Space Program

[lacrew_2000]

President Obama wants to privatize near earth space activity:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100415/...obama_space_17

I actually agree with him.

[Cheaper2buyit]

so whats the problem we pay private companies to build it all so whats wrong now. oh crew just saw you agree with it. this post is for the first person that don't like it

[john_galt]

Following World War II, Harry Truman reduced out 1600 ship navy to less than 200 ships which included no cargo carrying ships. When war broke out in Korea less than five years later the U.S. military found itself in the position of having to commandeer ships and planes to get troops to Japan and Korea. As much as possible should be privatized but some capability should be retained for necessities. It's only common sense.

[Longermonger]

NASA is not the NAVY (but that's where they get their best aviators).
I caught part of Obama's speech and figured that you guys would like the privatization part. I think Obama might be wrong about not building a permanent base on the Moon, though. That needs to be done so we can work out the bugs before a manned mission to Mars. My hope is that he's just pushing it back until rocket motor technology has advanced and the economy is in a better position to pay for it.

I forget the guy's name, but there is a guy out there that runs a fleet of "vomit comet" zero-g planes. He's got some great ideas for privatized space transportation. He's the X-prize guy, IIRC. Anyway, his main idea is to use market forces to drive innovation and produce robustness in space hardware systems. Sweet. Where's my rocket pack?

[Guest052813-01]

I am approaching this topic a little warily. I agree that privitization is the best way to pursue any government-run operation (post office, Medicare), except for the military. However, and this is where I declare my ignorance, why scuttle the Space Shuttle fleet and hitch rides aboard Russian Soyuz rockets? It seems that the Atlantis and Endeavour shuttles are newer and could handle our ferrying requirements for five more years. Is this really more cost-effective?

[lacrew_2000]

Its my understanding that there is no benefit in being a 'new' shuttle...as NASA completely dismantles every component between launches...and it is very expensive.

[lacrew_2000]

BTW, I think the NASA budget is a drop in the bucket...so my support for this move isn't really about cost. Its about getting more competitive and creative, and aiming for a large exploratory goal again...NASA has made the space program very stale in recent years.

[KCJoe]

the fact is, the space program is nothing more than a job program for politicians home states. moon base? waste of money. mars landing? unnessary risk of lives and huge waste of money. better spent on infrasture.

[KCJoe]

Originally Posted by fritz3552

I am approaching this topic a little warily. I agree that privitization is the best way to pursue any government-run operation (post office, Medicare), except for the military.

worked well for Lehman Brothers. private enterprise is good for many things, unless the public good is at risk. then profit should not be the primary focus.

[Longermonger]

Originally Posted by KCJoe

the fact is, the space program is nothing more than a job program for politicians home states. moon base? waste of money. mars landing? unnessary risk of lives and huge waste of money. better spent on infrasture.

NASA *is* money spent on infrastructure.

Put your money where your mouth is. Throw your GPS in the trash. Throw away anything that you own that has Velcro. Never fly on a commercial airliner again. Chuck your cell phone. 86 your computer. Remove all the fancy, compact, lightweight computerized stuff from your car.

Notice I didn't mention Tang.

A moon base needs to be done so we can perfect it before going to Mars. Mars needs to be done for several reasons. Most of those reasons are to answer questions like; "Are we alone in the Universe?", "Is there life on Mars?", "Was there life on Mars?", "Could there be life on Mars?", "Can humans live on another planet besides Earth?". If there's a meteor that's going to destroy life on Earth in 150 years then the Mars mission is the most important thing humans can possibly be doing right now.

Funny, most people would change their minds about a Mars mission if I said there was gold, diamond, platinum, and oil everywhere.

The NASA budget is tiny compared to Medicare/Medicaid, SS, and the defense budget. What's likely to happen is that babyboomers are going to close the door behind them after they retire. The age to get benefits will be raised. Hopefully, the defense budget will shrink while the military becomes more efficient.

Oh, and I'm sure the military benefits from NASA's work. Those spy satellites don't launch themselves.

[dirty dog]

Do we have a liberal on liberal fight going on here. Wow never thought I would ever see this.

[Bartman1963]

Happens all the time, thats why we can't run Congress now like the Republicans did during 2001 through 2006.

[Cheaper2buyit]

you guys need to watch sicfi staregate nasa won't stop but be a black ops think obama is doing the repbu thing hide the money but the money will be spent & has been spent we did how many moon lading & what did it get us move on.

[Guest052813-01]

Originally Posted by Longermonger

NASA *is* money spent on infrastructure.

Put your money where your mouth is. Throw your GPS in the trash. Throw away anything that you own that has Velcro. Never fly on a commercial airliner again. Chuck your cell phone. 86 your computer. Remove all the fancy, compact, lightweight computerized stuff from your car.

Notice I didn't mention Tang.

A moon base needs to be done so we can perfect it before going to Mars. Mars needs to be done for several reasons. Most of those reasons are to answer questions like; "Are we alone in the Universe?", "Is there life on Mars?", "Was there life on Mars?", "Could there be life on Mars?", "Can humans live on another planet besides Earth?". If there's a meteor that's going to destroy life on Earth in 150 years then the Mars mission is the most important thing humans can possibly be doing right now.

Funny, most people would change their minds about a Mars mission if I said there was gold, diamond, platinum, and oil everywhere.

The NASA budget is tiny compared to Medicare/Medicaid, SS, and the defense budget. What's likely to happen is that babyboomers are going to close the door behind them after they retire. The age to get benefits will be raised. Hopefully, the defense budget will shrink while the military becomes more efficient.

Oh, and I'm sure the military benefits from NASA's work. Those spy satellites don't launch themselves.

Wow. LM and I actually agree on something. This is worse than Lib-on-Lib infighting. This is Conservative-and-Liberal agreement. There is hope for the world! Kumbuya!!!

Now for the disagreement - I would take the money that will be spent on Obamacare and put it full force into the ISS, the Moon Base, the Mars Mission. That would be an investment to the betterment of all mankind, not to just 10% of the population of thr US. And cheaper, the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions gave us all of the advancements in technology that we take for granted today, as LM so eloquently stated above - THAT'S what it got us. And, do you know what the propulsion system of NASA's rockets are? Liquid Hydrogen and Liquid Oxygen - very flammable but very environmentally friendly.

[PSD]

Originally Posted by lacrew_2000

NASA has made the space program very stale in recent years.

I humbly disagree

NASA has done some very fascinating unmanned projects in the last decade or so and has numerous others in the works. From the Hubble, to Spirit and Discovery on Mars, the Mars Observer, crashing a device into the moon and discovering water, crashing into an asteroid, to the new space telescope going up this decade that will outperform Hubble by miles...

Is a moon base a good thing? Perhaps. Beyond mastering the science, I'm not sure I see the benefits...

Is a manned trip to Mars worth the money? YES! The volume of research and discovery required to make this happen will advance science AND society in ways that may or may not be apparent immediately...and...

...would you rather wait and let the Chinese go first?