

(Click to enlarge)

Finishing construction of Tranquility module  (Source: NASA)
ISS will be 90% complete after mission





Almost 1.2 million votes were cast, but 


There are also multiple experiments being carried onboard 


The ISS will be about 90 percent complete after the 

Comments     Threshold


RE: Only 4 more flights
By goz314 on 2/8/2010 2:47:35 PM , Rating: -1
Constellation was ill conceived and underfunded from day one back in 2004 when it was first proposed. Why should the taxpayers pay 100 billion+ dollars to essentially repeat Apollo 40 years later. That's just plain dumb. If the government had unlimited resources then that's one thing, but it doesn't.

I think the country has bigger things to worry about right now than going back to the moon -like digging ourselves out of a self induced recession and finally paying for two wars which were purchased on credit starting in '01 and '03, respectively.

RE: Only 4 more flights
By namechamps on 2/8/2010 2:58:07 PM , Rating: 3
Except only in your mind was Constellation doing what Apollo did.

Due to limits of technology half a decade ago the Apollo missions were very limited in what they could, how much they could bring, and how long they could stay.

Inflatable habitats, a magnitude better water recycling, composite materials, and more means the Constellation was step towards a manned scientific station on the moon.

The cost of it is negligible compared to other federal expenditures on things that matter far far less. Like think we could live with ONLY 8 super carriers and not 12. You know seeing how the rest of the world has none. Maybe we could maintain a nuclear arsenal of "only" 1000 warheads as opposed to couple thousands. Those two things alone could pay for 200% of Constellation program.

RE: Only 4 more flights
By goz314 on 2/8/2010 3:29:40 PM , Rating: 3
Oh, I completely agree that our spending priorities are messed up right now. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for manned space exploration and I agree that Constellation would have seen some advancements beyond what Apollo accomplished. It would have also provided us with a new heavy lifter to support eventual manned missions to Mars -if you believe the Mars direct approach was the way to go.

Defense and Medicare/Medicaid spending are right on par with one another at 700B a year+ each at the moment. If we reduced each of them by only 1% per year over the next 5-6 years, that would have completely paid for Constellation and then some. The problem lies in that if Defense spending is cut, then the GOP cries foul and Medicare/Medicaid spending are protected by law -so, unless a bunch of senators and congressman want to earn the ire of all older Americans by changing the law (i.e. the people that actually vote) that's not going to happen any time soon.

If congress collectively (Jacka$$ donkeys, Fat a$$ elephants, and closet fence sitters) had any guts, they would cut all discretionary spending to only the minimums required by law, make modest reductions in defense and health care spending, and finally institute a flat war tax (call it the G. W. Bush deficit reconciliation act) to actually pay for Iraq and Afghanistan, then the deficit would be largely eliminated. One can only dream, however...

RE: Only 4 more flights


RE: Only 4 more flights
RE: Only 4 more flights

