NASA Bashers, page 5

I think NASA is fantastic. They make up a miniscule amount of the federal budget. They are tiny in proportion to the United States Military Budget of 1 trillion dollars. If NASA were included in the military budget, they would only make up 0.015% of it. Infact, research and development into weapons of death is $79.6 Bil a year. Missile Defense itself is $8.8 Billion a year. NASA? About 15 billion a year or only $55 per person in the United States a year. $100 billion dollars for a space station. HELLO!?! Multiply that by ONE HUNDRED and you've got your cost of defense spending and social security over the last ten years.

The Department of defense space budget is far bigger than NASA... 25 billion a year.... for what? Spy satellites? Go rag on about them.

Nasa has had a hand in developing just about every synthetic material in existence today, and have also had a hand in agricultural awareness, detailed maps of the earth, measurung the impact we have on the environment, chemicals, alloys, medicinal/chemical understanding, better computers, shock absorbsion, aeronautics, communication, medical imaging, Fire Fighter Equipment, smoke detector, design, thermal clothes, and Joystick Controllers. They put a man on the moon for gods sake. The list goes on. $55 a year. Most of the luxuries we have today would not be here without NASA.

Is this minescule amount a year worth all the above? IF we did not have any of the above, where would we be today? Better off than we are now? I bet you worse off, infact. The ramifications of the above are so gynourmous that they are an integral part of the US economy, while improving living standards, greatly. Kidney Dialysis machine? NASA. And you know what? It has become blatantly clear that almost seven BILLION people on the planet is UNSUSTAINABLE. In twenty years, what else would NASA, provided proper funding, of course, discover? Cure global warming? Beam energy down to Earth from space? Find more about biology so we can grow infinite amounts of food? That's what I hope they strive for.

If you don't think $55 a year is worth all that, then fine. That's your prerogative, so I'm not going to argue. But what cracks me up are the insolent fool, wannabe aerospace engineeers who pretend to understand the ramifications of experiments in space. This is the RANT forum after all, so apologies if I offend anyone. And what's worse? Those who think minescule private companies like Scaled Composites can somehow fill the role of NASA. Utter cluelessness.

Firstly, you go into space not (just) for fun. You go into space where there is zero gravity - to do experiments. Why you may ask? Because in space there is no external, gravitational, force; thus you can see exactly how these things work with no variable factors. It is the ultimate labratory. Numerous chemistrical (Is that even a word?) discoveries have been made this way, as have hundreds of physics discoveries.

Secondly, NEVER use scaled composites Space Ship one as a source. Space Ship One is not a Space Ship. It's a normal aircraft with a rocket strapped on, which goes simply zooms skyward, very, very, high, then falls back to Earth. There is little wind resistance which gives a sensation of zero gravity. For example, throw a ball straight up. That's what Space Ship One did. Now, let's try and do what NASA does. All you have to do is throw a ball so hard that it goes into space, where it falls to the ground at the same rate as the curvature of the Earth... e.g. so it literally falls around the Earth. Two different things.... right? Right.

Why do people keep expecting NASA to be on the moon and on mars already? NASA is not only supposed to go to other planets. They are a National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Not a 'Space Flight Only Administration'. Going to other planet's not the only way of discovery. Furthermore, after the Apollo landings, interest in space flight drained. NASAs budget got cut by 2/3rds. How can you expect to do squat when your budget has been cut by two thirds? And yep, for the next 35 years, till now, the NASA budget has been abysmal. 10 - 15 billion a year ($2007). Tiny. The Space Shuttle is another example of government bureaucracy - they were designed for about ten years of service each. What happens when you fly them for more? The cost baloons dramatically, as it always happens with almost all aerospace projects.

I hope we get on the Moon and Mars ASAP with thousands of more technological discoveries to come - and hopefully we can begin solving world problems with these inventions, and perhaps start colonising Mars. Come on, it's something to be proud of, too. Putting people on another.... world. I like that thought. Infact, I've made a decision. I know what I want to be when I grow up; an Astronaut. This won't be the first time you're going to hear from me.

Peace out.

www.sti.nasa.gov...

[edit on 14/12/2008 by C0bzz]