

Shenzhou 9 spacecraft  (Source:








Source: The New York Times

Comments     Threshold


RE: Makes me wonder.
By maugrimtr on 6/12/2012 9:10:38 AM , Rating: 2
Aside from the "clown in chief", congress (both sides of the aisle) seems pretty intent on spending $40b+ on a Space Launch System whereas companies like Space X are on the edge of achieving something similar on around $4b of government funding (omitting private funding). Most of NASA's problems these days are the forced spending of its limited budget (dictated by politicians) on massively inefficient projects like the SLS instead of redirecting such basic tasks to the private sector and focusing itself and its funds towards more suitable projects that private industry wouldn't be interested in funding.

That's a lot of cash that could be redirected towards researching space travel and automated vehicles beyond LEO where we've been stuck since the last moon landing...

As usual, the government is inept at spending funds. They just want to keep Boeing/Lockheed happy and supplying jobs to their home states at the taxpayers expense.

RE: Makes me wonder.
By knutjb on 6/12/2012 11:28:34 AM , Rating: 3
The reason I pick on the clown in chief is that a leader gives us a goal and direction to go in, not the how we will do it, i.e. JFK. The clown is nothing more than a reactionary manager without vision. No vision congress wanders off topic.

The planned $40B SLS is well entrenched in limbo unlikely to return as envisioned. Space X is well placed to do an end run around the entrenched bureaucrats of NASA. People don't like change and they are used to Boeing/Lockheed. So it will be harder for Space X but they seem to be doing that. I hope they succeed.

I see NASA as a source of vision for the president to say plant us on the moon for more research and as a launch base for deep space. NASA needs to be the lead on commonality of equipment so everyone plays nice, i.e. the railroads, they use the same types of couplers, track width, car types, etc... We don't want to see early space to look like the early aircraft barnstorming period.

BTW look up how much we spent going to the moon and how much we have spent on solar cells. After you are done scratching your head at the lower cost of going to the moon…

Look how much we waste on paying just the interest on the debt, that alone could get us a long way towards those goals. Most social welfare programs don’t work. Once you get past the guilt trips from those leaching off the waste and look at the objective data you won’t feel bad in eliminating them. Head Start for example shows a benefit only at the end of the program, one year later those from Head Start show no difference from those who didn’t participate. That is from an internal Head Start evaluation. Sorry I could find the link to that report. That is but one example of thousands out there. It is YOUR money, not the governments, how do you want it spent. If you are pummeled with guilt trips when weeding out non-performing programs you are likely on the right path.

If you don't like what congress is doing; vote in a leader with vision for president, write and visit you congressman and senators, replace said congressman and senators. It does work, but it does take time.

