NASA grounded

[Billnew]

FOXNews.com - Obama to End NASA Constellation Program?

Orlando Sentinel, the forthcoming budget -- which the president will announce in detail during tonight's State of the Union address -- will include no funding for lunar landers, no moon bases, and no Constellation program at all. Instead, NASA will outsource space flight to other governments.

Sad to see it go, but knowing with our budget problems, we can't be exploring the universe, or building a moon base.

Moving from active part of space exploration to being a spectator.

I hope this will be a temporary set back, and America will again be the leader in space.

 

[Mystman]

"Instead, NASA will outsource space flight to other governments (such as the Russians) and private companies."

Woohoo, free market, less government, hurray!

Moonlanders and lunar bases are completely useless (well, the have some edutainment function, but I'm sure the same could be accomplished for a lot less money in different ways), so it's good that they are scrapped.

 

[Pinhead]

I bet the private sector can do it better, faster, and for less money.
I bet Richard Branson jumps in on this one.

 

[mont974x4]

Yeah, I was pretty happy to read about this. NASA should have been privatized a long time ago. Look how far we have come and imagine how much further we'd be without the givernment shackles.

As long as the givernment stops stealing all our money we can expect some really cool advancements in the space program. Who knows, we may once again gather around the TV as a nation to see the next great adventure.

 

[chaim]

Really? There is nothing stopping anyone from having there very own space program right now, yet we haven't seen any private company put a man in orbit (something the public sector did almost 50 years ago), why not?

Yeah, I was pretty happy to read about this. NASA should have been privatized a long time ago. Look how far we have come and imagine how much further we'd be without the givernment shackles.

As long as the givernment stops stealing all our money we can expect some really cool advancements in the space program. Who knows, we may once again gather around the TV as a nation to see the next great adventure.

 

[mont974x4]

The government made it virtually impossible for an extensive private space program. Although there has been private companies who have put people into space.

 

[SpaceProg]

Well, the Shuttles need to be grounded and either completely refurbished or replaced with better designs using more up-to-date materials.
I remember most of the current shuttles launching the first time when I was in elementary-middle school.

 

[chaim]

How is that?

The government made it virtually impossible for an extensive private space program. Although there has been private companies who have put people into space.

 

[mont974x4]

One way is the controlling of air space.

BTW
check out some of these companies. There are some promising developments.
List of private spaceflight companies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Mystman]

One way is the controlling of air space.

There are plenty of private companies already making use of air space.. (airlines and flying schools come to mind...)

 

[mont974x4]

yes, but space is still limited. It is just one small issue aming many.

Since the givernment has horribly mangled social security, medicare, the war on drugs, the VA, and the post office, one wonders why anyone would support their managment of a space program...not to mention health care.

 

[chaim]

That doesn't seem to stop all the other commercial airspace users, Boeing etc.

Notice that in your list almost none of these projects are actually operational?

I do think that routine orbital payload launches should be left to commercial operators. But the commercial operators are no where near the cutting edge of space flight, and they never will be. There is not a lot of profit involved with planetary probes and the like.

One way is the controlling of air space.

BTW
check out some of these companies. There are some promising developments.
List of private spaceflight companies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[mont974x4]

OK, you keep thinkin that if you want. I was merely giving you a starting point to do some research. The fact is, private endeavors do better than the givernment in every field. They have to because if they fail they do not have the safety net that the givernment does.

 

[brinny]

FOXNews.com - Obama to End NASA Constellation Program?



Sad to see it go, but knowing with our budget problems, we can't be exploring the universe, or building a moon base.

Moving from active part of space exploration to being a spectator.

I hope this will be a temporary set back, and America will again be the leader in space.

i sooooooooo agree. this should've been halted a long time ago.

 

[chaim]

I don't think that is a "fact". It is an ideology and an opinion. And so far it has not proven to be true.

OK, you keep thinkin that if you want. I was merely giving you a starting point to do some research. The fact is, private endeavors do better than the givernment in every field. They have to because if they fail they do not have the safety net that the givernment does.

 

[BlackAndy]

VIRGIN GALACTIC

 

[chaim]

How many people has Virgin Galactic put in space? How many weather satellites have they launched?

VIRGIN GALACTIC

 

[BlackAndy]

How many people has Virgin Galactic put in space? How many weather satellites have they launched?

A couple of test flights and none... why?

 

[chaim]

Private space flight is WAY behind NASA. I agree with scrapping the moon landing projects, they were going to achieve very little, however I disagree with handing the study and exploration of space over to private industry. Private industry just isn' there yet.

A couple of test flights and none... why?

 

[BlackAndy]

Private space flight is WAY behind NASA. I agree with scrapping the moon landing projects, they were going to achieve very little, however I disagree with handing the study and exploration of space over to private industry. Private industry just isn' there yet.

The private sector, over time, will make space exploration much easier and more cost effective.

Virgin Galactic plans to put 50,000 people into space within their first 10 years of operation. This only the beginning.