Obama 'Poorly Advised' on Space: Armstrong, page 1
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reply posted on 13-5-2010 @ 02:22 PM by Max_TO
reply to post by frankensence


There are many other wasteful programs that yes could be cut but the space program is not one of them . For every dollar spent on space R&D is spent in and on the American public creating a vast amount of jobs , the kind of jobs that is so badly needed right now.

These jobs then in turn create a many many other jobs that directly benefit the American public .


reply posted on 13-5-2010 @ 02:25 PM by Crossfate
reply to post by Max_TO


I tend to agree with you but not just the jobs, the technology, the exploration, the glory of it all. I've always been obsessed with space and everything "out there" and who knows, maybe one day we'll find something life altering and be glad we kept to it.

At least that's what I'm hoping for.


reply posted on 13-5-2010 @ 02:33 PM by Max_TO
reply to post by frankensence


The money spent on space R&D goes to many companies not just NASA . NASA contracts out the work .



reply posted on 13-5-2010 @ 02:38 PM by jazz10
reply to post by Max_TO


Whats to say that NASA going broke isnt the plan? Therefore theres no one to blame? Makes disclosure a whole lot easier.


reply posted on 13-5-2010 @ 02:45 PM by Max_TO
reply to post by jazz10


Sorry I just have to ask , what is meant by that blanket term " disclosure " ?


reply posted on 13-5-2010 @ 02:49 PM by Max_TO
reply to post by frankensence


You have a point and props to you

Having said that , lest we forget that NASA was an arm of the military in the early years and still to this day is a valued asset of the military , in one fashion or another .


reply posted on 14-5-2010 @ 07:58 AM by Soylent Green Is People
Originally posted by Max_TO
reply to post by frankensence


There are many other wasteful programs that yes could be cut but the space program is not one of them . For every dollar spent on space R&D is spent in and on the American public creating a vast amount of jobs , the kind of jobs that is so badly needed right now.

These jobs then in turn create a many many other jobs that directly benefit the American public .


Exactly. But it's not just about the direct jobs created by the space program -- it's about a cultural shift in education and how technology is viewed.

The people who were instrumental in the explosion of technology in the U.S. during the 1980s and 1990s were mostly people who decided to become engineers and scientists BECAUSE of the Apollo program -- it literally sparked their interest and imagination. Advanced math and science in schools suddenly became more popular among masses of students -- not just "reading, writing, and arithmetic". I mean, how many high-school kids took Physics and Calculus before the 1960s? Hardly any. After the 1960s, it seems that most kids on the "college track" in high school were taking those courses.

Those kids of college-age in the 1960s saw the limitless potential of technology and decided they wanted to be a part of shaping that technology in the future. Those people who were awed by the Apollo program in the 1960s and 1970s were the same ones who led the technological revolution of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.

However, those people are now retiring and there is no large group of equally-motivated people to take their place. This country needs another Apollo-like program (one that eventually gets us to Mars, even if it's the Moon first) to fuel that motivation among soon-to-be college age kids.

By trying to do things "methodically and cost-effectively", NASA has lost all of its luster -- it is no longer an "inspiration for young minds". NASA needs the same PR people it had in the 1960s, because I think our technological explosion in the late part of the last century was due to the awe-inspiring impression people had of NASA and NASA's aspirations to do seemingly impossible things.



reply posted on 21-5-2010 @ 08:57 AM by Motive
Originally posted by justwokeup
Isn't the point that the program has been re-focused on to a longer term path? Why is this not a good thing? There seems a lot of negativity.

From a UK perspective it seems odd that a nation that normally goes nuts for privatisation (USA) wants the government to be running a low earth orbit bus service. This is what NASA has been doing in the manned space flight arena for 25 years. Private companies are involved but they make lots of low risk money supporting the bureaucracy. They are not incentivised to improve anything.

The private companies should be providing the service, like an airline. That way they are incentivised to make things better and to share the risk. After all you don't fly to europe on Federal Government Airways, for good reason. Even us brits got out of that business :-)

Leave NASA to develop the tech and prove the new concepts on orbit. Solar Sails, VASMIR, In orbit fission reactor systems etc etc.

Going to the moon again with chemical rockets was pointless. That tech is taking us nowhere in the long run.

If i'm missing the point somehow let me know.



Pretty much, everyone knows that using the kind of rockets the worlds space programs have been using aren't good for much other than going to the moon, and the moon isn't very ambitious at this stage is it.

Surely that billions and billions of dollars is better spent on R&D to produce tech that would not only get us further into space but also it would obviously benefit the world aswell, in terms of more efficient energy sources and whatever other technological advances they could make.
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