NASA budget cuts.....again.

[ProjectOrion]

Budget Analysts Call For NASA Cuts

Washington DC (UPI) Nov 29, 2004

 

U.S. analysts Monday said Bush administration proposals to send astronauts back to the moon and on to Mars should be put on the budget chopping block.

 

This seriously ticks me off. They have the hide to deal out favourable contracts to all their buddies in the Arms industry like Lockheed Martin, essentially cutting the knees out from under potential privateers NASA competes against, then with NASA left in a monopoly position the penny pinching bureaucrats looking for someone to villify and squash, turn their forked tongues on a long awaited Space vision. One thing you can say thats positive about the Butcher of Baghdad Bush junior is he doesn't worry about going after what he wants. I find it a genuine breath of fresh air to see a political leader unafraid to knock down archaic walls of convention and say "lets go for it". Achieving anything is mostly a matter of taking that first step and he was atleast bold enough to declare an ambitious deep space objective. We've been farting around with tin can probes and 500 million dollar a shot shuttle flights around and around the earth long enough. Its time we actually went somewhere. People need dreams, excitement and heroes just as much as they need housing and food. We are more than just mindless cattle. We need frontiers and if anything can bring the international community together it has to be an endeavour so technically challenging it reaches beyond this world completely. But ofcourse the polliticians have to whinge about something. If it isn't minority groups then its scientific progress. Why? Because neither is likely to seriously affect their position at the next state elections. All these ex-lawyers and reporters make me sick. You will hardly ever see scientists in government because science is based on truth and politics is built of bullcrap.

 

[TimeTraveler]

Your post is brilliant, I could not have said it better!

 

I especially like when you said:

 

You will hardly ever see scientists in government because science is based on truth and politics is built of bullcrap.

 

Thats classic!

[Verusamore]

Otherwise maybe budget cuts is a good thing I mean afterall we can send this guys out into space.

[Verusamore]

On the news article I related that NASA would probaly not be allowed to enter the intra American space race for reasons of why this $50 million prize is being put up for encouraging private space companies to take over what NASA has recently been failing out , working & bulding cheaper rockets .

[ProjectOrion]

Are you talking about the X prize which was won by scaled composites? that result was foreseen months back. I talked to the comittee members last year and they were really down to earth optimistic fellows you couldn't help liking. You know, do gooders but with a long term plan. The only trouble with the X prize is its geared towards small payload delivery. Which is better than nothing ofcourse. Some complain but I see it as a step in the right direction. God knows, if we leave everything to NASA we'll never get off this rock.

[Ophiolite]

Achieving anything is mostly a matter of taking that first step ........ We've been farting around with tin can probes and 500 million dollar a shot shuttle flights around and around the earth long enough. People need dreams' date=' excitement and heroes just as much as they need housing and food.

[/quote']But you still wont consider the space elevator in this category?

[atinymonkey]

NASA is dead, the future is independent space flight. In the same way commercial airlines reduced the cost of travel, commercial space flights will increase the space program beyond NASA's possible rate of expansion. It's just time for the private sector to take over, NASA has had it's day.

[Guest InAwe]

Maybe earth is not ready for advanced space technology with all the wars , politics and seperation.

[Rasori]

That's the point with space technology. We just seperate the different countries to different planets and asteroids and we won't have to worry about it (end sarcasm)

 

In all honesty, though, WE are definitely ready for advanced space technology. It's the political leaders with their heads in the sand/up their arses that aren't ready for it. GO INDEPENDENT SPACE FLIGHT!!!!!