that it will be an optimistic one worth fighting and living for.
Again, it’s chump change. It really is.
There is no logical arguement that not doing this will help.
Entitlements is our battle there. Not walking away from the things that make America great that cost pocket change.
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