Nasa's Future

Bodan

NASA's Administrator Charles F. Bolden just gave an interesting interview at an Science and Technology hearing. It is a bit disappointing as it confirms that Nasa does not have the budget to do much over then next 5 years, bar low orbit programs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrY44-DVv2U

dbran

Constellation program is cancelled

Bodan

Thanks for pointing that out, i just updated my post.

dbran

Yep, the clip just goes to show how much the whole organisation is currently in total disarray with a complete lack of direction, purpose or goal.

lord lucan

The hearings in Congress got pretty heated. From what i've read of the exchanges so far it appears most in Congress are livid at the proposed NASA budget and the cuts it entails. Most in Congress seemed unaware that Constellation had effectively been axed and that NASA had no defined goals going forward. Not sure where it's going yet,they may bounce it back to Obama and tell him they aren't playing ball and want changes or it gets used as a political football and gets traded for votes on Healthcare reform.

ynotdu

Hi dbran,Lord Lucan.

LL We normally chat on the STS threads,You may have found some in Your email box that had disapeared from the thread(s)
They were not deleted by a moderator but by myself if i thought they strayed way too much off-topic got too political or found them to have factual errors.

Manned Spaceflight is impossible to talk about without politics being involved,So i am glad to have found this thread.

I can only think of two reasons Obama chose the 'nucleur option'for Manned Spaceflight{as You know going much further than even Augustine(the knife)had suggested.

1)Obama is thick{which i don't believe for a minute he is}
2)He wants so called partners to cough up more of the bill,i believe he is playing some bluff as He knows the USA cannot afford to fall as way behind as the 'plan' would surely force on it.

as for Bolden unless he has turned corrupt since his glory days as an Astronaut and accepted 'brown envelopes' from would be private industry Vehicle builders,then i think that He and Obama have exchanged a lot more information than the twenty minutes it is reported they met in the Oval office could accomplish.

even though Bolden was a General in the Army and Obama is the Commander in Chief there was nothing to stop Bolden saying "Mr President,With respect I am afraid i cannot oversee the plan You have placed before me and i offer You my resignation"{not like he would not get another job}

Personally alongside all the genuine financial woes the USA is undergoing{borrowing at the rate of 1.7 million dollars a minute!}i do believe some high stakes poker is going on than either Obama or Bolden will admit.

Obama talking about the future being all about international and private sector being the way forward when He knows that an ally could become his enemy overnight,or that the private sector could fail to build a craft that works or simply decide it does not make economic sense for them.

If i am wrong America has waived a white flag and Bolden is a low-life.

Sykk

ynotdu wrote: »

Hi dbran,Lord Lucan.]

even though Bolden was a General in the Army and Obama is the Commander in Chief there was nothing to stop Bolden saying "Mr President,With respect I am afraid i cannot oversee the plan You have placed before me and i offer You my resignation"{not like he would not get another job

I don't know about that theory. And there's not a chance Bolden would resign or go elsewhere for a job. Where would he go? Money is tight at the moment and with their healthcare plans being the centre of his original campaign before he became president - he isn't going to axe them for NASA.

It is an aweful pity they haven't much to do for the next few years with the most interesting missions cancelled/haulted.

lord lucan

lord lucan wrote: »

The hearings in Congress got pretty heated. From what i've read of the exchanges so far it appears most in Congress are livid at the proposed NASA budget and the cuts it entails. Most in Congress seemed unaware that Constellation had effectively been axed and that NASA had no defined goals going forward. Not sure where it's going yet,they may bounce it back to Obama and tell him they aren't playing ball and want changes or it gets used as a political football and gets traded for votes on Healthcare reform.

Following on from the Congressional meetings we now have this:

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2010/03/lawmakers-bill-extend-shuttle-2015-hlv/

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_space_thewritestuff/2010/03/shuttle-flights-would-continue-under-new-proposal.html

The plot thickens?!

A lot of this may well be politics at play,the bill is sponsored by Senators from Texas and Florida,the 2 areas where NASA job losses will be felt the most. They have to at least go through the motions and look like they're trying to save some jobs.

EDIT: The 2 senators from Florida are bringing out a companion bill next week,not sponsoring this one.

Beeker

lord lucan wrote: »

Following on from the Congressional meetings we now have this:

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2010/03/lawmakers-bill-extend-shuttle-2015-hlv/

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_space_thewritestuff/2010/03/shuttle-flights-would-continue-under-new-proposal.html

The plot thickens?!

A lot of this may well be politics at play,the bill is sponsored by Senators from Texas and Florida,the 2 areas where NASA job losses will be felt the most. They have to at least go through the motions and look like they're trying to save some jobs.
EDIT: The 2 senators from Florida are bringing out a companion bill next week,not sponsoring this one.

I never thought I would like anything that a US Republican said or did but this is more important than politics:)

Sykk

fuelinjection wrote: »

And the USA landed on the moon 41 years ago

Or did they?..... dun.. dun... DUUUUN!

Beeker

Sykk wrote: »

Or did they?..... dun.. dun... DUUUUN!

:DDon't start with that sh*t here....... back away slowly:D

Beeker

There may be a delay to STS-134/Endeavour due to a delay in its payload. The delay could push the launch back several months, maybe even into 2011.:)

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2010/03/sts-131-into-frrs-sts-134-meetings-large-ams-delay/

ynotdu

Beeker wrote: »

:DDon't start with that sh*t here....... back away slowly:D

Beaky looks like Heustonsykk has a problem........................

ynotdu

Beeker wrote: »

There may be a delay to STS-134/Endeavour due to a delay in its payload. The delay could push the launch back several months, maybe even into 2011.:)

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2010/03/sts-131-into-frrs-sts-134-meetings-large-ams-delay/

As posted by me on the 129 thread!:pac::pac::pac::D:p http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=63111586&postcount=517

ynotdu

lord lucan wrote: »

Following on from the Congressional meetings we now have this:

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2010/03/lawmakers-bill-extend-shuttle-2015-hlv/

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_space_thewritestuff/2010/03/shuttle-flights-would-continue-under-new-proposal.html

The plot thickens?!

A lot of this may well be politics at play,the bill is sponsored by Senators from Texas and Florida,the 2 areas where NASA job losses will be felt the most. They have to at least go through the motions and look like they're trying to save some jobs.

EDIT: The 2 senators from Florida are bringing out a companion bill next week,not sponsoring this one.

Got a chance to properly read and absorb the two links LL,Even though they represent Texas and Florida i think it may not be entirely cynical of them,just the reality is hitting them first.

Wait until the American public are told that Astronauts are now Cosmonauts hitching a lift from Russia and there is no alternative to that after 133!

Obama only last week said the time for talking about Health care is over and it's time to bring it to a vote.To people in the States who dont take any or much heed of the Space programme it would have been too touchy to 'waste' tax dollars on 'stupid' Spaceflight.

Beekers post that 134 may even extend into 2011 was strangely enough covered by Obama from the start,even before Augustine.

I imagine if the last chance for ? years for Americans to be independant were to go ahead as planned in September they might feel really pis*ed at their president and the Democrats three weeks before the mid-term elections are due!?

Did anybody ever mention that the 'waste of tax dollars' on Apollo actually brought a HUGH profit mainly through patents and commercial products that began life as an Apollo need?

Apollo was cancelled at 17 with definatly 3 more to go and i have heard may'be even another 2 after that!