Manned Moon Mission axed/delayed/done in

[332nd]

Too many White people work at NASA. Better to spend the 3 billion on the inner city poor.

It's funny because the Ronald McNair Engineering building was across the quad from me in undergrad.

Also, we got a lot of grants from MUREP.
ETA:

Two votes for this.

Three.

 

[rwguinn]

Kinda says it all, to me...
http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=d3cd367c-d70d-414c-86e1-4458e316c23d&

 

[Captain.Sassy]

My understanding is that a lot of NASA's research budget is open to tender from private sources and universities, as well as from NASA labs. I read something on the news ticker about the moon money going to fund private sector research- does anyone know if this is a re-allocation of NASA funds specifically to private sector research funding, or will NASA labs also be able to compete for these funds?

I guess if I were an American nationalist I'd probably have mixed feelings about the privatization of space lunches, but technology diffusing into the private sector is a big part of how the US innovation system works.

On a somewhat related note, Iran just sent its first turtle into space.

 

[Buckaroo]

Too many White people work at NASA. Better to spend the 3 billion on the inner city poor.

You do know who the NASA administrator is, right?

 

[Checkmite]

I guess if I were an American nationalist I'd probably have mixed feelings about the privatization of space lunches, but technology diffusing into the private sector is a big part of how the US innovation system works.

This is true; ultimately. Still, I keep having this nightmare vision of the new Mars Excursion Module® making mankind's First Mars Landing®, brought to you by Starbucks™.

 

[kuroyume0161]

This is true; ultimately. Still, I keep having this nightmare vision of the new Mars Excursion Module® making mankind's First Mars Landing®, brought to you by Starbucks™.

At least you would know that when you get to Mars there'd be a Grande Moccha Cappuccino waiting.

 

[PhantomWolf]

three words:

waste of money.

Why is putting money into the Aerospace Industry a waste of money?

four words:

we've already been there.

So we saw everything there is to see and learned everything there is to learn about the moon by visiting six randomly interesting spots on the near side of it?

 

[rwguinn]

I would find it amusing, if it were not so dire:
The Bush Administration was accused (somewhat rightly) of a "war on Science"
The Democrats, however, have always had a war, not on the study, but use, of science. Every Democratic Administration and/or Congress, cuts the holy hell out of any technology utilization, R&D, and defense programs that are uses of high technology. They also insist that education in math and science is a priority, but we certainly don't want them to actually USE that stuff.
Burger King/Wall mart jobs at $8-10 per hour are good enough...

 

[uruk]

Seems to me Constellation was only about getting back to the moon and wouldn't help much in getting to Mars.

I don't completely dissagree with this statement, but Ares II was to be a heavy lift launcher
which would be needed to lift the initial infrastructure to build upon. After which you get some of the building materials and fuel from the moon, and a lower escape velocity would also save you fuel.

I do agree that private industry needs to get involved, even though the companies that NASA contracts to build the equipment it uses are all private sector corporations.

 

[uruk]

three words:

waste of money.

Money that goes to the employees of contractor companies and the private sector.

four words:

we've already been there.

It's a good thing that progress and knowledge doesn't subscribe to that concept.

 

[uruk]

My understanding is that a lot of NASA's research budget is open to tender from private sources and universities, as well as from NASA labs. I read something on the news ticker about the moon money going to fund private sector research- does anyone know if this is a re-allocation of NASA funds specifically to private sector research funding, or will NASA labs also be able to compete for these funds?

I guess if I were an American nationalist I'd probably have mixed feelings about the privatization of space lunches, but technology diffusing into the private sector is a big part of how the US innovation system works.

On a somewhat related note, Iran just sent its first turtle into space.

NASA supports and depends on private sector and university research. Almost all of the Apollo hardware was developed by universities and private sector companies. General Dynamics, Gruman, Boeing, Thiokol, Hamilton, and even International Latex Corp. ( which owns Playtex, who makes bras). The navigation computer and software was developed by MIT. NASA comes up with the system requirements, parameters and standards and the universities and contractor corporation do the design, research and development of the equipment and systems.

Read Moon Lander by Tom Kelly for an interesting insight to what a company has to go through to design and build something for NASA.

And education is a big issue for NASA. NASA funds quite a lot of science and education initiatives on the primary and secondary education system to cultivate future scientists and engineers. I am a mentor to a local high school for the FIRST robotics competition amoung highschools across the nation. http://www.usfirst.org/

If people only knew all that NASA does with the comparitively miniscule budget it recieves from the taxpayers.
NASA does so much more than hauling stuff into space.

 

[Captain.Sassy]

Thanks for the informative reply, Uruk. I hadn't really thought about the important catalytic role NASA might play by setting standards. It makes sense.

 

[Jono]

Good call, what the heck is so special about the Moon nowadays anyways (that was catchy).

 

[sphenisc]

I think there is a pattern developing in the post Apollo era for space flight. New administrations cancel projects from the previous administration when the commitment of real cash is required. Then they start brand new projects where the serious cash commitments won't show up until the next administration.

Just the impression I have and I cannot prove it. At least not yet.

You've had 1 hour 30 minutes since you last posted this - what have you been doing?

 

[MaGZ]

You do know who the NASA administrator is, right?

There was no need to put in a Black as the head of NASA.

NASA go its start with primates.

 

[332nd]

There was no need to put in a Black as the head of NASA.

NASA go its start with primates.

It's funny because whites, blacks, everybody is a primate!

ETA: STUNDIE!!!!!!!!!

 

[Travis]

Axing the Ares I, which seemed like it may be redundant compared to some near future commercial launchers, is not something I have issues with. But the Ares V was going to be able to launch 160 metric tons of payload. That is one hell of a useful tool. Would the Direct program be able to get anything with similar capabilities? Does anyone think the private sector will build something with that much lift on it's own?

 

[Vox Humana]

My understanding is Cameron's got dibs on the studio for his next movie.

Three.

Four.

 

[The Man]

Axing the Ares I, which seemed like it may be redundant compared to some near future commercial launchers, is not something I have issues with. But the Ares V was going to be able to launch 160 metric tons of payload. That is one hell of a useful tool. Would the Direct program be able to get anything with similar capabilities? Does anyone think the private sector will build something with that much lift on it's own?

Not sure about “on it’s own”, but with NASA and perhaps others driving the requirements as well as providing a potential market for such heavy lift vehicles.

 

[qayak]

There are reasons the moon missions were stopped. They cost a ****load of money and scientists pretty much agreed there was no value to it. Nothing has changed.

The ISS is a joke. Hundreds of billions of dollars spent and, as scientists knew before hand, nothing came from it. The only bonus is it kept unemployed Russian scientists from being tempted to build nuclear delivery systems for wackos.

The space shuttle is a joke. Low earth orbit . . . What's the point?

Mars . . . yeah, RIGHT!

Scrap all the idiotic ideas of previous administrations and put all the freed-up funding into unmanned space missions. Look at the money spent on the two Mars explorers. No way would you get that bang for your dollar from anything but unmanned missions.

And you can still keep Russian scientists employed by inviting every country in the world to participate.