Obama to defund Shuttle Replacement

[bomelia]

And farm space transport to Russians & private sector. On top of that, he wants to turn NASA into a Climate Research Center.

As far as many of us folks who work on Redstone Arsenal, home of the Marshall Spaceflight Center, were able to tell, the cars with the most Obama/Biden stickers were NASA folks. Wonder how they are feeling today?

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/...ation-program/

You can be that the Army, Navy, Marines, and Airforce are next.

Mike

[Excaliber]

Same thing I've been saying for years. We need to focus our space research dollars on realistic, attainable goals, "near space", not "deep space". Looking for water on Mars is not realistic. Setting up a Moon base is a pipe dream. When we finish the two wars we currently have going, then perhaps we can fund a water on Mars trip. Until then, kill the program(s).

The current military budget, taken in whole, not pieces, is approaching a 1/4 of our entire Federal outlay in monies. This cannot be sustained, at the same time, we cannot do much about it as long as the wars continue. Hard choices will have to be made.

[KeithBrown]

JFK - Space leader

Obummer- Space Defeater

[Ronbo]

If you scrap the program you also lose the technology that gets developed from it.

The computer you typed your "words of wisdom" on is a end result of the Apollo program.

Since NASA has already been caught manipulating temp data they're the last people to be trusted providing opinions about the global warming scam.

[Black Mamba]

It's money that will be used more intelligently elsewhere. And who believes what the see or read on Fox News anyways?

"NASA's budget, just over $18.7 billion this year, is still expected to rise again in 2011, reports Space.com, though by much less than the $1 billion increase NASA and its contractors have been privately anticipating since mid-December. A White House-appointed panel, led by former Lockheed Martin chief Norm Augustine, urged these changes on the administration in December.

The panel also said a worthwhile manned space exploration program would require Obama to budget about $55 billion for human spaceflight over the next five years, some $11 billion more than he included in the 2011-2015 forecast he sent Congress last spring.

A senior administration official told Fox News that rather than space programs, the president plans to use the address to renew his focus on jobs, calling for swift action on lagging bills providing tax cuts for job creation, new equipment purchases and the elimination of capital gains for small businesses."

So let's see, space exploration and travel verses upgrading on infrastructure including bridges, dams, roadways, levies, the grid, hospitals, etc.
Now if Obama would just get us the F out of Iraq and Afganistan maybe we'd have the funds for such activities as a rocket to Uranus.

[SP01715]

Another liberal on the board bashing Fox? A join date less than a month old? I think someone may have come back under a new name.

[Black Mamba]

I noticed I was only reprimanded for trash talking Fox, not pointing out the glaring fact that the money could be used more wisely elsewhere. Was it that you agree with my liberal views or that you couldn't read past my take on Fox?

[Ronbo]

One thing people in general never get, it isn't about money, that's a by-product...

It's about our pride as a country and a people, this was the difference presidents like Reagan and Teddy Roosevelt made and where FDR and Carter failed miserably. (FDR's only saving grace was WWII and he had little to do with it's outcome unlike Churchill)

I'm not interested in joining in Obama's pity party.

[Excaliber]

Time and place. When Kennedy was in office it was the right time to go to the moon. "Been there, done that" now applies. The time now requires a different approach, the place is planet earth.

By the way the correct spelling for Fox is Faux.

[Excaliber]

I'm not interested in joining in Obama's pity party.

I'm not interested in a country where "pride" demands that we spend money we cannot afford to "keep up with the Jone's." That is the epitomy of foolish thinking.

[Gunner]

And if he'd increased the budget to the point where NASA could actually accomplish something towards a return to manned space flight, the bashers all would have screamed about how Socialist #1 was wasting money. If he'd left the budget alone, they'd scream that he was funding a tech welfare project - oh, except for their relatives in 'Bama who are on the NASA payroll. They work hard for the money.

[Black Mamba]

Maybe by setting up a specific "let's continue exploring space" tax against all the Chinese crap that comes into this country so we can expand our expenditures to no end. Oh wait, no one wants new taxes, even if it only applies to the junk we used to make here but is now made in China so that a few officers of a company based here in the states can show record profits. Holy Cow, I just realized that's what the article was directed towards, finding or creating jobs for those displaced by the loss of our manufacturing sector, what a concept.

People, we need to set our priorities straight.

[bomelia]

Originally Posted by Black Mamba

I noticed I was only reprimanded for trash talking Fox, not pointing out the glaring fact that the money could be used more wisely elsewhere. Was it that you agree with my liberal views or that you couldn't read past my take on Fox?

Its folks like this that make my skin crawl. Does not know anybody here and is already going on the attack. Not a nice way to introduce one's self and my first impression is poor.

Attacking Fox News is stupid. They lead in ALL viewership ratings. So what you are really saying is that Fox viewers are what? Stupid? Yeah, I caught that. And I am damn glad a news channel like that exists. Informs me and pisses you off. You will find one or two liberals in here who agree with you, but the rest of your ride is going to be very bumpy.

Mike

[SP01715]

Originally Posted by Black Mamba

I noticed I was only reprimanded for trash talking Fox, not pointing out the glaring fact that the money could be used more wisely elsewhere. Was it that you agree with my liberal views or that you couldn't read past my take on Fox?

Sometimes I am just not in the mood to debate leftist, it's kind of like banging my head against a wall.

[bomelia]

OK, since I started this thread, I insist that it stay on topic. If someone goes on the attack, then shut it down. I hope they get a vacation too.

Liberals have always hated defense spending and NASA. Why? They know damn well that the technology they enjoy today was accelerated out of the labs by the space program. But, it sucks money away from there pet social programs. Free health care. Free welfare. Free homes. Free drugs. Free money. Yadda yadda. They are not happy with the fact that today, the largest part of the Federal budget is "mandatory spending" on programs that are essentially unconstitutional (look up the budget on wikipedia).

JFK was not a liberal democrat. He, with one speech, ushered in the greatest technological advance the world has ever seen. Sure, it was motiviated by the Cold War (and fear). But it worked.

I was never a fan of the "new moon shot". Stupid goal. That's like running a marathon in 3 hours, then saying next year you are shooting for 4 hours. No, what is needed is a grand goal. Big. Huge! Like going to Mars!! And to do so within a realizable period of time. 10 years max. And you will see this country leap ahead by 100 years in the process. Boats will be lifted. People will achieve financial freedom in numbers never before believed possible.

BTW, NASA is a mess. It is merely a reflection of the government that created it. Someone suggested killing off NASA. Wait two years, then announce the goal. A new NASA is what is needed. They are currently part of the problem. 6 sigma process my ass. They can't even figure out how to rebuild the Saturn again.

BTW, Reagan did the same thing with "Star Wars" or SDI. And to some degree, the International Space Station (but NASA is doing a good job of running that into the ground too. Its about to become Climate Research Central. What a waste.) Whether you know it or not, SDI is still around. And it is because of it that we have the smartest weapons in the world. And the fastest computers, and the Internet, and on and on.

So, liberals, when you log onto your modern computer, and surf the web looking for conservatives to bash, remember, it was all brought to you by the space program.

You fools would have argued against Columbus.

Mike

[Black Mamba]

Originally Posted by bomelia

Its folks like this that make my skin crawl. Does not know anybody here and is already going on the attack. Not a nice way to introduce one's self and my first impression is poor.

Attacking Fox News is stupid. They lead in ALL viewership ratings. So what you are really saying is that Fox viewers are what? Stupid? Yeah, I caught that. And I am damn glad a news channel like that exists. Informs me and pisses you off. You will find one or two liberals in here who agree with you, but the rest of your ride is going to be very bumpy.

Mike

Damn sorry to express my views Mike, there are always two sides to a coin and you were looking at mine.
Yes I may be new here but I'm not searching posts that have a political bend to them and unfortunately, like most everybody these days, when I see one I have to express my opinion. I would really rather just go over issues dealing with Cobras which is why I joined but again, if I see a thread in which someone has taken a view I disagree with then I will speak my mind. I will continue to do so and not back down until proven wrong or clarity on the subject is presented and my view is altered. That is being part being an American and expressing my right to free speech. I get tired of people slamming Obama but he's our friggen president and just maybe he knows more about what's going on then any of us here. No one seems to be giving this guy a chance and he constantly has to run defense. In this case he's planning to redirect funds to create jobs that we've lost... is that the problem here?

I also HIGHLY RECOMMEND reading the original article from the Sentinel which makes no mention of outsourcing to Russians or other governments and includes this paragraph that wasn't listed in the Fox News article:

Nevertheless, NASA contractors have been quietly planning on the end of Ares I, which is years behind schedule and millions of dollars over budget. NASA has already spent more than $3 billion on Ares I and more than $5 billion on the rest of Constellation.

[bomelia]

Originally Posted by Black Mamba

Damn sorry to express my views Mike, there are always two sides to a coin and you were looking at mine.
Yes I may be new here but I'm not searching posts that have a political bend to them and unfortunately, like most everybody these days, when I see one I have to express my opinion. I would really rather just go over issues dealing with Cobras which is why I joined but again, if I see a thread in which someone has taken a view I disagree with then I will speak my mind. I will continue to do so and not back down until proven wrong or clarity on the subject is presented and my view is altered. That is being part being an American and expressing my right to free speech. I get tired of people slamming Obama but he's our friggen president and just maybe he knows more about what's going on then any of us here. No one seems to be giving this guy a chance and he constantly has to run defense. In this case he's planning to redirect funds to create jobs that we've lost... is that the problem here?

Obama is an asshole

[bomelia]

OK, off to watch Obama blame Bush, announce new "social" agendas, cancel space programs, cut defense, and claim he has "saved "Saved or created" 3.5 million jobs (while inflation hovers in double digit areas!)

Will be fun!!

Mike

Edit: Instead of "inherited", "Bush", etc, look for the expression "last 10 years" or "last decade"

[Excaliber]

No one seems to be giving this guy a chance and he constantly has to run defense.

You talking about me or Obama? Welcome to the Lounge Black Mamba, tighten your seat belt, the conservatives in here are relentless at bashing folks.

Star Wars, flawed and controversial though it be, is a good example of "near space" as opposed to "far space". I made a few bucks from Star Wars myself, working on Kwajalien atoll and related islands. The space race under Kennedy was a time for bold moves, the space race is over, the cold war is over, were in a different time with different needs. This is NOT the time for "bold moves" in the space program. Quite the opposite, Obama is right on target with this move to reexamine NASA goals.

We learned a lot from the space race, from that time, the dawning of the electronic age. The law of diminishing returns is now firmly in place as it relates to what we can gain from further far space exploration. One way to use the money saved from NASA would be to fund education for more engineers, something the USA is seriously lagging behind in. It's no accident India is often "tech support" for so many USA companies, it's not just cheap labor, it's the HUGE number of engineers they are cranking out as opposed to the USA. The wave of the future is not space, it's getting serious about education!

[Excaliber]

Obama is an asshole

That could also be said of a number of conservatives that frequent this forum!