Obama's Budget Plan Kills Off Space Shuttle
www.extremetech.com
 Like his predecessor George W. Bush, Obama wants to return people to the moon and send robots further into space. He will also, as planned,
retire the space shuttle in 2010, adding perhaps one extra flight between now and then if possible to help complete the International Space
Station. (visit the link for the full news article)
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Interesting article, but if they retire the shuttle by 2010 does this mean they will be relying on Russian craft to supply and recrew the ISS in the
meantime? and what happens then if diplomatic ties between the two counties get hostile for one reason or another? as far as i know only these two
countries have craft capable of resupplying the ISS?
www.extremetech.com
(visit the link for the full news article)
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I have mixed emotions about this. On one hand, the space shuttle is the unofficial symbol of NASA, an American icon of Space Exploration. I hate to
see it go. However, it is costly as hell to send one of those birds up and in these economic times would just be fiscally irresponsible.
If they took that money saved on the shuttle and invested it on less expensive ways to get goods into orbit, like the
Space Elevator, then I could see my way past my grief at the loss of the shuttle.
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The shuttle is at this point a dog and pony show. See link below for a better perspective -
www.abovetopsecret.com...'
The public NASA programs are only the tip of the iceberg.
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The shuttle and the ISS need to go, they are two large albatrosses on an already bloated budget. NASA has shown us how not, to run a civilian agency
funded by the government. Rather then exploring space, NASA concerned itself on trying to retain jobs by holding onto dead technology and frivolous
endeavors.
I'm glad the space shuttle is getting it's nail in the coffin. It's time to move on and open space to the private market. What NASA should have
been doing was holding contests with private firms competing with each other on developing a more efficient launch mechanism, or building an actual
reusable space vessel.
The government should have rode on the back of the private industry vying for power in a brand new market in space, instead of giving an incompetent
budget whore in NASA free reign in space to monopolize and ensure that humanity will never truly explore the wonders above for quiet sometime.
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Maybe we'll just outsource the shuttling to China. I heard today they purposefully crashed an object into the moon, and plan to go there in a couple
years.
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