[FPSPACE] Re: Msnbc.com (Oberg): Russia ready to take lead on space station

[DSFPortree at aol.com]

John:

> Some might argue that, with a new Administrator and a firm vision, NASA's 
> "endless paper studies" are finally and rapidly leading to a new generation of 
> crewed space access.  

John and I have argued about this off line for some time. 

I am not yet convinced that there's any more "firm" a plan now than there was 
during SEI. (And we're on our second new Administrator since Bush unveiled 
his "plan" - not so long ago, O'Keefe was supposed to be the new guy who'd 
shepherd us into the future. This would seem to imply a certain amount of 
instability in the "vision" already.) I still contend that the Bush Space Vision is 
more about shutting things down than starting things up. ("Rapidly"? When did the 
timetable get advanced?) As you say, though, we shall see.

David

David S. F. Portree
Science writer & historian
dsfportree at aol.com
Flagstaff Arizona USA

DSFP homepage
http://members.aol.com/dsfportree/dsfp.htm