Posted on 02/02/2010 12:49:41 AM PST by Red Steel
WASHINGTON – Everyone in Washington wants fiscal restraint these days – except when it comes to their priorities. Case in point: NASA.
Texas lawmakers in both parties are girding for battle with the Obama administration over the future of human spaceflight. Many of the same lawmakers routinely accuse the president of sending deficits into the stratosphere.
"It's a matter of priorities," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. "We can find that money in other parts of the budget."
President Barack Obama unveils his annual budget Monday, and reports last week indicated that he wants to abandon the Constellation program that George W. Bush launched in 2004, effectively ending the human spaceflight effort.
He would add about $6 billion over five years to the space agency's $18.7 billion annual budget – granting an exception to the discretionary spending freeze he promised recently. That's enough to extend the life of the International Space Station to 2020 and spur private companies to develop craft to ferry astronauts when the space shuttles retire in a few years. But it's about $55 billion short of what NASA would need to return astronauts to the moon in the next decade.
In the current fiscal climate, with the national debt topping $13 trillion, the White House doesn't see that as a high enough priority.
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
Former NASA administrator Michael Griffin, who championed the Constellation program, views the Obama budget as disastrous for human space flight.
"It means that essentially the U.S. has decided that they're not going to be a significant player in human space flight for the foreseeable future. The path that they're on with this budget is a path that can't work," Griffin said, anticipating the Monday announcement.
-end snip-
The White House will remove NASA from Space Exploration and Manned Flight and direct NASA to concentrate on Earth-science projects — principally, researching and monitoring climate change —
ORLANDO SENTINEL EXCLUSIVE
In a more economically sane world, I’d find room for NASA spaceflights but I can’t endorse it under the current trillions in deficits. Put the space program in mothballs for 5-7 years and then start it back up ones the debt is under control (and hopefully all that’s left of Barry is a punchline).
I can’t support killing the NEA, PBS, NPR, Pelosi’s million-dollar travel budget, etc and not cut other things that don’t need to be done right now. Manned Spaceflight can wait. I’m a big fan of NASA but it’s just not important right now.
My friend Bill works for NASA in Life Science. I live about 2.5 miles from the NASA gate.
Too bad there’s no way private companies will even try in the current environment. There are just too many restrictions that will prevent it from ever being profitable. Space is untouchable just like Antarctica.
Meanwhile China is pushing ahead and doesn’t care much about international treaties and will sieze the high ground both economically and militarilly.
The race to Mars is not going to wait.
Last months Popular Science had a whole cover issue about private companies doing just that.
Cutting NASA is one thing I can agree with Obammy on.
(it’s not even really a “cut” as their budget is increasing, overall)
I agree with you.
Myths of NASA: Inventions They Never Invented
http://blog.mises.org/archives/005594.asp
>> Meanwhile China is pushing ahead and doesn’t care much about international treaties and will sieze the high ground both economically and militarilly. <<
What NASA needs is a complete re-organization to turn it from a Jobs for jobs sake program to a program with real set and defined goals. In some ways I would be for disbanding NASA and handing over everything to the Air Force. Then take what is left of space probe department and make them a subset of the Air Force.
What we really need is to push for the capitalization and use of space resources. Stuff like Orbital Solar power could be used first by the millitary for supplying power to remote installations and then brought to civilian use for remote location that currently use petro powered generators, etc.... We should also pursue lunar based robotic manufacturing as the moon may be a bad place to work in, but robots would have an easier time of it, even if the robots have to be controlled from the ground here on earth, we could build a fully functional self sufficient moon base before we even send a single person there. Not to mention the advances in mining and manufacturing that could be achieved by pursuing this.
If we lose the High Ground, getting it back will be painful and nearly impossible.
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