NASA Run Shuttle May Go Private

Space.com ^ | 11/06/01 | Steven Siceloff

[Brett66]

I wonder how much power this company would have. Could they eliminate the shuttle for a better system if it was losing money? This seems to be a good direction for NASA to take.

[Brett66]

Ping.

[StockAyatollah]

Eliminating this glorified space truck would be a great idea. There is absolutely el zippo need to send more humans into orbit. Bill Nelson and other FL political hacks just want all of the government dependent Space Coast votes.

[snopercod]

NASA will never let go of their death grip on America's manned space program (or what's left of it, anyway.) The little clinton lickspittle, Daniel Golden, will kill the program before relinquishing control.

[snopercod]

Golden=Goldin

[JenB]

Is Goldin the one who's retiring? I think privitization is the only way to go but like you, I doubt NASA will ever voluntarily give up its death grip on the space industry. So much for Luna City, huh?

[Brett66]

NASA has commitments to meet in regards to the ISS (another boondoggle) so they'll have to continue sending humans into orbit for awhile. The problem they face is that the ISS has gouged their budget so bad that they are running out of money to do anything, including shuttle operations. They are faced with the reality of making radical changes or abandonment of their most prominent programs. There's a small potential, if they continue in their budget busting ways, that congress could disband the agency and/or reevaluate their purpose. They wouldn't survive as the NASA we know today. This might be a good thing though.

[NonZeroSum]

Is Goldin the one who's retiring?

Yes, T-12 Days and counting.

[Fishbones]

Keep in mind that Bill Nelson (now Dem. US Senator from FL, who succeeded the retiring Connie Mack), actually flew on the Shuttle when he was in the House of Representatives in the 80s. So I'm sure his opinion is highly biased and based upon his attachment to NASA in letting him fly.

[jimkress]

So, is this a "privatization" scheme like the one used with the Postal Service? If so, it will fail miserably - just like the Postal Service ...

If we're going to privatize NASA then sell its assets to a private company and give them absolute control. Don't repeat the mistakes of the past by peripherally "privatizing" the monster (i.e. bastardizing the thing) and then whining when nothing gets better (or everything gets worse).

[Cincinatus]

Could they eliminate the shuttle for a better system if it was losing money?

No. This effort is a complete fraud. It's Goldin's attempt to show NASA fiscal "repsonsibility" by off-loading as much work as he can onto contractors. What does this accomplish? It lowers the total amount of engaged Civil Service FTE (Full Time Equivalents, i.e., NASA employees), while continuing flying Shuttle under a contractor, who doesn't have to account for federal FTE.

But it still costs the federal government a billion dollars a flight. This doesn't save any tax money -- it's an accounting gimmick designed to make the agency look good. Moreover, the "contractor" still has to answer to NASA supervision, so he doesn't even have a chance of grounding Shuttle or operating the system more cheaply (BTW, it's being operated now just about as cheaply as possible and still retain some reasonable safety margin -- Fundamentally, the Shuttle is a very expensive way to get payload into orbit. That's built into its design and nothing Goldin does managerially will change that).

Goldin needs to begone and begone now and forever. What a sickening creep.

[Brett66]

It's probably the same old-same old. I can't see how any company can make a profit operating the space shuttle. If the Ariane 5 ever becomes man-rated, then contracting them for the manned flights and axing the shuttle would be about the only way to turn a profit. This would be an unpalatable solution to a lot of people, but if being financially sound is a real consideration, then it would be on the table.

[Brett66]

I suspected NASA was just playing a financial shell game. They are confronted with cold hard reality. They can only afford one boondoggle at a time. They can't afford to build the ISS and operate the shuttle. It will be interesting to see how they get out of this fix they're in. I pity the next administrator, but then again it could be a magnificent opportunity to fundamentally change NASA's direction for the better.

[Cincinatus]

They can only afford one boondoggle at a time. They can't afford to build the ISS and operate the shuttle.

That's an interesting observation and a nice statement of the NASA dilemma with ISS and Shuttle -- one is the purpose of the other. ISS was created as a place for Shuttle to go to and the purpose of Shuttle is to service ISS. What to do, what to do??

Frankly, I think NASA is doomed. It's survived up till now on a wing and a prayer, but basically, it doesn't have the high level of political support (legislative or executive) needed to keep it healthy. It's been on life-support for the past decade. Does Dubya have the nerve to pull the plug?

[RightWhale]

The little clinton lickspittle, Daniel Golden, will kill the program before relinquishing control

Goldin is soon to be a fond memory. When is his last day? Was it last week or next week. Nobody cares about NASA, not the White House, not Congress, not the Pentagon. Shut it down. JPL and Johns Hopkins can work just as well without NASA's direction.

[RightWhale]

Could they eliminate the shuttle for a better system if it was losing money?

Even Goldin wants to see a new booster system developed. Of course he will be a civilian like the rest of us. Who will develop a new launcher?

[gcruse]

"Of all the times for this to come up, this is the
worst," said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Melbourne.

One wonders what is so bad about now.
And when did we declare Melbourne a state?

[RightWhale]

Must have moved. It used to be D-Tallahassee.

[hopespringseternal]

Does Dubya have the nerve to pull the plug?

I would love to be surprised, but I doubt it. After thirty years of hamstringing NASA, the left would mount a mock battle to save it and the next election they would harp about Bush killing the little chillin's dreams of living on Mars.

NASA is space industry's answer to the gun industry's BATF.