10 replies to this topic

[scottl]

http://apnews.myway..../D8BK18H00.html

"NASA: No Flights Until Foam Issue Fixed"

Sooo let's see the last flight is destroyed by a chunk of foam falling off and hitting something. And...2 years later...a chunk of foam falls off this one and fortunately does not hit anything--but of course whatever they did and expected, they've grounded it so all is not well.

Please see Jerry Pournelle's blog for comments on NASA. I imagine he will have one tonight or tomorrow on this topic. He is a science fiction writer who was involved in....rocket research (whatever the X prizes were) and has been on various technology advisor comittees to various administrations.

http://www.jerrypour...urrentview.html


The gov't can't run anything well--for completely predictable reasons e.g. burocracy (my remedial spelling starts next week).


Spaceflight would be much better off privatized e.g. as Jerry suggests award a monetary prize to any company that builds a moon base, and keeps some number of astronauts alive and well on the moon for 12 months. No money is to be paid in advance, only when it is accomplisted. This is what capitalism (is that a dirty word here?) excels at.

This is another example of why letting the gov't run health care ain't a great idea.

[knite]

hehe private health care is pretty damn bad...canada seems to be doin ok...and dont even get me started on energy deregulation....damn bastards manufactured a power crisis over here in CA because of that. I think govt run is bad, but raw capitalism can be just as bad or worse, I think there needs to be some regulation.

[eternaltraveler]

nasa is stupid.

The shuttle was a bad idea to beging with, simple rockets/capsules do a better job.

Why do they insist on flying a brick out of space?

NASA needs to scrap the shuttle entirely. What a waste.

[scottl]

nasa is stupid.

The shuttle was a bad idea to beging with, simple rockets/capsules do a better job.

Why do they insist on flying a brick out of space?

NASA needs to scrap the shuttle entirely.  What a waste.

True. But NASA is a..damn how do you spell...burocracy and they are very entrenched in their thinking.

Better: scrap shuttle for better design.

best: scrap NASA.

[knite]

Lol, why stop there(im not being sarcastic), I say we give the country a political enema. Flush out all these politicians and get real people in there.

[scottl]

Lol, why stop there(im not being sarcastic), I say we give the country a political enema. Flush out all these politicians and get real people in there.

Hey I'm for that.

Real people--good idea let's bar lawyers from office [lol]

[eternaltraveler]

If we had another Nazi rocket scientist running the show NASA would be fine [wis]

[Mind]

THe shuttle is a 30 year old design. Holy crap, it is about time they developed something new. I think private ventures are going to leap-frog them in the next couple of years. The government is just to inefficient and lethargic to kick space exploration into high gear.

[Matt]

nasa is stupid.

The shuttle was a bad idea to beging with, simple rockets/capsules do a better job.

Why do they insist on flying a brick out of space?

NASA needs to scrap the shuttle entirely.  What a waste.

I think I heard that the CEV's design is almost the same as the current shuttles. Obviously a few thousand little modifications here and there....

it's probably going to still be the same expensive flying brick but a little shinier

[Richard Leis]

Without NASA funding I wouldn't have my current job. Still, I agree that it is probably a good idea to scrap the Space Shuttle program now instead of 2010 and start looking at privatizing all launch capabilities. The announcement by Burt Rutan and Sir Richard Branson of the formation of "The Spaceship Company" is a step in the right direction, although it is a pretty small step - only to sub-orbital heights.

I do find NASA's robotic exploration of space to be incredible. I just wish there was more of it. While private industry is an answer, I do not see companies finding a good business reason to explore the solar system. They want to make money. Therefore they are focusing on space tourism and payload capabilities for paying customers for now. Eventually, companies will become interested in mining our celestial neighbors, providing observational platforms for paying scientists, and creating more daring entertainment and educational content set at greater distances. Until then, NASA, ESA, JAXA, and the other governmental space agencies are the only game in town when it comes to true scientific exploration of the solar system.

That said, and back to my original point, the Space Shuttle program (and for that matter the International Space Station) might not fit well into our space-faring future. Maybe we should let NASA handle the farthest distances (mostly through robotics) while private industry handles closer destinations and manned exploration.