Why is Bush so interested in Space?

Shortly after 9/11 President Bush announced his administration now had a mission against terrorism. He has every right to make that the focus of his administration, and I'm not saying that the war on terror should be the only thing this administration should pay attention to. Of course there was the Colombia tragedy in 2002, after that he decided to funnel more money into NASA. When something bad like that happens you have to direct attention to it and give projects like that more money to prevent accidents.
Before 2004 tight budgets forced the president and Congress to all but freeze spending for projects unrelated to fighting terrorism or national defense.

Jan 14th 2004. Bush Vows to Expand 'Human Presence Across Our Solar System'

“We will set a new course for America’s space program; we will give NASA a new focus. We will build new ships to carry man forward into the universe to gain a new foothold on moon and prepare for new journeys beyond Earth,”

“Our first goal is to complete the international space station by 2010. We will finish what we have started. We will meet our obligations to our 15 international partners on this project. We will focus on future research aboard the station on the long-term effects of space travel on human biology,”
“To meet this goal we will return the space shuttle to flight as soon as possible, consistent with safety concerns and the recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board,”

"We do not know where this journey will end, yet we know this -- human beings are headed into the cosmos,"
"Establishing an extended human presence on the moon could vastly reduce the cost of further space exploration, making possible ever more ambitious missions. Lifting heavy spacecraft and fuel out of the Earth's gravity is expensive. Spacecraft assembled and provisioned on the moon could escape its far lower gravity using far less energy and thus far less cost."

Bush said his new space exploration strategy will be paid for with $1 billion in new funding for NASA spread over five years, and by shifting $11 billion from other space agency programs.

Just recently Bush nominated Mike Griffin for head of NASA. I don't know if the President is usually involved with this decision.

Don't get me wrong I love the idea of venturing out into space.
What I want to know is... with everything else going on in the world, why is this administration interested in Space? It makes no sense to me. For 2006 there will be budget cuts to agriculture, education, justice, and even energy.
Even Hubble isn't worth saving? So why the push to go into space? Moon, Mars, and beyond.. for what?

While Moon and Mars may be on the agenda, many of the intermediate babysteps seems to serve a near earth space area denial capabillity with a distinct millitary or at least dual purpose touch to it...

Especially with the war on terror, demand for increased surveillance and the chinese push into space, I would say it makes perfect sense to increase NASA budget for such reasons.

While the budget has increased, the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) mission is now in muddy waters. this tells me that there are priorities closer to home (and actually that seems not unjustified), I just hope the Webb telescope will not be delayed.


[edit on 12-3-2005 by Silenus]

Why is Bush so interested in Space?

Ever hear the terms hobby or interest?

The one area that Bush can be called something that resembles a visionary

I can't resist.

A mind is a good thing to explore?

Maybe he knows that him and his kind have raped the planet and stretched it to the limit. The meek will inherit the earth when people like bush take off for new frontiers or another planet to settle on and start raping and pillaging there.

Originally posted by Schmidt1989
Why is Bush so interested in Space?

Ever hear the terms hobby or interest?

I have actually.
I have an interest in space and sort of a hobby in astronomy. You responded to this post so I would hope that you share these interests and hobbys as well. Do you think Bush is the type to have a interest or hobby in space?
I can tell you what Bush's hobbies are though. I will list a few with out Bush bashing: Golf, Fishing, Mountain Biking, Baseball, Running.
He is not into star gazing, Steven Hawking, and Star Trek.

"It's time for the human race to enter the solar system."
- George W. Bush

Does that sound like a space enthusiast to you?

I would really like to see some examples of G.W. Bush's " hobby or interest" in Space.

Originally posted by Umbrax
Shortly after 9/11 President Bush announced his administration now had a mission against terrorism. He has every right to make that the focus of his administration, and I'm not saying that the war on terror should be the only thing this administration should pay attention to. Of course there was the Colombia tragedy in 2002, after that he decided to funnel more money into NASA. When something bad like that happens you have to direct attention to it and give projects like that more money to prevent accidents.
Before 2004 tight budgets forced the president and Congress to all but freeze spending for projects unrelated to fighting terrorism or national defense.

Jan 14th 2004. Bush Vows to Expand 'Human Presence Across Our Solar System'

“We will set a new course for America’s space program; we will give NASA a new focus. We will build new ships to carry man forward into the universe to gain a new foothold on moon and prepare for new journeys beyond Earth,”

“Our first goal is to complete the international space station by 2010. We will finish what we have started. We will meet our obligations to our 15 international partners on this project. We will focus on future research aboard the station on the long-term effects of space travel on human biology,”
“To meet this goal we will return the space shuttle to flight as soon as possible, consistent with safety concerns and the recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board,”

"We do not know where this journey will end, yet we know this -- human beings are headed into the cosmos,"
"Establishing an extended human presence on the moon could vastly reduce the cost of further space exploration, making possible ever more ambitious missions. Lifting heavy spacecraft and fuel out of the Earth's gravity is expensive. Spacecraft assembled and provisioned on the moon could escape its far lower gravity using far less energy and thus far less cost."

Bush said his new space exploration strategy will be paid for with $1 billion in new funding for NASA spread over five years, and by shifting $11 billion from other space agency programs.

Just recently Bush nominated Mike Griffin for head of NASA. I don't know if the President is usually involved with this decision.

Don't get me wrong I love the idea of venturing out into space.
What I want to know is... with everything else going on in the world, why is this administration interested in Space? It makes no sense to me. For 2006 there will be budget cuts to agriculture, education, justice, and even energy.
Even Hubble isn't worth saving? So why the push to go into space? Moon, Mars, and beyond.. for what?

I suspect that Bush also believes what many of us do, that we're on the verge of having the technology to start opening up space to the masses. I also suspect that Bush knows that if the US can be the first country to gain a true foothold in space, we will also be the first to gain the scientific, economic, and military benefits and will have a head start at exploiting its newly acquired resources on everyone else. The ultimate intent, of course, is for the US to assert itself as the leading nation in space research, development, exploration and exploitation.

If Bush can accomplish the first steps towards this goal, he'll probably be remembered as one of, if not the main figure in the new 'space race' and, for all of his controversial actions, this particular one would ensure that he's considered one of the greatest US presidents of all time. So, to make a long story short, this is about legacy building.

Originally posted by Mayet


Maybe he knows that him and his kind have raped the planet and stretched it to the limit.

Perhaps you can substantiate this claim? Please provide specific examples of exactly how he has "raped the planet" and "stretched it to the limit". Or were you just talking out of......................

Oh gawd you are kidding arent you......If you must be so picky picky ......

nuke testing, war, oil and resources depletion, mining including uranium, deforestation.......just to name a few.......







[edit on 12-3-2005 by Mayet]

Bush is interested in space because it will take peoples mind off the fact that post war Iraq. You cant go to space on a shoe sting budget and Bush is welcome to cut funding to the american education system because it means that an aussie,pom e.t.c will head NASA in the future.
The other reason is that there is a new space race the likes of China have said they wont to go to the moon if America can only afford an extra $1 billion dollars funding they cant afford another space race. I know its beyond Bushs grasp but how about putting an end to the space race before America loses?
How about a global version of NASA ? It can be done if there can be a international space station cant there be a international mon/mars landing?

Originally posted by xpert11
Bush is interested in space because it will take peoples mind off the fact that post war Iraq. You cant go to space on a shoe sting budget and Bush is welcome to cut funding to the american education system because it means that an aussie,pom e.t.c will head NASA in the future.
The other reason is that there is a new space race the likes of China have said they wont to go to the moon if America can only afford an extra $1 billion dollars funding they cant afford another space race. I know its beyond Bushs grasp but how about putting an end to the space race before America loses?
How about a global version of NASA ? It can be done if there can be a international space station cant there be a international mon/mars landing?

The US can afford more than another $1B. The problem is that, in times of fiscal budget deficits, its a VERY difficult sell to the American public and to Congress (well, maybe less so to the wild spending US Congress) to add much more money into what is viewed as a purely scientific endeavor. The fact that his father's Mars proposal was deep-sixed once everyone saw the $1 trillion price tag doesn't help, either. The reality is that Bush is going to have to restructure NASA's internal priorities while also incrementally adding funds a little at a time in order to get this done. Its also well worth noting that the $1B/yr for 5 years is primarly to fund the design of a new crew vehicle. It is not to support the missions themselves, which will be funded by the retirement of the aging shuttle fleet and by scaling back US involvement in the ISS.

[edit on 12-3-2005 by vor78]

From reading on the topic I conclude that...


Bush isn't interested in space.

He's interested in moving public focus away from a war he can't win,
He's interested in showing he's visionary for a project that will never get going.

He's also interested in cutting Nasa's budget ... How? (From the nasa guys themselves) bringing their programs under the umbrella - that of the manned expedition, - and then quietly shutting it down. Even NASA acknowledge that the program is unworkable because of insufficient funding, and that altruism, or science is not the primary purpose.

I gather his plans are the same his father had said during his reign, look how far along the line they went to fruition - not at all.

Can people seriously think that at a time of massive budget deficit, cuts in welfare, massive expenditure on the miitary, et al, that there is any desire to spend extra money on sending people to Mars?

What we have here is a typical political con .....

I remember reading a thread on the NWO and how they plan to evacuate "essential" people to the international space station in WW3, maybe its baby steps towards that?

Theres lots of things going on towards getting "cheap" and repetitive trips into space like all those world records - alterior motive?

The US can afford more than another $1B. The problem is that, in times of fiscal budget deficits, its a VERY difficult sell to the American public and to Congress (well, maybe less so to the wild spending US Congress) to add much more money into what is viewed as a purely scientific endeavor. The fact that his father's Mars proposal was deep-sixed once everyone saw the $1 trillion price tag doesn't help, either. The reality is that Bush is going to have to restructure NASA's internal priorities while also incrementally adding funds a little at a time in order to get this done. Its also well worth noting that the $1B/yr for 5 years is primarly to fund the design of a new crew vehicle. It is not to support the missions themselves, which will be funded by the retirement of the aging shuttle fleet and by scaling back US involvement in the ISS.

[edit on 12-3-2005 by vor78]

It seems Bush is robbing Peter to pay Tom the sooner Bush and his cronies are out of the whitehouse the sooner the space race come to an end.
Wouldnt the ISS be used to train personal for the moon/mars landings? Bush is cutting off his nose to spite his face.
I would have thought the Neo Cons would be on Congress back to approve "a purely scientific endeavor" because it would help in devloping high tech weapons. Bush donst give a toss about NASA if he did he would find a way to fund the US military with out cutting education funding. Its no use spending $410 billion dollars on defence if the soilders of the future cant read.

[edit on 12-3-2005 by xpert11]

I know Bush is a fundamentalist Christian who thinks the "jury is out" on evolution. I also find it strange that he would have an interest in space. I don't know how "out there" he is, but it's also very possible he thinks we're near the endtimes and the rapture is going to happen.

To someone who believes that kind of thing, it seems that space exploration would be irrelevant. I doubt he's looking for alien life or the like because the discovery of other organisms, especially higher ones, would threaten a large proportion of his base.

So I'm guessing the reason he acted so interested in space was to improve his popularity rating. His actions since then have shown that it was all talk anyway. There's been no extra money for space exploration in the budget, the white house has been cancelling exploration programs like JIMO, and they're letting Hubble die despite voiciferous opposition.

"How has Bush raped and pillaged??... HHHMMMM
Let us count the ways.

ENRON- a great way to fund a Presidential campaign, and still let your friends jump off the "house of cards" before the stock plunges.

California "black outs and brown outs"- again more of the same from the TEXAS bunch, except use Ross Poert's computer model by EDS. Let him testify before congress and accidentally have C-SPAN ratings go through the roof, when he was on. Congress cancelled his second appearance on the subject.

And finally Carlyle Group.

Originally posted by xpert11

The US can afford more than another $1B. The problem is that, in times of fiscal budget deficits, its a VERY difficult sell to the American public and to Congress (well, maybe less so to the wild spending US Congress) to add much more money into what is viewed as a purely scientific endeavor. The fact that his father's Mars proposal was deep-sixed once everyone saw the $1 trillion price tag doesn't help, either. The reality is that Bush is going to have to restructure NASA's internal priorities while also incrementally adding funds a little at a time in order to get this done. Its also well worth noting that the $1B/yr for 5 years is primarly to fund the design of a new crew vehicle. It is not to support the missions themselves, which will be funded by the retirement of the aging shuttle fleet and by scaling back US involvement in the ISS.

[edit on 12-3-2005 by vor78]

It seems Bush is robbing Peter to pay Tom the sooner Bush and his cronies are out of the whitehouse the sooner the space race come to an end.
Wouldnt the ISS be used to train personal for the moon/mars landings? Bush is cutting off his nose to spite his face.

I would have thought the Neo Cons would be on Congress back to approve "a purely scientific endeavor" because it would help in devloping high tech weapons. Bush donst give a toss about NASA if he did he would find a way to fund the US military with out cutting education funding. Its no use spending $410 billion dollars on defence if the soilders of the future cant read.

[edit on 12-3-2005 by xpert11]

No, I don't believe the ISS would be much use for training astronauts for moon/Mars missions. The only major benefit of the ISS would be to acclimate astronauts to the long-term effects of space flight, but there are two major problems with this.

One, the weakness in bones and internal organs resulting from a long stay on the ISS would probably result in a long period of 'down time' while that astronaut recovers physically. That could cause significant mission scheduling problems. It might also be a serious risk to the astronauts' health if they are sent to Mars too soon after a long term ISS stay. Given the fact that we've never been to Mars before, its difficult to say how soon is too soon. It could be months, but it might be years.

Second, I believe the ISS will be beyond its projected design life once the Moon missions begin. I'm all but certain it will be when/if the Mars missions occur under this proposal. There's also the fact that we really don't need to train them for long term exposure to space travel for a moon landing. The travel time probably wouldn't be more than a couple of days. And the ISS will almost certainly be gone once the Mars missions begin sometime around 2030 (and that date is purely my guess...IF they happen at all).

And finally, with $400B+ in defense spending, Bush and his 'cronies' don't really need this project to develop weaponry. A significant portion of that military budget already goes into advanced R&D.

Bush also learned from Reagan and his Daddy that earmarking money for space, allows no questions to be asked.

How many billions did the US spend on STARWARS programs. A project that never worked, but scared the hell out of the rest of the world.

Originally posted by Flinx
I know Bush is a fundamentalist Christian who thinks the "jury is out" on evolution. I also find it strange that he would have an interest in space. I don't know how "out there" he is, but it's also very possible he thinks we're near the endtimes and the rapture is going to happen.

To someone who believes that kind of thing, it seems that space exploration would be irrelevant. I doubt he's looking for alien life or the like because the discovery of other organisms, especially higher ones, would threaten a large proportion of his base.

So I'm guessing the reason he acted so interested in space was to improve his popularity rating. His actions since then have shown that it was all talk anyway. There's been no extra money for space exploration in the budget, the white house has been cancelling exploration programs like JIMO, and they're letting Hubble die despite voiciferous opposition.

Sigh. This is what bothers me. You automatically assume that because Bush is a fundamentalist Christian that he cannot possibly have any interest in space exploration or anything related to it, nor can his supporters. This is completely untrue. *I* would probably be what many would consider a fundamentalist Christian, one who happens to be quite politically conservative. I would triple Nasa's budget if I could. In fact, I'd pour money into science and R&D in this country in practically all areas if I could. And I know an awful lot of people who share my religious and political views who would agree with me. This is a common misconception that has been fueled by the political left trying to score political points off of a few dimwitted fringe elements of the political right who couldn't make a logical argument if their lives depended upon it. I believe that intellectual curiosity is an inborn trait of humans and no political party or affiliation has a monopoly on it. By the same token, there are not a disproportionate number of morons on either side of the political spectrum. Both have more than their fair share.

So, please, don't paint with such a broad brush.